Coronavirus, xenophobia: Can the art industry survive these troubled times?

From Hong Kong to Venice, cultural events have been shut down in the wake of the rapidly spreading coronavirus (Covid-19). Once the disease is contained, what does the future hold for young art capitals, where global interconnection is key to sustaining a cultural economy?

This year began with scenes not dissimilar to a zombie apocalypse - droves of mask-wearing crowds, makeshift hospitals, empty public squares usually throbbing with tourists. The coronavirus has since led to travel bans, stocks falling to the lowest point since the Great Recession and the shut-down of China's massive economy.

Since the World Health Organisation declared a global health emergency, the cancellation of luxury art fair Art Basel Hong Kong and many other cultural platforms across Asia and Europe, including Venice's Architecture Biennale, is unsurprising.

The last cancellation of an Art Basel event - the prestigious commercial platform for visual art taking place annually in Hong Kong, Basel and Miami Beach - was due to the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

However, unlike at other platforms in Europe, coronavirus, wasn't the only nail in the coffin for Art Basel Hong Kong. It had already faced calls for cancellation from gallerists [who pay vast amounts to participate] concerned about pro-democracy protests, and, conversely, pleas from the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association (HKAGA) for outsiders to not be swayed by fear-mongering.

HKAGA, troubled by narrow news coverage, penned a response to international gallerists, a response which Artnet's Ysabelle Cheung writes "points to a deeper divide between Hong Kong-based galleries, many of which rely on Art Basel Hong Kong to connect them to a global audience, and the blue-chip international dealers who've become increasingly vocal about their dissatisfaction with [the] fair ... in the current climate".

With the global death toll from Covid-19 now in the thousands, fears are not all unfounded, but HKAGA has called perceptions of the situation in Hong Kong "myopic", suggesting that this moment can cloud the city's potential as a cultural economy going forward. Just like the virus, myopia and misinformation should not be taken lightly. Stigma around the disease abounds, with Asians the target of xenophobic attacks internationally.

In Hong Kong, beyond this frenetic moment, lies a schism that threatens decades of cultural development. Unlike other aspects of the economy - with Chinese supply and demand affecting the lives of billions of people internationally - the art world doesn't need China, but China needs the art world. Outside influence has helped it expand remarkably.

ASIAN CULTURAL ECONOMIES

British curator Philip Dodd, who has spearheaded major projects in China, presents the cynic's argument that "Western galleries too often see China primarily as a market" - when the money is good they're in, but in hard times, they're not; it's not about cultivating a cultural scene in the East.

Some blue-chip galleries defy this argument, having profoundly invested in the cultural scene and its artists, establishing Asian branches. Dodd himself has supported the cultural economy of China - and seen it bloom.

Over 20 years ago he was exhibiting work in shopping malls because there were, he claims, no real museums or galleries for contemporary art. A shift came when China had to expand from manufacturing, looking towards creative economies, which can be highly lucrative and dynamic. A contributor to this was the establishment of Art Basel Hong Kong - the company's first foray outside of the West.

In 2018 the transformation of Hong Kong's position in the art world was clear, with London's Financial Times writing that Art Basel Hong Kong had become "a heavyweight fair ... fielding some 248 dealers", with its remarkable success "widely credited with a sharp rise in interest in art across the region".

A mere two years later, before the fair was cancelled this February, London dealer Richard Nagy issued a widely cited message to organisers saying: "There is absolutely no doubt in our minds that this art fair is now commercially on artificial life support." He concluded that the "fatally wounded" fair needed to be "put out of its misery".

Another gallerist described attempts at staging the fair as an "uphill struggle" but added that "at least it would have shown if art is capable of taking the measure of a convulsed and convulsing world".

CONVULSING SITUATIONS IN SA

Here, down south, we are certainly often thrown into "convulsing" situations but aren't yet victim to the art world's caprice, having nowhere near Hong Kong's cultural economy. Yet Africa, much like China, has peaked in international interest and South Africa is drawing foreign crowds and what some are calling "art tourism".

And even within our small art community there are barriers and lines drawn - after years of unravelling gentrification, Johannesburg's inner city, despite being home to many artists, is becoming increasingly avoided in favour of the "safer" Northern suburbs.

The 2019 Johannesburg Art Week in September was a boiling point. In Johannesburg's downtown, while preparations for the UNDERLINE Show were under way at the Museum of African Design in Maboneng, incidents of violence erupted due to a series of xenophobic riots.

As organisers of the show, we made the difficult decision not to relocate or postpone because so much had already been invested by us and the fair participants into the space itself. While the inner city was, in the end, violence-free that week, many people have said they avoided it out of fear and continue to be wary of venturing into town.

On the other side of town in upmarket Sandton, the rebranded oldest fair in Africa, FNB Art Joburg, was also happening. The fair is one of the main stops in the South African art calendar and has commercial importance in the local art scene, with a major uptick in visitors. During Art Week, hotels, restaurants and venues are typically booked weeks ahead. Here, there was a protest against a pressing matter - gender-based violence in South Africa.

The march was organised and peaceful and took place a block away from FNB Art Joburg. Preparations and attendance were not massively affected. However, the blurred lines between art and life impacted the participation of Nigerian galleries at the fair. Due to xenophobic attacks in the CBD, which maintained an anti-Nigerian sentiment, some Nigerian galleries decided to not risk coming to the country. There was also the ripple effect of attacks on the South African embassy in their country, which meant many Nigerians could not get visas.

Art is, in many senses, a luxury, and one certainly shouldn't risk life-threatening situations to stage or experience it. But there is definitely a balance when it comes to acknowledging that good art can be found in diverse places that sometimes have major sociopolitical challenges.

And the turbulent times are precisely when artists should be getting to work. Yet, how much can the art community risk while keeping their creative bubbles economically afloat. And what part will perception continue to play in the tempestuous places where culture needs global interconnection?