Art Basel

Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international series of art fairs whose annual flagship event has long been considered the largest and most prestigious fair of the contemporary and modern art market. Art Basel started in Basel, Switzerland, in 1970. Since then, it has added annual satellite fairs in Miami, Hong Kong, Paris and Qatar. The annual fairs bring together galleries, collectors, curators and artists for exhibitions, sales and programming. They also serve as an anchor for numerous other art fairs that simultaneously operate in parallel in the host cities. Art Basel's parent company is MCH Group a Switzerland-based marketing company. Over recent years, the organization has adopted a strategy of moving Art Basel from being a series of industry fairs to being a lifestyle brand.