AnalysisArt fairs
'Dealers are smiling under their masks': Shanghai art week pulls in art-starved collectors
More than 100 art exhibitions and events have taken place in the Chinese city this week and galleries are reporting strong sales
NewsArt market
All eyes on Shanghai as city hosts multiple fairs despite first coronavirus case in months
New Art Tower will be hub of a busy art week alongside Art021 and West Bund Art & Design Fair
NewsBiennials & festivals
Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor and John Akomfrah among artists condemning Thai state violence against democracy protestors
Almost half of the artists participating in the Bangkok Art Biennale opening this week have expressed "support for the struggle for democracy"
NewsSingapore
Singapore art space prepares final show in Gillman Barracks after Covid-19 shortfall
NTU Centre for Contemporary Art to close physical venue in March, casting doubt on future of gallery district
NewsHong Kong
Hong Kong's M+ museum delayed to autumn 2021 amid management troubles and spiralling costs
West Kowloon Cultural District chief executive heads for early exit, accused of contributing to cost overruns and delays
NewsteamLab
TeamLab to open permanent installation in Shanghai nightclub
It is the latest move by the multimedia collective whose interactive works often attract large crowds
NewsArt market
Art Basel in Hong Kong and Art Central—under one roof in 2021
The two fairs will take place at the same time in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in March
AnalysisProtest
Student flash mobs in Thailand target ‘art scene run by elite old men’
Recent demonstrations break a long-held taboo–criticism of the Thai monarchy, an institution which protesters believe is the main obstruction to democracy
AnalysisArt market
The fairs are back in town: greater China reopens for business
Art021, West Bund Art & Design Fair and Art Taipei among fairs due to open in the region this autumn despite travel restrictions, shipping woes and Covid-19 fears
NewsArt market
Undeterred by pandemic and political tumult, Western galleries expand to Greater China
The New York dealer Edward Ressle opens a space in Shanghai, in the footsteps of the UK's Flowers Gallery and France's Villepin ventures in Hong Kong
NewsLGBTQ
Shanghai Pride announces suspension of operations shortly after opening exhibition
Move comes amidst increased official scrutiny of civil society in China
NewsChina
National Museum of China exhibition commemorates country's fight against Covid-19
Open-submission show of professional and amateur art celebrates medical workers with propaganda posters and Socialist Realist statues
AnalysisArt market
Sanyu, Zao Wou-Ki and Liu Ye: the Asian masters fetching millions at the Hong Kong auctions
Despite pandemic delays and the new National Security Law, the spring sales in the city last week fetched solid results
ReviewArt market
Undeterred by looming National Security Law, Hong Kong's newest art fair draws nearly 3,000 visitors
Twelve galleries ventured out again for the bijou pop-up event Unscheduled
NewsArt market
Beijing gallery to open near Old Street putting unsung Chinese artists on the London map
Tabula Rasa, which was founded in the 798 art district in 2015, hopes to open in the UK capital this autumn
Newscoronavirus
Beijing art world starts shutting down again amid new coronavirus cluster
M Woods among private museums closing as China reports 137 new infections in wholesale food market
NewsArt market
Shanghai fair launches immersive art show—in a shopping mall
With the future of large-scale events and travel still uncertain, the November fairs Art021 and West Bund are exploring "consumer alternatives" in unusual settings
NewsArt market
Gallery Weekend Beijing draws a local crowd to a city cautiously reawakening
Event was postponed from March due to coronavirus and, while China is still closed to international visitors, mainland collectors were eager to attend and spend
Newscoronavirus
New outbreak of coronavirus in Seoul has caused the re-closure of its museums, perhaps a sign of things to come
Some art institutions foresee a rolling series of partial lockdowns in future
NewsMuseums & Heritage
X-appeal: millennial collectors open private museum in Beijing
Founded by Michael Xufu Huang and Theresa Tse, the X Museum opens in the Chinese capital this weekend after Covid-19 delay
NewsArt market
Gallery Weekend Beijing will go ahead—but who will go?
