Bloomberg reports last years show had some server issues, and the next show is down to 110 dealers from about 130. About 25% of the first fairs dealers did not sign up for the second fair, kicking off on February 2. After the online art show, VIP plans an online works on paper fair followed by a photography fair and a September fair which is smaller, and limited to about 50 dealers. Click HERE to visit the VIP site.
Bloomberg reports on the VIP fairs
Source: BloombergThe world’s first online contemporary-art fair is set to expand with three new events in 2012, following the hiring of a new chief executive officer, director and technical team.
The first edition of the VIP Art Fair, held last January, was billed as an unprecedented event where collectors were able to access 2,000 works and connect with more than 130 dealers from 30 countries. The debut suffered from teething problems such as a jammed chat system.
After that, 25 percent of the first-time participants -- including Michael Werner Gallery and L&M Arts from New York -- haven’t returned. Big names such as Gagosian, White Cube and Hauser & Wirth remain among about 115 dealers signed up for VIP 2.0, which previews on Feb. 2.
“We’ve now hired our own in-house technical team and have completely re-architected the site,” Lisa Kennedy, the fair’s new chief executive, said in a telephone interview. “It will now be able to handle a lot more traffic and many more simultaneous queries.”
VIP will also be holding events devoted to works on paper and photography running from April 20-22 and July 13-15 respectively. A three-day “Vernissage” (preview) will be held from Sept. 7-9, the fair said today in an e-mailed statement.
“The Vernissage will be a smaller, shorter event in which dealers spread the word about what’s new and fresh before the Fall season starts,” said Kennedy. VIP is hoping for about 50 dealers at this weekend event, she said.
The fair has received angel funding from two international art collectors. Selmo Nissenbaum, based in Brazil, and the Australian Philip Keir, have invested a total of $1 million, VIP said in the statement.
Kennedy, 43, was hired in October from Quidsi Inc., a subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc., where she had been executive vice-president of e-commerce. Liz Parks, a former head of sales at Artnet, has been appointed director of the fair.
VIP 2.0 will be open online through Feb 8.
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