A piece in Art News this week looks at the continued attempts Art Basel has made to lure galleries to Hong Kong during the trying political climate in the city. “When one sees the images in the media,” says dealer Sean Kelly, “one feels very strongly that one wants to stand for those fighting for democracy and in some cases their lives. But the corollary to that is if one doesn’t attend the fair, one is letting down a much larger percentage of the population who voted resoundingly and definitely supported democracy but at the same time … are people who are trying to support their family. There are taxi drivers, the laundresses, the busboys, all of the people who work in the infrastructure that surrounds the fair who are in dire circumstances financially because of the ongoing issue in Hong Kong. … I think it is a very difficult, very complicated, and nuanced situation.”
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