This year, Art Basel Hong Kong – which features UBS as its lead partner – has gathered even more galleries than the previous year, relying on traditional exhibitions as well as contactless solutions to work around the challenges of the city’s Covid restrictions.
Art Basel Hong Kong, which is running this week, features 130 galleries from 28 countries and territories – up from 104 in 2021.
In addition to the physical exhibition and online viewing, the fair is also supporting exhibitors who were unable to attend due to the city’s stringent Covid-related regulations.
Debuted last year, the 74 so-called «satellite booths» feature galleries' art without their staff while the fair provides a point person each to stay on the stand, answer visitor questions and potentially support sales.
«I am very excited for Art Basel Hong Kong 2022 as I believe that art can connect people and inspire us, especially during challenging times,» said Amy Lo, APAC wealth management co-head and Hong Kong CEO at UBS, the lead partner for the art fair over the past nine years. «The fair offers a much needed breath of fresh air to both the city and the region and I hope everyone can enjoy the experience in town or virtually.»
Pre-Pandemic Levels
In 2021, the global art market rebounded with a 29 percent year-on-year increase to $65.1 billion, according to an art market report co-published by UBS and Art Basel, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
U.S. led the market, accounting for 43 percent of worldwide sales by value, followed by China at 20 percent and the U.K. at 17 percent.
Art Outlook
And the outlook also appears positive with 62 percent of dealers and 81 percent of second-tier auction houses expecting improving values in the coming year, according to a separate survey by Arts Economics and UBS.
There is also continued demand for digital art with 88 percent of high net worth collectors interested in purchasing non-fungible token artworks in the future.
