Editor’s Note
The Sixth Shanghai International Artwork Trade Week opens this November, solidifying its role as a major event on the global art calendar. Since 2019, it has grown into a billion-scale market hub, showcasing Shanghai’s rising prominence in the international art scene.
The Sixth Shanghai International Artwork Trade Week (hereinafter referred to as the “Trade Week”) will be held from November 7 to 11, under the theme “Global Art Scene · Art Shanghai.” Since its inception in 2019, the Trade Week has gathered over a hundred top-tier art institutions annually, hosting more than a hundred art events, gradually forming a billion-scale market. It has now become a highly anticipated “Shanghai Time” in the global art market.
This edition of the Trade Week will centrally host hundreds of art events, covering five major art fairs and cultural relic auctions. Among the key fairs, the West Bund Art & Design will welcome 170 top galleries and art institutions from 23 countries and regions and 49 cities, with the world’s top ten galleries all making an appearance. The ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair will feature 125 participating galleries and special projects from 20 countries and regions and 43 cities, maintaining around 20% new exhibitors. The Shanghai Youth Art Fair will present works by over 150 young artists and launch its first youth curator program. The Shanghai International Art Book Fair will present five major exhibition areas, including domestic and international publishing zones and a global museum zone, through “Main Exhibitions” and “Special Exhibitions.”
Notably, the seventh edition of the JINGART Cultural Relics and Artworks Zone will further expand, with an exhibition area reaching 2,500 square meters. Twelve participating enterprises include long-term partners such as world-renowned auction houses Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and the jewelry brand Vmuse. Prestigious international galleries and institutions like Chang Qing Gallery, Glocal Art Project SA, and Hong Kong’s Eastern Auction will participate for the first time.
The Trade Week will also launch new consumption scenes through “Art + Commercial Tourism” integration activities. “Art West Bund” will host “Shanghai Tide & Art Fair × FISE World Series of Extreme Sports – Shanghai Stop,” creating a city-level carnival integrating trendy art and extreme sports. “Art Bund” will organize the “Art Bund 2024 International Art Festival,” covering 34 art venues and 57 exhibitions in the Bund area, featuring street art, fashion art, digital art, and celebrity IP exhibitions. “Art Suhe” will hold “Art Suhe 2024,” linking the historical and cultural heritage of Jing’an Suhe Creek through art exhibitions, flash dramas, outdoor concerts, and other diverse formats, collaborating with art institutions and commercial districts to create网红 city landmarks.
This Trade Week will also focus on the frontier exploration of digital art, hosting the “2024 Shanghai International Digital Music Week.” Events in the Hengfu Music Block will include a global video game music composition competition, crossover music performances, a digital music summit forum, and music tech exhibitions. In conjunction with the “Art Bund 2024 International Art Festival,” AI “Voice of Art Bund,” “AR Art Map,” and “AR Art Installation” will be launched. The Youth Art Fair will create the “Art Spirit Realm” virtual space exhibition. Combined with the “Suzhou Creek Art Season,” the “Three-Body Art Project” will be promoted, and the global premiere of the “First Glimpse of Civilization” Three-Body contemporary art exhibition will be held.
The Ninth Shanghai Dialogue High-Level Forum, to be held on November 8, will be deeply linked with the second Shanghai International Art Book Fair, aiming to build a high-end exchange platform for the global cultural industry. In addition to releasing global indices and professional discussions on cultural relics and artworks, this forum will promote cross-disciplinary interaction through new projects and topics such as art and publishing, and cultural exports.
