All eyes on Shanghai as city hosts multiple fairs despite first coronavirus case in months

By Lisa Movius

Shanghai’s November art week usually provides a counterweight to the Art Basel-centred Hong Kong art week in March. But with the latter cancelled, all focus falls on Shanghai this month, where fairs and events go ahead this week despite breaking news in the past 24 hours of the city's first Covid-19 case in five months, after a freight handler at Pudong Airport tested positive for the virus.

Shanghai’s new Art Tower in West Bund aims to house 20 international galleries. Courtesy The Art Newspaper.

This year, alongside Shanghai’s two flagship art fairs—Art021 (12-15 November) and the West Bund Art & Design Fair (11-15 November)—is the launch of the enormous Art Tower, a 93,000 sq. m monolithic cultural and gallery hub in the West Bund art district. Unveiled on 16 October, the tower is described as a one-stop art space and aims to house 20 international galleries. Currently confirmed are ShanghArt Gallery, Ota Fine Arts and Arario Gallery. Phillips, Alibaba, the Shanghai FTZ International Artwork Exchange Center (SFIAE) and AXA Tianping P&C Insurance have also signed up as tenants...READ MORE