Courtesy of Art HK 09

Magnus Renfrew

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Expanding upon programming from last year, when the fair attracted some 19,000 visitors, organizers this year have planned an array of educational and cultural activities for the four-day event, which begins May 14. Standouts include a lecture and film-screening series organized by the Asia Art Archive, a nonprofit organization that documents the visual arts in the region, and British debate group Intelligence Squared’s inaugural panel in Asia, which will focus on the hot-button topic of the ownership of antiquities and cultural heritage.

Hong Kong, which has easy transportation access and no sales tax, has quickly become an Asian hub for auctions and dealers, and is positioned by some rankings as the third-largest art market in the world after London and New York. Still, the fair will be an indication of the health of the Asian and international art markets at a time when the world’s finances are still reeling from the global economic crisis.

The fair’s founding director is Magnus Renfrew, who was previously director of exhibitions at Contrasts Gallery in Shanghai. Prior to that, he was a specialist at Bonhams and worked at Phillips de Pury, where he pioneered in the promotion of contemporary Chinese art in Europe. ARTINFO spoke with Renfrew about Hong Kong and art in the time of the credit crunch.

How is the fair going to be different this year?

It is going to be bigger and better. We have 110 galleries this year from 24 countries; last year we had 101 from 20 countries. But we were also very selective about the galleries we accepted — we had over 250 applications — and for the first time, we have some of the very best galleries in the world coming: Gagosian from New York, White Cube and Lisson from London, and, from the region, Tomio Koyama and SCAI from Tokyo and Arario from Korea [and Beijing and New York]. These guys came as visitors last year to scope us out and liked what they saw. There is an emerging consensus that in one year we have become the leading art fair in Asia.

How are you positioning Art HK?

There are many art fairs out there in the world. Art HK has the benefit of making very solid business sense. There is no tax [in Hong Kong]; in mainland China there is a tax of 34 percent on the sale of any imported artworks. Hong Kong is the third-largest art market by auction turnover after New York and London. It is in close proximity to Taiwan and very accessible for South Korea. For those two collector groups, which have been buying internationally for some time now, it is very easy for them to get here. And it is on the doorstep of China. As that market develops, hopefully we can attract them.

In terms of competition within the region, all of the other art fairs seem to take place mostly in relation to the country in which they happen. KIAF is very Korean, [Art Fair] Tokyo is very Japanese, [Art] Singapore appeals to a local audience, as does Taipei [Art Fair]. Hong Kong is perfectly placed to attract collectors from around the region, not just from the locality. That said, as the financial center of Asia, it also has a very strong, affluent, internationally minded expatriate base.

How did you select the 110 galleries?

Our two core values are quality and geographical diversity. Being the gateway to Asia, Hong Kong is well placed to show what is new and fresh from different art centers — Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand. We didn’t decide, though, that we wanted five from here, 10 from here. We are also firmly rooted in Hong Kong, and it is important to engage, develop, and promote the local gallery scene, which has good access to local collectors and has in the last year seen a number of galleries open. There’s Tang Contemporary from Beijing and Bangkok, Gagosian has opened an office here, and in the fall, Ben Brown is scheduled to open in Hong Kong.