All You Need to Know About Artgenève

At Artsper we love to take you on a virtual tour of every important cultural event in the art market. Together, let’s explore a unique art fair, artgenève!

Launched in 2012 by Thomas Hug on the shores of Lake Geneva, artgenève is an international contemporary and modern art fair. The decision to create artgenève was deliberate. Hug saw firsthand the prosperous nature of the Swiss art collecting community and jumped at the opportunity to foster a luxury art fair. The strength of the Swiss economy and art market proved to Hug that if carefully planned and positioned, another Swiss art fair could successfully take place, even as Art Basel continued to dominate the international fair landscape. The key to this, beyond the target audience, was to tactfully decide on a date in the international fair lineup.

A strategic date and location

Artgenève takes place in January every year, a timeslot that was strategically chosen. It is a date far enough removed from Art Basel and FIAC. As it takes place during the peak of winter, the fair attracts collectors passing through the surrounding prestigious ski resorts. Moreover, the fair’s geographical location is calculated as it easily encourages visitors from Italy, Paris, and German-speaking Switzerland. However in 2022, due to the ongoing and evolving health crisis, the organizers decided to postpone the fair. 

When the fair was initially conceived, many people didn’t believe in its success. This was because Art Basel was at the top of the game, making community figures ponder how another Swiss fair could even compete. This motivated Hug to strengthen the fair’s positioning. As a result, artgenève took on an unconventional but successful approach. Artgenève is a platform that provides visibility for all key players within the European art community.

A different kind of fair…

The fair’s goal is to reach world-class collectors and professionals within the art field, who can utilize artgenève not only as a source to find artworks but also as a wonderful backdrop for international exchanges. A distinctive feature of artgenève is that it welcomes institutions alongside gallery owners. This allows visitors to enjoy a synergy between two parts of the art world that often exist separately. In 2022, Artgenève anticipates nearly 400 collectors, museum specialists, leading art schools, and gallerists from all over the world to attend the fair’s opening night. 

In the beginning, the fair welcomed 25 galleries and has since grown more than twofold. With nearly 80 international galleries and exhibitors, artgenève returns March 3-6, 2022, guaranteeing visitors the most qualitative experience possible. The choice to welcome 80 exhibitors is strategic. As the fair continued to grow in popularity and demand, it could have easily expanded its catalog of exhibiting partners. Instead, organizers capped its total at 80, encouraging the growth of quality over quantity. The 10th edition of the fair will highlight photography, sound art, and an immersive installation by Meg Webster. Artgenève now welcomes the world’s most prestigious galleries, many of whom are also featured on Artsper.

The birth of artmonte-carlo

Artgenève is the mother fair of artmonte-carlo. Artmonte-carlo is an intimate fair that pays homage to the city it calls home, incorporating local institutional exhibitions of the French Riviera and Northern Italy. The motivation behind the conception of artmonte-carlo is similar to that of artgenève. Both fairs provide a specific and luxurious addition to the international art fair lineup. Artmonte-carlo now provides Parisian and French collectors with another art-oriented activity in the south of France at the beginning of March 2022. 

Have you ever had the opportunity to walk the aisles of artgenève? Whether you’re a regular visitor to the fair or simply curious to see what the next edition has in store for you, Artsper has exactly what you need. As usual, our experts have gathered the leading artists and most anticipated works in our artgenève theme on Artsper. Board now for Geneva, without leaving your living room!

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