Art Antwerp becomes the first international art fair (Antwerp)
From December 16 to 19, Art Antwerp will host sixty top galleries from Belgium and neighboring countries in Antwerp Expo. It will be the first international art fair in Antwerp. A planned first edition last year was ultimately killed by the pandemic.
Art Antwerp is an initiative of Art Brussels, the important Belgian art fair that normally takes place in the spring. Due to corona, the editions in 2020 and 2021 could not physically continue. Last year, Art Brussels already dreamed of an Antwerp section in December, but the idea had to be postponed due to the stricter safety standards.
“This year the first Art Antwerp will certainly start”, say the fair directors Ann Vierstraete and Nele Verhaeren. “The launch of Art Antwerp is the ultimate and we are immensely happy to bring the art community in Belgium back together before the end of the year. We are confident that we will be able to meet all safety standards.”
Art Antwerp will be an admission fair whose participants were invited by a selection committee. Sixty galleries will be present, of which thirty percent are from neighboring countries. All envisaged Antwerp galleries such as Zeno X, Tim Van Laere, Sofie Van de Velde, Plus-One and Keteleer have agreed. De Zwarte Panter is also returning to a trade fair event after a long absence.
Art Antwerp will take a hybrid form, with an important online offering in collaboration with Artsy. (fh)
www.art-antwerp.com