Скачать или смотреть Affordable Art Fair returns after online only edition

(26 Aug 2021) LEAD IN:
After being forced to exhibit online last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Affordable Art Fair in Hong Kong is due to reopen on 27 August.
Many museums and galleries around the world suffered huge financial losses after being forced to shut down.
But one British graffitist exhibiting at the fair believes the pandemic has actually bolstered the art market, igniting an interest in collecting.

STORY-LINE:  
Hong Kong welcomes back its annual "Affordable Art Fair" after being forced to exhibit online last year due to the pandemic.
It's the eighth edition of the fair, this time featuring works from 44 local and international galleries.
From light installations and ipad paintings, to more classic mediums such as watercolour and oils, the fair aims to make a wide variety of artworks accessible to a diverse audience.
Bringing the fair back however, has not been easy.
With people in nearly every country around the world being forced to adapt to new ways of living post-pandemic, and governments and businesses under pressure to evolve, the art industry is no exception.
"Since the pandemic, the art world has to be very flexible. Everyone, in their own way, has to be changing in terms of the situation that is presented in front of us," says Regina Zhang, the director of the Affordable Art Fair.  
All works here have to fall within a strict price range to be classed as "affordable" - between 1,000 and 100,000 Hong Kong dollars (approximately 130 to 12,820 US dollars).
Hong Kong-based British artist Gustav Szabo is exhibiting, although he mainly specialises in street graffiti work.
For Gustav, the pandemic has benefited him as it has given people more free time to appreciate his art.
"People are reaching out a lot more, definitely coming over to my studio, seeing me and talking to me. I just see it as an opportunity for people to spend a bit more time focusing on some artwork for home, or just to brighten up the apartment, just invest that time that they don't normally get when they are travelling. So I guess from that point of view, it's benefited me as an artist," he says.  
Artworks by Hong Kong-based British political cartoonist Harry Harrison also feature at the fair.
He is a regular political contributor of Hong Kong's major English language newspaper South China Morning Post.
Barbara Tavernard of Tavern Art is representing Harrison's artworks.  
"When you buy a piece of Harry Harrison, you buy a piece of history. You don't just buy a piece made by a very famous artist - that's what he is, he is very famous. He is well-known around the world. He has won many prizes. It's not just that. You buy a piece of history of Hong Kong," she says.  
Reopening to the public has not been without its challenges.
Overall, Hong Kong has managed to maintain a comparatively low death death, with 212 killed by the coronavirus.
But while some countries have almost completely done away with social distancing measures, in Hong Kong they've remained in place.
Visitors to the art fair must adhere to fixed entrance times and stay at least one metre away from one another.
In spite of the difficulties, exhibit organisers believe the excitement of seeing the galleries teeming with people again trumps the large audience reach that digital displays gain.
The Affordable Art Fair runs from 27 to 29 Aug at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

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