Tuesday, June 2, 2009

ArteBA 2009

ArteBA is always one of my favorite cultural events of the year in Buenos Aires. It's full of fantastic art from around the continent, and it's glamorous too, but in a way that is accessible to everyone, not just the cultural 'elite.' As a result, it attracts an eclectic, and enormous, crowd every year. There's something to be said for that, because that is not the case with art fairs in many cities around the globe.

I've written about ArteBA before, in this article for ARTINFO in 2006. This year, I covered it for CNN International and CNN.com, but approached the story from a decidedly different angle, as the world's economic situation is much different than it was three years ago.

To my surprise (and theirs), every gallery owner I spoke with told me that sales were strong.

You can watch the CNNI report here and read the CNN.com story here.

And here's my behind-the-scenes report for "Backstory"








All photos by Brian Byrnes.

3 comments:

SoyYo said...

I'm not surprised sales have been brisk. (Great story, btw, I just saw it on CNN.com) Despite the global crisis, Argentina has been somewhat isolated from the effects. Most of the businesspeople I talk to are hurting somewhat, but you're not seeing the kind of mass closings of businesses and layoffs here that you see in the US right now. Besides, as you pointed out, with the art at a $5000 price point, no one is going to put off buying. If you think about it, that's less than a first class ticket to actually travel here from the US or Europe.

El Expatriado
Investing and Doing Business in Argentina

Brian Byrnes said...

Indeed, if you are an art lover, now is the time, and BA is the place to boost your collection. Thanks for watching, reading and writing. I've seen your helpful blog before. I will post a link to it on mine now.

Matilde said...

I am thinkikg to make an exibition of Art in Bs As. Is it easy or too much burocracy?