Art Fair Popularity Still Growing
Friday 22nd May 2015 One of the most interesting things about the art fair, well, 'movement', for lack of a better term, is that it's no longer limited solely to the type of large, global cities mentioned earlier. Smaller cities around the world are getting in on the action, as evidenced by the latest art fair in North America to get some serious traction, which is located in Vancouver, Canada. Not to say that Vancouver doesn't have the potential to be a world-class city, but its art fair is simply not at the same scale as the others we've mentioned – although this could be set to change. With nearly 180 art fairs taking place each year around the world, the popularity of the style is dramatically expanding each year, and as long as organizers, galleries, collectors and visitors are eager to get involved, smaller fairs like Art! Vancouver are likely to continue to expand as well. In fact, art fairs have become so popular in recent years that in 2014, total sales from art fairs around the world topped $13.3 billion dollars. While that doesn't really hold a candle to the kind of sales that are still being generated by the more traditional auction house system, it should still be making auctioneers a bit nervous. If small fairs like Art! Vancouver can survive their first couple of years and make it to the big leagues, then the entire auction paradigm might be on it's way out, with the exception of the very highest priced items that are too valuable to be sold in the fair environment. As Art! Vancouver director Lisa Wolfin said, “If Basel can do it for 40 years, Vancouver can too. It’s a matter of starting and building.” She's probably right – as long as the local and global art communities stay involved! If you hear about a local art fair in your community, why not stop by and support local artists? It's fun, and you might find your own work there one day! 
Art fairs are the hottest thing happening in the art world right now, and unless you've been living under a rock with earplugs in, you've probably noticed that they seem to be popping up everywhere. From Basel, Switzerland to Miami Beach, Florida to Hong Kong, China to just about everywhere in between, art fairs are rapidly becoming the hottest place for collectors to buy art, no matter if you're an amateur building their first collection or a professional speculator looking to grab some original work by an up and coming young artist before sale prices really take off.
