October 18, 2019 at 12:13pm

HONG KONG HOTEL FAIR “ASIA CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW” SUSPENDS SPRING 2020 EDITION

The Asia Contemporary Art Show in Hong Kong has announced it will suspend its spring 2020 edition, which was to take place from March 13 through March 16. The fifteenth edition of the hotel fair, which ran from October 4 through October 7, had suffered in low attendance rates and sales. Representatives cited the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which have been ongoing since June, as a factor for the 40 percent drop in attendance.

“Regrettably, there seems little end in sight for the protests in Hong Kong with the knock-on effect on the broader economy accelerating,” said fair director and cofounder Mark Saunderson. “Our regular exhibitors are apprehensive.” Instead of its March edition, the fair announced it will focus on developing an online marketplace.

Art Basel Hong Kong organizers told Artnet that while they were “monitoring” the situation, the fair is scheduled to run from March 19 to March 21 as planned.

“We do not have any plans to postpone or relocate our 2020 show,” an Art Basel representative said. “In fact, we are actively moving forward and will be announcing our exhibitor list later this month, as usual, and we remain confident that we will be able to deliver a show of the highest quality in 2020.”