Art Basel is back and better than ever!

Posted on 05 December 2021 by JLusk

Photos & Story By Rachel Galvin

Art Basel is back. After a break in 2020 due to COVID-19, the uber-popular art event is back with a vengeance. They brought together 253 leading galleries from around the world, representing 36 countries and territories.

This year, some new participants from Africa were a part of the show, adding to its diversity, including Afriart Gallery from Kampala; First Floor Gallery Harare with spaces in Harare and Victoria Falls; SMAC Art Gallery with spaces in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Stellenbosch; and Rele Gallery with spaces in Lagos and Los Angeles.

Due to the issues surrounding the pandemic that galleries were having, they also relaxed many of the exhibitor application requirements, including the minimum number of exhibitions a gallery must hold per year, the need to have a permanent space and the number of years the gallery must have been in operation. The changes allowed the fair to welcome a broader range of first-time participants, including the newly-opened Nicola Vassell in New York and the roaming Kendra Jayne Patrick Gallery.

This reporter found this year’s event to be the best yet as people seemed genuinely happy to be out in public again, albeit still in masks. It was the friendliest Art Basel ever and still brought forth cutting-edge and groundbreaking artworks just as it does every year.

More photos available on the Observer Newspaper Online Facebook site.

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