ARTISTS. VIP Art Fair, the world’s first contemporary art fair held exclusively online, has announced that its second fair, VIP2.0, will be held February 3-8, 2012. Top international galleries will offer artworks from $500 to over $1 million.
Launched in January 2011, VIP Art Fair leverages Internet technology to create a live, online marketplace to view, learn about and purchase artworks by leading artists from around the world.
Fair Director Noah Horowitz explains, “VIP takes the successful model of physical art fairs and opens it to a much broader audience, empowering the connection between the engaged art community and the world’s most prominent dealers.”
Already 100 galleries from 32 countries, including additions from Latin America and Middle East, have registered to exhibit. Galleries include Zwirner (NYC), White Cube (London), Pace (NYC, Beijing), Hetzler (Berlin), Ropac (Paris, Salzburg), Fraenkel (San Francisco), Goodman (NYC, Paris) and Hyundai (Seoul).
The company’s new VP of Engineering Severin Andrieu-Delille states, “At our inaugural fair, systems struggled with high traffic volume, and the site experienced technical issues. In response, we’ve completed major upgrades, adding substantial server and bandwidth resources. Significant load testing makes us confident we’ll meet peak demand, delivering a flawless, content-rich experience for our exhibitors and visitors.”
A new Museums and Editions Hall will enable visitors to purchase editions from top international institutions. Enhanced social media integration with Twitter and Facebook will invite visitors to join conversations and share favorites. The VIP Art Fair will support all web-browsers, iPad, and mobile devices.
Popular features such as interactive Booths and a VIP Lounge will be retained, with enhanced Chat functionality.
Demographics from the inaugural VIP Art Fair show that moving the art fair online is a welcome innovation. The week-long event in January, 2011 drew an audience of over 40,000 visitors from 196 countries who spent more than an hour on the site viewing over 200 unique artworks.
As a portal to the world’s premiere contemporary art galleries, VIP Art Fair enables dealers to connect with existing clients, would-be collectors to discover the art world, and students, educators, critics and curators to access contemporary artists.
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