HONG KONG.- The inaugural Art Central welcomed almost 30,000 art collectors, buyers and the public from Hong Kong and around the world, adding a fresh new style to Hong Kong Art Week and immediately establishing itself as the must-see event within the annual calendar.

Art Central took place from 14th – 16th March (preview 13th March) at Central Harbourfront, in a 10,000 sq.m tent designed by award winning architects, Stiff & Trevillion – the largest structure of its kind to be erected in Hong Kong. With 77 galleries exhibiting work by more than 400 artists, along with a vibrant educational program of talks and tours, Hong Kong graffiti art and ambitious installations, it proved to be a compelling and popular addition to Hong Kong’s booming art week, completed by Hong Kong’s hottest pop-up restaurant The Continental.

Top collectors from Hong Kong and around the world descended on the fair, including art collector Alan Lau who said, “I believe Art Central marks a very exciting development for the Hong Kong art scene. The custom-built space is a new landmark and focal point for Hong Kong to build a collective identity, whilst asserting its presence within the international contemporary art market.”

Tim Etchells Co-Founder of Art Central commented, “The amazing turnout has confirmed our belief that Hong Kong was ready for an international standard satellite fair. The feedback that we’ve received has been extremely positive from both visitors and exhibitors, with participating galleries reporting strong sales.”

“We are delighted that people are pleased with the investment in the style and visitor experience. It has re-energised people and attracted a diverse visitor mix. We have big plans for the growth of Art Central and are looking forward to the 2016 fair,”

Wonjoon Lee of GALLEY HYUNDAI from Korea said, “It’s always a risk coming to a new fair but it has just been so nice being here. The organisers have done well in attracting the right people – there have been really good collectors, with a lot of new collectors for us to meet, including some of the best collectors from Europe. We’ve sold major pieces at Art Central.”

Marc Straus, owner of gallery MARC STRAUS of New York said, “I’ve exhibited at a lot of art fairs, and Art Central is an unprecedented first fair. Well done to the team behind this who selected a really great list of galleries. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to show what we have, and we now have a big waitlist for works. It’s been a huge success; we are delighted that people have embraced our artists.”

Richard Koh owner of Richard Koh Fine Art from Kuala Lumpur said, “We’ve seen a intelligent, sophisticated crowd come through the fair. We’ve sold almost all of our pieces and even brought more works over to the fair to cater to the demand. Art Central has exceeded our expectations and we are already looking forward to next year.”

Angela Li of Hong Kong gallery Contemporary by Angela Li said, “People have been commenting about what a great young, energetic and welcoming experience Art Central is. The weekend was incredibly busy and we have sold really well to top collectors from Hong Kong and China, and also to international collectors.”

Lee Cavaliere of the Fine Art Society in London said, “We’ve had huge crowds come through with some really interesting people, good conversations and great sales. Buyers are being brave and considered. We have connected with a huge amount of new buyers. We didn’t really know what to expect but our artist Jacky Tsai who is a Mainland Chinese artist based in London has been a runaway success with significant sales over the past few days.”

Fred Scholle of Gallery Du Monde said “Art Central was far beyond what we expected. We sold out of all Li Hao’s works on the second day and brought in four additional works which also sold out immediately. We made the correct decision to go with Art Central.”

Johnny Davies of Flowers gallery London said, “Art Central has managed to attract the same quality of collectors as Art Basel. We’ve had moderate to strong sales to Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese buyers’

Art Central was brought to Hong Kong by the team behind ART HK, which went on to become today’s Art Basel. Tim Etchells, Sandy Angus and Will Ramsay, founders of ART HK, and Charles Ross who was Managing Director of ART HK, oversaw the new fair.

Art Central was headed by Fair Co-Directors Eve Share Banghart and Maree Di Pasquale who brought impressive global art fair experience to the team. Eve Share Banghart joined ART HK in 2009 and went on to become Gallery and Project Manager for Art Basel. Maree Di Pasquale is the former Melbourne Art Fair Assistant Director, having previously worked on the launch of Sydney Contemporary.

“Art Central was a true success in this, its inaugural year. We are proud of the quality of work brought by our exhibiting galleries, and the acknowledgement that we have received from collectors and art lovers alike,” said Eve Share Banghart.

Hong Kong artist Vivian Poon, shown by Mur Nomade, was awarded the Rise Award sponsored by J.Crew. The Rise Award recognizes the exceptional work of an emerging artist shown within this sector dedicated to galleries established in the last five years, and positions them as a talent to look out for.

“Art Central offered an incredibly strong educational and cultural program with an engaging talks series from The Asia Society Hong Kong Centre along with tours led by SCAD HONG KONG and Art Loop, as well as interactive activities from The Sovereign Art Foundation and inspiring performances of “Ink in Motion” by Cindy Ng. We look forward to building on this program even further next year,” said Maree Di Pasquale.

Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board commented, “Swarovski is proud to have partnered with Art Central on its hugely successful inaugural show, a welcome addition to Hong Kong’s vibrant cultural calendar which provides an exciting new platform for showcasing the next generation of creative talents. We are thrilled to have collaborated with Joyce Wang in realizing her creative vision for ‘Oculus’, an extraordinary technical achievement which captures and refracts the light emitted by 360 crystal chatons within a pure form of incredible beauty and luminosity.”

The 2016 dates for Art Central will be announced later this year.