The 4th ShContemporary will be unveiled September 9 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, with a series of exhibitions, forums and other projects to be presented, the organizer revealed at press conference held Saturday in Beijing.
In the wake of the success of 2009, this year's ShContemporary will continue to present three sections: Best of Galleries, Discovering Contemporary and Platform, with Colin Chinnery continuing as the general curator of the event for the second year in a row.
Best of Galleries will present a wide range of galleries, established artists and up-and-comers in the international art world, offering art lovers a feast to enjoy some of the best art from around the world, according to Chinnery.
The Discovering section was initiated in 2009. It will display both established and emerging artists from across the world, aiming to help ordinary art lovers understand contemporary works that used to be far from their daily lives. It was hailed as a great success last year, with thousands flooding in to enjoy conceptual works.
Along with the feature exhibition there will be several lectures open to the public, shedding light on the works on display and covering basic general knowledge about enjoying and collecting art.
Mami Kataoka, chief curator of the famous Mori Art Museum in Tokyo is curating the Discovery section along with Chinnery and independent curator Manray Hsu, showing 25 artists that they selected jointly.
Another highlight of the event will be a series of serious and professional forums involving some of the world's best art museums' directors and critics, discussing a range of art issues including artistic creation and the current global art market.
Alexandra Munroe, curator of Asian art at the Guggenheim New York and Kathy Halbreich, director of MOMA, will both present speeches at the forum. Other famous experts participating in this section include Swiss collector Uli Sigg and Frances Morris, director of the International Art Collecting Program of the Tate London, to name but a few.
ShContemporary art fair, renowned as one of Asia's most dynamic and international fairs, has made headlines since it began three years ago. Last year more than 30,000 collectors, artists and art lovers attended, despite the fact it was held in the middle of the global financial crisis.
"We hope we will bring art lovers a great surprise this year," Chinnery said, adding that he is very confident with China's art environment. "For artists and gallery owners China is definitely a land where miracles happen every day."