The Economy, 9 April - 22 May 2010

Liverpool
9 April – 22 May 2010

The Economy is a new kind of Art Fair. It is intended to be the seedbed for what will be an annual art fair, commissioning eight international galleries to exhibit one artist each, and uniquely functioning as a three-day art fair followed by a one-month exhibition. The first four galleries were specifically chosen from the north of England, and were then asked to each nominate a critically distinguished gallery from outside the UK. The Swiss Gallery Freymond-Guth from Switzerland was chosen alongside four others. The Swiss artist chosen to display with the UK Gallery was Elodie Pong – coincidentally and much to the joy of the SCFB, Elodie was to be part of this year’s Art Basel’s Art Unlimited as well.
The Economy aspires to have long-term effect in creating a template for long-term annual activity. In view of the difficulties the Art Market and the Art Fairs have faced in the past two years, it was with great enthusiasm that the SCFB was able to help establish this new kind of event in Liverpool. Besides it taking place in another “cultural hub” than London, it is also a merging or approximation of two ideas – the art fair as one knows it and the concept of a biennial. Merging the two, whilst keeping distinct features of both types of event apparent and transforming it into a yearly event, seems to be the right thing to do and the SCFB is quite positive in believing that The Economy will certainly grow and remain a success in future years.