Shanghai International Art Book Fair opens new chapter

The 2024 Shanghai International Art Book Fair, a highlight of the ongoing 6th Shanghai International Art Trade Week, opened on Friday at Shanghai Tower.

Running through Sunday, the fair celebrates the global influence of art publishing, with 60 leading publishers, museums, galleries, and academic institutions from six countries – China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, and Qatar.

Notable participants include global publishing giants such as ACC Art Books, Thames & Hudson, and Bloomsbury, the publisher behind the "Harry Potter" series.

The fair also features renowned institutions such as the Palace Museum, Qatar Museums, and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), alongside Shanghai's own art landmarks that include Museum of Art Pudong, Power Station of Art, and Yuz Museum.

In celebration of its 75th anniversary, Thames & Hudson is presenting a special booth featuring collaborative works with prestigious institutions like the British Museum, V&A, and MoMA. The publisher, known for its longstanding partnership with artist David Hockney, is also offering a special bookmark featuring Hockney's iconic glasses in recognition of his popularity in China.

Daniele Ronchi, Thames & Hudson's Asian general manager, emphasized the fair's significance as a platform for global art book professionals, noting it's more than just a gathering of publishers, saying it's a vital space for museums, galleries, and universities to come together.

"The scale of this year's fair has grown significantly, with more exhibitors from around the world," Ronchi said. "Also, the venue is great as it's in the heart of Shanghai and well connected to the other events of the art trade week. So, we expect a great crowd of both art and book lovers."

As part of its growing presence in China, Thames & Hudson recently launched a new book showcase at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, in addition to its Hong Kong office.

"We want to be closer to the Chinese market, to our local partners and to the readers," he said, adding that Thames & Hudson anticipates further collaborations with Chinese institutions to bring Chinese art to the world.

The 9th Shanghai Dialogue Forum also opened alongside the book fair.

This year's forum brought together industry leaders to discuss cultural trade, with a special focus on the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations. A dedicated session explored "mutual exchanges and learning" between Chinese and global cultures and the arts.

The forum also introduced several key art report, including the 2023 Report on Chinese Cultural Relics and Artworks Auctions, the 2024 Contemporary Art Market Report, and the 2024 Blue Book on the Cultural Industry of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

In recent years, Pudong has improved services in customs clearance, logistics, and exhibitions. This has helped establish Shanghai as a key "gateway" for international relics and artworks.

Since 2021, FTZ Art (Shanghai Free Trade Zone International Culture Investment and Development Co) has curated the cultural relics and artworks section at the China International Import Expo. This initiative has led to works by artists like Claude Monet, Marc Chagall, and Yayoi Kusama coming to the Chinese market.

From the fourth to sixth editions of the CIIE, 39 exhibitors participated in the section, resulting in the sale of 136 cultural relics and artworks with a total transaction value of 1.835 billion yuan (US$256.7 million).