While Chinese capital starts to relax restrictions, uncertainty over domestic travel arrangements may impact on event
NewsArt market
Hong Kong’s art galleries abandon pricey Central district
As galleries feel the impact of Art Basel’s cancellation, many consider moving to cheaper, up-and-coming locations such as Kowloon and South Island
NewsChina
Beijing reopens Forbidden City in time for May Day holiday
State museums in the Chinese capital will reopen with crowd control measures for "golden week" of travel
Analysiscoronavirus
How Korea's galleries evaded a coronavirus standstill
Although the country's museums have been closed since February, its commercial galleries were allowed to remain open—and sales have continued at a steady pace
Newscoronavirus
Beijing’s UCCA Center for Contemporary Art to reflect on our post-Covid world when it re-opens in May
Opening exhibition "grew directly out of this unprecedented situation,” says the museum's director Philip Tinari
Newscoronavirus
Shanghai's galleries reopen after Covid-19 with optimistic spate of spring shows
Temperature and health QR code checks at the entrance are still required
NewsMuseums & Heritage
All eyes on Asia: normality is still a long way off as museums emerge from lockdown
Visitor numbers at some of the world’s most popular art venues have nosedived and uncertainty for the future remains
Podcast
Coronavirus: dispatches from Italy and China
We speak to our journalists Anna Somers Cocks and Lisa Movius about their experiences of lockdown. Plus, we begin a new feature—Lonely Works—where we look at individual works of art that are now hanging unseen in galleries. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793
Newscoronavirus
China, South Korea and Japan start to reopen museums after strict coronavirus lockdown
Shanghai's Power Station of Art and Shanghai Museum welcomed visitors today after China's tough measures helped curb the spread of the disease
Newscoronavirus
Coronavirus impact on China’s art world now eclipses Sars
The region’s art scene has experienced relentless growth since the 2002-03 epidemic. Will it be able to recover from the latest health crisis as quickly as it did almost two decades ago?
NewsArt market
Coronavirus: Beijing's Jingart is the latest Asian art fair to cancel
A look at how the market is responding to the epidemic
NewsArt Basel Hong Kong
'With changes come opportunities': first reactions to the cancellation of Art Basel in Hong Kong
Local galleries are determined to forge ahead after the fair announced it will not take place this year in light of coronavirus fears
Newscoronavirus
Coronavirus: Australia stops two Chinese artists from entering country as more of China's art organisations halt programming
Beijing's Gallery Weekend and UCCA Centre for Contemporary Art have been forced to cancel or delay their events
NewsMuseums
Tadao Ando-designed He Art Museum postponed because of coronavirus
The X Museum in Beijing has also delayed its opening show
NewsHong Kong
'The arts will continue to thrive': Hong Kong galleries band together in face of coronavirus fears
Local dealers plan to forge ahead with exhibitions even if Art Basel decides to cancel this year's edition of the fair in the city
NewsHong Kong
Coronavirus crisis: Hong Kong follows China in shutting museums
Special administrative region has also limited travel to the mainland to lower transmission risk
AnalysisArt market
Singapore's SEA Focus fair navigates censorship and Taipei Dangdai date clash
Strong second edition of event, dedicated to Southeast Asian art, narrowly avoided coronavirus panic
NewsPolitics
Taiwan's re-election of president Tsai Ing-wen is good news for its art world
Politician has been working on professionalising the island nation's cultural sphere
PreviewArt fairs
Singapore and Taipei art scenes vie for Hong Kong trade
Fairs hope political upheaval and ongoing protests will not deter pan-Asian collector base
NewsExhibitions
Taiwan to host censored Aichi Triennale show
Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art is planning to restage the exhibition, which was partly closed due to violent threats over the inclusion of a 'comfort woman' statue
NewsExhibitions
#MeToo show manages to evade authorities in Shanghai
Previous iterations of the show were closed early by authorities
NewsChina
Yuz Museum and Lacma confident they can show Middle Eastern art in China—despite crackdown on Islam
Joint exhibition programme under way between Shanghai and Los Angeles will soon involve Qatar Museums
AnalysisChina
Why museum partnerships between China and the West are booming
Cultural institutions have embraced mutual benefits of collaboration, despite challenges of communication and censorship
NewsPolitics
Three artists among pro-democracy candidates who scored landslide win in Hong Kong elections
Susi Law Wai-shan, Clara Cheung and Wong Tin Yan ran in the elections which had an unprecedented 71.2% turnout
NewsChina
Guangzhou museum given three days’ notice to evacuate before demolition
Privately funded Redtory Museum of Contemporary Art says its forced closure follows “a long period of disputation” with the local authorities
NewsCensorship
Beijing officials deny permit for show of Chinese-American artist amid political tensions
Exhibition of Hung Liu at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art has been censored by the government at the last minute
NewsMuseums
