The co-founder of what is now one of Asia’s most successful contemporary art fairs, Art HK, is seeking to recreate the same international market magic for the Pacific region. Tim Etchells, of the British exhibitions company SME Ltd, is now spearheading a fair for Sydney, which will launch in April 2013. Billed as the first event of its kind for Australia’s largest city, Sydney Contemporary follows the model established by the Melbourne Art Fair, which also runs every other year. In fact, Etchells has agreed with the Melbourne Art Foundation to manage and operate the Melbourne Art Fair starting from 2014. Etchells, who is also behind the startup modern and contemporary art fair in London, Art13 London, has established Art Fairs Australia Pty Ltd to operate his Australian projects, naming Francesca Valmorbida as the director of Sydney Contemporary.
Australia has an active domestic market for contemporary art with healthy commercial gallery scenes in both Sydney and Melbourne. In a statement to the press, Etchells said, “Sydney Contemporary represents the first time this city has hosted a serious, high-end art fair. We expect it to play a significant role in helping to focus attention on the Sydney art scene in the same way that Art HK focused attention on Asian art.”
In May 2011, Etchells and his partners in Asian Art Fairs Ltd, the company behind Art HK, sold a 60 percent stake to the Art Basel art fair behemoth, operated by MCH Swiss Exhibition (Basel) Ltd. It was recently announced that starting from 2013, Art HK will officially be branded as part of the Art Basel group, with current fair director Magnus Renfrew joining Art Basel’s executive board as Asia Director in addition to directing the Hong Kong fair.