Overseas galleries at Hong Kong's Art Central are considering keeping their artworks in the city for months after the fair due to soaring shipping costs from the US-Israeli war on Iran. Fuel surcharges have risen by as much as four times, gallerists told the South China Morning Post. The fair opens at Central Harbourfront on Wednesday and runs until Sunday.
Art Central, bringing together more than 100 galleries from Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, the United States, Britain, Spain, Israel and others, opens at Central Harbourfront on Wednesday and runs until Sunday. Overseas gallerists told the South China Morning Post ahead of the fair that fuel surcharges for shipping to Hong Kong have increased by as much as four times amid rising prices caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. They are weighing options to park artworks in the city for months after the event ends. Simon Vargas, founder and director of Miami-based Wolf & Nomad gallery, said he is considering keeping pieces until Hong Kong hosts the Affordable Art Fair in May. Shipments proved difficult this year, Vargas added, with one crate containing a large work due to arrive only on Wednesday, forcing booth adjustments. “We normally send through Qatar, but it cancelled and had the work sent back. Then we shipped it through Amsterdam, which was cancelled as well. We now had it shipped to New York first before coming to Hong Kong,” he said.