'We are the opposite of Starbucks': Pompidou chief on the challenges of setting up a Shanghai satellite
The French museum's president on censorship threats and settling the costs of the new project
PreviewArt market
Slowdown, what slowdown? Shanghai launches biggest art week yet
Inaugural government-backed Shanghai International Artwork Trading Month aims to boost city's art market as economy takes a turn
NewsOpenings
UCCA Center for Contemporary Art to open space in Shanghai
New outpost of the Beijing-based institution is due to open in 2021
NewsArt market
Travel restrictions reduce Mainland Chinese visitors to Art Taipei, but Japanese, Indonesian and Malaysian collectors step in
Sales were stable at Asia's oldest contemporary art fair despite political tensions and the spectre of the US-China trade war
NewsArt market
'This is not the end, this is not doomsday': Hong Kong fairs survive escalated violence in city
Law banning face masks sparks more protests and brings Metro and buses to a halt, but Fine Art Asia chief says impact on fair is minimal
NewsCensorship
Feminist exhibition in China suddenly axed following alleged governmental pressure
Show in Shanghai cancelled after being deemed "too sensitive" to run during 70th anniversary of country's founding
NewsLaw
Art history professor Gary Xu Gang accused of sexual assault and rape by two former students
Plaintiffs' lawyer says sexual harassment of university students remains an 'epidemic' despite the progress of the #MeToo movement
AnalysisArt market
East Asian unrest plays in Art Jakarta's favour
Fair is benefitting from Indonesia's burgeoning economy as well as cancelled Singapore fairs
NewsHong Kong
Hong Kong's cultural workers defy government pressure to hit streets in protest
Several thousand civil servants, including many from state-backed arts institutions, come out in support of ongoing pro-democracy protests
NewsCopyright
Taipei gallery accuses Mac Cosmetics China of plagiarising artist's work for lipstick campaign
Project Fulfill Art Space says Chinese branch of the cosmetics company did not have permission to use Chen Sung-Chih installation
NewsMuseums
Beijing's art scene gets much-needed boost as M Woods opens second space
Private museum is due to open a new venue in capital's historic Longfusi area
NewsChina
Two Beijing art districts abruptly evicted to make way for demolition
Police in riot gear escort hundreds of artists working in area studios from the premises
Podcast
Ibrahim Mahama's ghosts of Ghana. Plus, China's epic Picasso show
We speak to the Ghanaian artist as he unveils a major new commission at the Whitworth as part of the Manchester International Festival. Plus, we find out about the Picasso blockbuster at UCCA in Beijing. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.
NewsLGBTQ
Shanghai shows of queer art hampered by venue issues and government censorship
LGBTQ exhibitions and works that are explicitly out and proud are magnets for official ire in mainland China
NewsHong Kong
Hong Kong’s art world unites as demonstrations gather momentum
The gallery community has encouraged strike action, with many closing to enable staff to join protests
PreviewArt market
Art Busan hopes to dodge US-China trade war crossfire
Free of the high taxes and stringent customs of mainland China, the fair adds to a burgeoning art scene in South Korea's second largest city
ReviewExhibitions
Liu Xia, widow of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, gets first show in Asia since release from house arrest
Exhibition at Taipei Museum of Contemporary Art reveals grief of families of political prisoners
ReviewArt market
Expanded Art Chengdu bucks slowing Chinese economy
Second edition of fair moves from tent to bricks-and-mortar in western China's 'skyrocketing' city
NewsProtest art
Stars Art Group, China's artistic freedom fighters, celebrate 40th anniversary
History repeats for avant-garde Beijing artists reflecting on groundbreaking exhibition and protests in 1979
NewsArt Basel in Hong Kong 2019
Brisk sales at satellite fair Art Central Hong Kong despite economic downturn
Upbeat mood at harbourfront fair despite a "recent slow market in the region," founder says
InterviewPainting
Liu Xiaodong: an interview with China’s great documentary painter
The artist on portraying ordinary people and travelling the world with a “local spirit”
InterviewCommercial galleries
Five minutes with… Brett Gorvy on the Asian art market
Lévy Gorvy launches its Hong Kong space with a group show exploring how nature and tradition have provided comfort in turbulent times
NewsCensorship
Self-censorship on the rise as Hong Kong grows closer to China
Artists voice concern for Hong Kong’s artistic landscape amid so-called “mainlandification” of the SAR
PreviewArt Basel in Hong Kong 2019
US-China tension creates buyer’s market in Hong Kong
Despite a burgeoning arts scene in the city, worries persist that the trade war and economic uncertainty could affect business at Art Basel in Hong Kong
NewsOpenings
Collector Qiao Zhibing's delayed Tank Shanghai museum opens on West Bund waterfront
The reborn oil tanks host shows by teamLab, Adrián Villar Rojas and assorted Chinese artists
NewsLiu Ye
Liu Ye announced as David Zwirner's first Chinese artist following gallery's Hong Kong expansion
Zwirner plans to hold a solo exhibition of Liu's work in New York next year
NewsChina
Is Budi Tek's Yuz Museum branching out?
