Brazil ArtFair Plans Debut During Art Basel Miami Beach:
Published: August 2, 2013“Add another art fair to the already bustling lineup surrounding the annual Art Basel Miami Beach fair. Brazil ArtFair, the first fair dedicated specifically to Brazilian contemporary art and design, is planning a debut this December with 40 Brazilian galleries (names not announced yet), at a 38,000-square-foot exposition center in Midtown, near the Wynwood Art District (Dec. 4-8).
‘The Brazilian art market has been growing exponentially,’ says fair founder and partner Michel Serebrinsky, an entrepreneur who resides in Brazil. ‘The idea behind it is to go beyond your everyday art fair. It’s a private initiative for the promotion and internationalization of Brazil’s art market.’
Noting Brazil’s complicated export and taxation systems, Serebrinsky says part of his goal is to target the best Brazilian galleries and ‘to help them to prepare to be a part of a global marketplace.’ This includes providing help on everything from dealing with the ‘very basics’ of paperwork for exports to navigating tax payments made on sales abroad.
In addition to 600-foot booths for exhibitors, the fair expects to have two indoor lounges, an outdoor lounge, a VIP lounge, and institutional booths for sponsors.
The new fair is just the latest sign that the Brazilian market is ready for its moment. Earlier this year, researcher Clare McAndrew noted that Brazil was a relative bright spot in the art economy, though its domestic market remains hampered by the kinds of bureaucratic issues that Brazil ArtFair is trying to address. And according to a study released last week by Latitude, a research platform for Brazilian contemporary galleries abroad, within the country 81 percent of surveyed galleries reported robust growth in business in the past year, with the average rate at 22.5 percent.
Export sales also rose by $8 million, or 350 percent, according to Brazilian government data. And while most of the galleries’ sales were executed within the space of the gallery, researchers noted that art fairs, particularly Sao Paulo-based SP-Arte and Art Basel Miami Beach both represented a factor in the growth of the galleries’ respective businesses. Brazil ArtFair, then would seem to be well placed to capture the moment.“
(Via Artinfo.)