In 2008, the first edition of Hong Kong Art Fair drew fewer than 20,000 visitors. Today it draws around 70,000. Now in its fifth edition under the management of Art Basel — which bought a majority stake in Asian Art Fairs Ltd, owners of the fair, in 2011 — the event’s growth maps the burgeoning engagement of the Asia Pacific region with international contemporary art. That this year only 50 per cent of the 242 exhibitors hail from that part of the world testifies to the fair’s lucrative potential.
2008年,第一屆香港國際藝術展(Hong Kong Art Fair)吸引的訪客不到2萬人次。今天,訪客人數達7萬左右。2011年,巴塞爾藝術展(Art Basel)主辦方收購了香港國際藝術展的所有方亞洲藝術博覽會有限公司(Asian Art Fairs Ltd)的多數股權,在其主持下,如今巴塞爾藝術展香港展會已迎來第五屆。該展會的發展與亞太地區快速參與國際當代藝術市場的步伐相吻合。今年所有242家參展畫廊中只有50%來自亞太,這證明了該展會的吸金潛力。