The Indonesian-Chinese collector, who is behind the Shanghai institution, recently partnered with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
NewsBiennials & festivals
Singapore Biennale to look on the bright side of life
Exhibition in November "puts its faith squarely in the potential of art to rework the world”
NewsArt market
Taipei Dangdai attracts cautious but ‘committed’ local collectors in its first edition
Dealers report a high rate of works on reserve amid some strong sales at the launch of Taiwan’s new contemporary art fair
NewsArt fairs
Inaugural Taiwan and Singapore fairs shrug off the gloom
Economic doldrums and stiff competition do not deter Taipei Dangdai and SEA Focus, but Art Stage Singapore is cancelled at the eleventh hour
NewsArt fairs
Art Stage Singapore cancelled
Fair director Lorenzo Rudolf says the "given circumstances" leave no other choice
ReviewBiennials & festivals
Environmental issues grow on the Taipei Biennale
Co-curators Mali Wu and Francesco Manacorda have invited Taiwanese indigenous land right protesters to occupy parts of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum
NewsLGBTQ
Largest exhibition of LGBTQ art in Asia to open in November
The collaboration between Sunpride Foundation and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre explores issues of inclusion in ‘Asia’s Gay Capital’
NewsChina
'Hundreds' of cultural figures caught up in China’s Uyghur persecution
Most of the north-west Chinese region's Uyghur writers, artists and scholars have already been imprisoned
NewsArt market
Censorship could stifle China's art market
Under president Xi Jinping's increasingly stringent regime, galleries must negotiate a slow and capricious approval process to show works of art
NewsChina
Pompidou pops up in Chengdu but 'is not considering a permanent presence'
French museum takes Cosmopolis biennial platform to southwestern China less than a year before Shanghai outpost opens
AnalysisArt market
Is Hong Kong 'the problem solver for the global art industry'? Fine Art Asia's director thinks so
Andy Hei says tax advantages and broad Asian clientele help keep city's edge of Mainland China—but he is not deterred from holding Beijing fair this month
ReviewGwangju Biennale
Gwangju Biennale's 11 curators delve into South Korea's hidden traumas
The theme of Imagined Borders addresses the fraught relationship with the North as well as global tensions surrounding migration and identity
NewsChina
Chinese curator and critic Li Bowen resigns editor post following anonymous allegations
Highlighting a “gray area between morality and law”, a WeChat user has accused Li of a pattern of emotional abuse and deceptive behaviour
AnalysisArt market
Fair’s fair? The murky world of stand costs
Research by The Art Newspaper uncovers wide disparity in both fee structures and transparency
News
Cao Fei gets double exposure with two exhibitions on home territory
Show at Hong Kong's Tai Kwun is artist's first major retrospective in greater China
News
Beijing's Ullens Center for Contemporary Art to open 'Guggenheimian' second museum
New space, with portions burrowed under the sand, will be located by the Bohai Sea shoreline
NewsActivism
Philippines Supreme Court upholds conviction of artist-activist Carlos Celdran for 'offending religious feelings'
Case against Filipino artist who protested in support of reproductive rights in Manila Cathedral, continues as solicitor general asks court to reconsider
News
Construction of Hong Kong's M+ Museum will not be delayed after main contractor fired
West Kowloon Cultural District terminated Hsin Chong's contract on the grounds of insolvency
News
Chengdu MoCA quashes rumours of demise but its problems are endemic in China’s art museums
Institution’s difficulties echo experiences of other new Chinese cultural spaces linked to property developments
NewsAi Weiwei
Chinese authorities demolish Ai Weiwei's studio in Beijing
The space is latest artistic casualty in the city's gentrification campaign
NewsArt market
Beijing’s Caochangdi galleries given two weeks’ notice to relocate ahead of demolition
Among those affected are the Hong Kong-based de Sarthe Gallery, which opened in Beijing in 2014, and X Gallery
News
Three Chinese cities in the running to host Musée Rodin outpost
Paris museum will lend the new space more than 100 of the artist’s works
NewsArt Basel 2018
ShanghArt and Waldburger Wouters to open project space during Art Basel
This will be the first time a major Chinese gallery has opened a space in Europe
NewsArt market
Zao Wou-Ki dominates Hong Kong auctions
Chinese-French Modern master continues to lead Chinese Modern art market
NewsOpenings
Hong Kong museums scene finally on the rise, as Central Police Station opens
Long-awaited Tai Kwun complex will give local artists a world-class exhibition space
NewsChina
Massive arts district to launch in 2019 in valley near Beijing
“Eco-city” announced at Venice Architecture Biennale will include a museum, artists’ studios and an art park
NewsArt market
Art Stage Jakarta 2018 cancelled amid unrest in Indonesia
Organisers cite the Asian Games and country's presidential election next April as reasons for the decision, but say fair will return in 2019