Back in March, MCH—the company that owns Art Basel—announced that it would be creating a portfolio of regional fairs through “partnerships with experienced partners and could include joint ventures, acquisitions, and new art fair launches.” Today, the first such partnership has been announced, with MCH taking a co-ownership stake in India Art Fair, alongside the event company Angus Montgomery.
According to a release, MCH Group will own a majority of India Art Fair, with a total of 60.3 percent, while Angus Montgomery will own 29.7 percent. Neha Kirpal, founding director and partner of India Art Fair, will retain 10 percent, and will continue to play a key role in the development of the fair.
Visitors at India Art Fair, 2015. Courtesy India Art Fair.
“We are happy to launch our strategic initiative with India Art Fair, as our first regional partnership,” Marco Fazzone, managing director of design and regional art fairs at MCH Group, said in a statement.
“It gives us a co-ownership position in the leading art platform for modern and contemporary Indian and international art in South Asia. We are looking forward to contributing to the further development of India Art Fair as a leading face-to-face and digital platform,” he added.
“Since we joined India Art Fair in 2011, we have seen significant growth in visitor numbers and sales, with the fair truly establishing itself as by far the most significant art fair in the region With MCH Group’s network and expertise we look forward to realizing the full potential of this signature event,” Sandy Angus, chairman of Angus Montgomery, said in a statement.
Montgomery is also the co-founder of Art International in Istanbul, which announced the cancellation of its 2016 edition this past April, due to the growing violence and unrest in the country.
The news comes only days after Art Basel announced that it will partner with the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, for its first choice in the Art Basel Cities Initiative. A separate enterprise, the program, announced this past March, aims to go beyond the art fair platform to work directly with cities and government bodies. In addition to hosting a unique art program in the partner city, the initiative will bring projects from the city to Art Basel shows.