Head of Frieze art fair hopes for ‘Barbenheimer moment’ with Paris rival

Frieze art fair in Regent’s Park, London, in 2024. Since launching in 2003, the exhibition has become a key destination in the global art fair circuit. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

The chief executive of Frieze has dismissed the idea his fair is in a battle with Art Basel Paris, claiming the two events could create a “Barbenheimer moment” for collectors this October – despite the art market being in a severe slump.

Simon Fox told the Guardian that the fair, which opens on Wednesday, can benefit from having strong competition on its doorstep and replicate the mutual success of Barbie and Oppenheimer at the box office in 2023.