The art fair to end all art fairs, Art Basel, kicked off yesterday in — where else? — Basel, Switzerland.
Feel like Art Basel just happened? You’re not wrong — the organizers also host art mega-events in the fall (Paris), winter (Miami), and spring (Hong Kong).
That’s great, but why should nonbillionaires care?
Art Basel is known for top-dollar sales (see: aforementioned
But the event is readying for an evolution.
- Horowitz views Art Basel as a growing brand — one that could host, in essence, cultural world fairs that convene the art, fashion, film, music, and design communities.
- Lead investor James Murdoch (yes, of that Murdoch family) cited Formula 1, which takes over global cities for 23 races per year, as a model for Art Basel to follow.
Can they pull it off?
Art Basel has a strong head start — pre-pandemic, its flagship Basel event drew 93k attendees from 80+ countries — but its larger ambitions require more than branding; the global economy also must hold strong.
Inflation fears have already