World's Up-And-Coming Art Fairs

On Dec. 4, Art Basel Miami Beach, arguably the most important annual art fair to take place in the U.S., will kick off with great fanfare. More than 200 galleries will exhibit works by their most prominent artists, and hundreds of dealers, collectors and hangers-on will be wined and dined by the likes of Vanity Fair and the Miami Art Museum throughout the week.

Basel Miami (an offshoot of Switzerland's renowned, 40-year-old Art Basel) has only existed since 2002, and some art-world insiders see it more as a scene than a fair where serious business takes place. And this year, as the art world finally begins to feel its bubble deflating, business is important. So for collectors looking to do more than swill champagne (particularly those with smaller collections they want to grow), a visit to a less-publicized fair might be a better bet.


That's not to say it's no business and all pleasure. "Basel Miami caters to a jet-set crowd," says David Velasco, editor of Artforum.com, the online edition of venerable contemporary art magazine Artforum, based in New York. "There is a bedrock of serious collectors that attend."

But Velasco says that while he's in Miami for Basel, he also makes sure to attend the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) Fair, Fountain Art Fair and Pulse Contemporary Art Fair: Miami, all of which take place annually in the first week of December.

Smaller Fairs, Bigger Gains
The NADA Art Fair, in particular, provides a forum for new galleries and emerging artists. That means the work is typically lesser-known. But it's also less expensive. Works at Basel sometimes sell for upward of $1 million; at NADA, the priciest pieces generally hover in the four- to five-figure range. Founded in 2002, the New Art Dealers Alliance is a nonprofit organization that benefits fledgling gallery owners, curators and other emerging talent in the industry.

Sam Wilson, a co-owner/director at the Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y., is a member of NADA. This is the second year his gallery--which opened in 2004--has participated in the fair. Wilson says he and his partners chose NADA because of its rigid application process, which provides a sense of exclusivity.

"It's pretty prestigious," he says. Only 88 galleries are participating in the NADA fair; Basel Miami has more than double that amount.

Although he won't reveal figures, Wilson says last year's fair was a financial success.

"We made back all of our expenses and sold about 15 pieces," he says. "Since then, we've definitely made more sales through contacts we made there, and a few of our artists have been shown in other cities in the U.S. and Europe as a direct result of being shown at our booth."

Beyond Miami Beach
Miami might serve as a hot bed for art fairs in December, but around the world and throughout the year there are similar low-key events showcasing modern and contemporary artists.

Even in Shanghai, where the art world is stifled by a 34% luxury tax, collectors are gathering. Those behind ShContemporary, which will take place next in September 2009, aim to show off China's rising art stars.

Although not as many transactions take place in mainland China because of the tax, Velasco says the fair gives collectors in the region a chance to see what's available. They may buy the art later in Hong Kong, a duty-free zone, but the point is that they're buying it. In 2007, $3.3 billion worth of Chinese art was sold at public auctions worldwide, a 29.1% increase from 2006, according to Artron, a Beijing-based art-market research firm. However, that pace is unlikely to be sustained through 2009, if the latest auction results are any indication.

In Europe, the most high-profile fair is Frieze, which has taken place every October since 2003 in London. Created by those behind the high-end art magazine of the same name, this contemporary-art fair features prominent galleries like Hauser and Wirth and celebrated artists such as Garth Weiser--and draws in celebrity collectors, including Madonna.

Fairs Everywhere, For Every Budget
But you don't need to be part of an arts scene to find the fairs--nor do you have to hop on a plane. From Chicago to Turin, Italy, there are fairs for every type of collector, at almost every budget.

In terms of profitability, however, for both dealers and artists, many believe that the Middle East is where it's at. In both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, new fairs are popping up at a clip.

Art Paris-Abu Dhabi, a new fair organized by the government-run Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, features both modern and contemporary art, and appeals to the new wave of collectors from the Middle East. Although Art Paris-Abu Dhabi doesn't offer numbers on how many pieces were sold in 2007, or how much money was made overall, the response from last year's event was so great that the group has increased the number of galleries represented at the fair by 42%, from 41 in 2007 to 58 in 2008.

This year, the centerpiece of the fair--which will take place Nov. 17-21--is the Palace Gardens at luxury hotel Emirates Palace, which will be filled with sculptures by artists such as Tony Cragg and Igor Mitoraj. In the past, British sculptor Cragg's pieces have sold for more than for $130,000 at auction.

Whether you're looking to plunk down $5,000 or $500,000, there's a fair out there that will work for you. And for those with an even more limited budget, there's always Etsy.com and 20x200.com, which sell original artwork and limited-edition prints for as low as $20.

"Once you're out of the main art hubs--New York, London, Miami, Basel--it gets less expensive," says Artforum.com's Velasco. So for the budget-conscious, don't dispel your regional art fair. You might find a valuable piece for not very much money.

Lauren Sherman, ForbesLife, Collecting, 11.13.08, 4:30 PM ET