Art Basel Wins Paris Slot Over France's Own Art Fair

The French art world was shaken Wednesday by the announcement that the Art Basel fair will replace France's long-running FIAC at the Grand Palais in Paris

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jan, 2022 ) :The French art world was shaken Wednesday by the announcement that the Art Basel fair will replace France's long-running FIAC at the Grand Palais in Paris.

FIAC (Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain) has been running for nearly half a century in Paris as France's leading international art fair, almost all that time at the illustrious glass-and-steel exhibition hall on the Champs-Elysees.

But it lost its slot for the next seven years following a surprise head-to-head competition with Art Basel, the international market-leader that already has annual fairs in Basel, Miami and Hong Kong.

RMN-GP, the French authority that oversees several museums including the Grand Palais, confirmed its decision to AFP on Wednesday.

FIAC had warned of the "danger" of selecting Art Basel, following the unexpected call for tenders in December.

"We chose the candidate with the greatest ambition to take advantage of the singular and specific context of Paris," a RMN-GP spokesperson told AFP.

The decision worries small galleries in Paris, who were strongly supported by FIAC with around a third of the slots every year.

FIAC attracted 75,000 visitors during its last full edition in 2019, and 46,000 for a reduced edition in October due to the pandemic and refurbishment of the Grand Palais.

The RMN-GP insisted that the new fair would not be "just a satellite of the Basel fair" and that it will have its own branding, yet to be decided.

They also vowed to ensure that the price of a stall at the new fair "would not explode" for local galleries.