HONG KONG.- Deutsche Bank and ART HK today announced that Deutsche Bank has signed an agreement to be the lead sponsor of ART HK for an initial period of up to 5 years. ART HK is Hong Kong’s largest and most important annual international art fair.

Michael West, Deutsche Bank’s Head of Communications for Asia Pacific said, “Our sponsorship of ART HK is a reflection of both the scale and growth of Deutsche Bank in the Asia Pacific region and our longstanding global commitment to the arts. The success of ART HK in 2008 and 2009 demonstrates the high level of demand for a world-class art fair in the region.”

Magnus Renfrew, Fair Director, ART HK said, “Deutsche Bank’s involvement is a ringing endorsement of the solid foundations that we have laid in Asia to date. Our shared vision and active partnership will bring us one step closer to further affirming ART HK’s position as one of the leading art fairs.”

Back for its third year, ART HK 10 will be held from May 27 through 30, 2010 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) coinciding with the major art auctions in the city. In 2009, ART HK hosted 110 galleries from 24 countries, and received 27,856 visitors over the course of four and a half days, an increase of 31% on the inaugural Fair held in 2008. Exhibitors at ART HK 09 reported steady sales with several million US dollar transactions taking place, as well as many more affordable works being purchased by first time collectors.

Renfrew continued, “Globally, galleries are looking for new opportunities to expand their markets and increasingly are looking towards Asia. ART HK is now well established as a high profile fair with proven high quality attendance and solid sales results.”

This year’s Fair attracted a balanced mix of established international collectors including private collectors, foundations, curators, dealers and museums. ART HK 09 also provided an intellectual and cultural platform for a series of successful and engaging discussion-based forums such as Asia Art Archive’s Backroom Conversations and Build Your Dream Museum, as well as Intelligence², a leading global medium for intellectual and cultural debates.

Deutsche Bank’s sponsorship of ART HK extends its global commitment of promoting cultural vibrancy in the markets in which they conduct business. Under the motto "Art works", Deutsche Bank has made contemporary art widely accessible through its own collection, exhibitions and cooperative ventures around the world for over 30 years. Today, the Deutsche Bank Collection is one of the most significant corporate art collections in the world.

Deutsche Bank also collaborates with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation with the unique joint venture: the art space Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin.