HONG KONG.- This event, organised by Korean art entrepreneur, Dong Myeong Kim, has been running successfully in Korea, China and Singapore for a number of years and is now, for the first time, coming to Hong Kong. It is planned to coincide with Hong Kong International Art Fair 2013 and represents an innovative accompaniment to this increasingly renowned, globally received art event in which the key players in the art world are involved. Kim is a specialist in the gallery and art publishing domains and as such has particular expertise in both the artistic and commercial sides of the art business. His activities are currently focused on Korea but he is expanding his ambition, with this event, to incorporate galleries and markets from outside Asia into his unique vision for partnership between art and the marketplace.

The most innovative and exciting aspect of the Bank Art Fair is that it directly involves businesses in sponsoring and supporting of the art world in a way that is beneficial and stimulating to both parties. The companies involved in the event will have the opportunity to brand build their corporate image in the art space at the same time and in the same location as the galleries that will exhibit art and promote artists. The event is organised so that part of the cost to the commercial participants will result in them receiving a voucher with which to purchase works of art, thus ensuring that galleries and artists will be direct beneficiaries of the fair at the same time as being offered the opportunity to reach out to a global audience.

The fair will take place in the Island Shangri-La Hotel that has been specifically selected for its generous room proportions, luxurious interior and convenient location, close to the exhibition centre and the city’s amenities.The accessibility of the venue will ensure that visitors are naturally drawn to the fair’s location and encouraged to move between it and Art Basel happening at the same time at Hong Kong & Convention Exhibition Centre. The Bank Art Fair is aimed at attracting patrons, local and abroad, of the arts that are already travelling for Art Basel and who will be enticed to attend by the strategictiming and positioningof this innovative and complementary event. The organisers of Bank Art Fair will additionally contribute to the audience for Art Basel by including its own sponsors, exhibitors and visitors as participants.

As an added benefit to the wider audience, both local and international, Kim and his team have organised the Bank Art Fair into several themes that include the promotion of new and up and coming art. They will accompany their corporate sponsorship deals with the offer of discounted prices for art from emerging talents thus stimulating this field and assisting artists at a challenging time in their careers. As a result of this innovation there will be the extra bonus for buyers,being afforded the opportunity to discover something new in the market place with exciting commercial potential for resale. The fair will also promote the cultural diversity and mutual recognition of participants through the inclusion of art from a selection of schools within the regions involved. This will enable all visitors to have a taste of the countries involved and to further contextualise the artworks, galleries and businesses participating. Both these aspects of the fair encourage business to support the emerging arts, presenting many affordable artworks under USD10,000, from home and abroad.

The exploding art scene in Hong Kong has wide commercial implications for the arts themselves as well as its supporting industries, such as tourism and education. Alongside the increasing economic strength of the art industry and government investment in public art projects; the Bank Art Fair represents a new and exciting opportunity for the city. The fair provides a template for new developments in the overlapping fields of art and commerce at the same time as offering an event in Hong Kong’s calendar not to be missed by art lovers and investors alike.