If you want something that encapsulates just how central Frieze Art Fair has become to the art world since its inception in 2003, the fact that last week, Tate’s director of collection: international art Gregor Muir wrote a piece swooning over it in a newspaper, might be it.
That kind of publicity, from arguably the most important man in UK museum collecting, would have been unthinkable when this fair opened the flaps of its tent 20 years ago.
I’m not the world’s biggest fan of art fairs. For the average art-loving or even just art-curious punter, they’re not great places to contemplate it; the lighting is a bit hectic, there’s very little contextualising information, there are too many people, and although there are lots of very knowledgeable attendants, unless you are a serious collector, none of them have the slightest interest in attending to you.
And the ticket prices are enough to give an Olympian a heart attack.
But there is no denying, two decades down the line, what the Frieze art fair means to London’s position in the international art market. It cemented our place on the map.
Set up after the success of Tate Modern, it was a triumph from the first fair (which took around £20 million in sales) and began an era of growth that has only been occasionally hampered by the buffeting of financial markets. The inception of Frieze Masters in 2012, which focuses on art made before the millennium, added to its cachet, and made its staid rivals look fusty by comparison.
The influx of international collectors meant that the auction houses shifted their big autumn sales to coincide with the fair; likewise, happily for those art-curious punters, the big public galleries now make sure they have a big shiny show ready and waiting for the attention of all these potential patrons — and the proliferation and quality of commercial galleries in London is exceptional.
Please note they’re all free to visit — you don’t have to be buying.
All art world professionals flock to London to attend, so it also means a boost for the city’s hotels and restaurants.
So I’ll be there, map in hand, for what is one of the most crucial events in London’s art calendar. And secretly, I’ll enjoy it.
