MCH Group, the management company of fairs under the Art Basel brand, officially announced the cancellation of the fair in Hong Kong. The official reason for — a new outbreak of the coronavirus in the region

Art Basel Hong Kong 2020, which was to be held from 19 to 21 March 2020 will not take place, reports Artnet. According to the MCH Group, "the decision was made based on many factors, including a fundamental concern for the health and safety of all those working at the fair and participate in it." The official representative of the fair noted "serious logistics problems facing the creation and transportation of art objects". Earlier, the world health organization has recognized coronavirus a global emergency.

About the situation around Art Basel Hong Kong steel to say even last summer, when the art market has affected the mass protests in Hong Kong. Suspended operation of more than 100 cultural institutions, among them are government-funded agencies and international commercial galleries — Lehmann Maupin, Rossi & Rossi, Pearl Lam, Massimo De Carlo and Simon Lee. Top-галереи with branches in Hong Kong, reacted to the situation more flexibly: Heuzer & Wirth quietly moved the exhibition Annie Leibovitz and representatives Dawid Zwirner stated that "despite the turbulence in the market-прежнему strong."

16 Jan 2020 24 galleries among the participants of Art Basel Hong Kong 2020 appealed to the organizers of the fair with an official letter in which he demanded 50%-ную a discount for the rental of the pavilions, a substantial deferred payment, the possibility to reduce the area of the pavilions and the provision of affordable insurance coverage. The position of the galleries was based on two components: a possible manifestation of censorship in relation to galleries submitted by artists from China and the decline in the number of international collectors that would affect the level of sales.

To to The Art Newspaper, the MCH Group responded to the conditions of the galleries refused. The organizers said that the number of VIP-регистраций at the fair "as a whole is in line with previous years", while noting growth was VIP-коллекционеров from mainland China. Alternatively, the requirement to halve the cost of the pavilions of the fair offered "alternative payment plans by special request". Many galleries have withdrawn their signatures and began preparing for the fair.

MCH Group is not the first time faced with a situation in which the fair was questioned. In 2016 at issue was the organization of Art Basel Miami Beach as a result of the epidemic of zika virus in Florida, in 2017, many feared the devastating effects of hurricane Irma. In both cases, the fair was more than successful, and for artists is Miami affected, Art Basel created a a special Fund, giving to each according to $500.

Denys Belkevych, AI