Daniel Hug

Around two and a half years ago, we were approached by the Art Palma Contemporani gallery association in Palma about reviving our Art Cologne Palma de Mallorca fair from 2007. So, Ben Agert, Art Cologne director, and I checked out Palma, visited some of the galleries, the new Palau de Congressos in Palma Bay, and, over dinner with Fran Reus, the President of Art Palma Contemporani, Maria Baró, and Xavier Fiol, both galleries in Palma, decided it was a fantastic idea.

I wanted to avoid this becoming a German fair, so we gave precedence to galleries from the Balearic Islands, particularly Mallorca, which has the highest concentration of galleries among the Balearic Islands; then mainland Spain; then the British and Germans, and so on. It was done by invitation only, so we really researched which galleries could be interesting for us and which would make sense.

Very important. Art fairs are built from the ground up, meaning art fairs only function if there is a pre-existing art scene, enough artists, enough galleries, and enough collectors and institutions. Palma is a big city; it even has an Art School, and it has long been a refuge for both native-born artists and artists from abroad. It has a world-class institution, the Es Baluard Museum, and it has a gallery association with fourteen member galleries ranging from young galleries specialising in emerging artists all the way up to blue-chip contemporary galleries presenting well-known artists.
Furthermore, there are many collectors on the island, including people from the island as well as art lovers who flock there from abroad. With the explosion of art fairs around the world to nearly a hundred fairs, all of them have had to become more regional; the times when there were only four or five art fairs worldwide are long gone. Today art fairs have had to reinvent themselves, to rethink their purpose, and the most logical way is to focus on the geographical regions that they are located in. So, the fact that Palma Mallorca has a pretty amazing art scene and healthy ecosystem makes it an ideal location for an international art fair.

Yes, of course, Art Cologne has changed and adapted many times over its fifty-eight-year existence. Probably the biggest change happened when Germany reunified in 1989. Up to this point, Art Cologne was the leading contemporary art fair worldwide. With the rise of a unified Berlin, Cologne and Bonn took a back seat, and Art Cologne had to find other ways of remaining relevant in the shadow of Berlin.

The architect of the Palau, Francisco Mangado, is fantastic. It is such a unique space and location; the light is just amazing. Art Cologne in Germany takes place in a drab industrial tradeshow hall, it’s concrete without natural light in the cold German winter, which has become the industry standard over the years for most art fairs. So, a chance at organising a fair in such a beautiful and fantastic location has always been a dream of mine. It really is one of the main factors why we agreed to do the fair in Mallorca.

The actual exhibition hall of the Palau de Congressos is quite small, so we were forced to use the surrounding infrastructure of the Palau, including conference rooms, hallways, various mezzanines, etc. This gave birth to the idea behind the Parcours area or sector; it also enabled us to offer smaller booths than standard, enabling galleries to take more risk in the type of work they are presenting, meaning if they don’t sell, they won’t go broke.

We, or all art fairs really, have two types of audiences: the professionals and the regular art lovers. The first come and buy or learn about new artists or are curators and directors of institutions. The second group are people interested in learning more about art, not buyers or professional curators but regular folks who want to see what is going on in the art world. There are many more of the latter than the first. If one did a fair and only invited the professionals, it would be pretty quiet and slow. Fairs are not just about selling, but ultimately fairs are about introducing new artists or rediscovering artists.

Yes, the fact that Miró had his studio on Mallorca and lived there from 1956 to 1983 lays some of the groundwork for what we are about, the heart and soul of the fair, so to speak. Another example is Miquel Barceló, who grew up in Mallorca, or Rebecca Horn, who lived her last few years on the island. There are many factors that made us decide to take on the invitation of the Art Palma Contemporani Gallery Association.

I think we tend to forget how small the art world really is. It is a niche segment of culture; there are more music fans out there, more fans of architecture, of film, of cartoons and animation, music videos, etc. We are not about popular culture; we are high culture, and that attracts a small audience across all social strata. No other world blends this range of wealth and age groups together like the art world. The art fair could in fact take place any time of the year; since Art Cologne in Germany is traditionally in November, we wanted to keep at least six months' distance between the fairs. Easter and Passover make sense since many of the art collectors on the island are present over the holidays. The weather is also pleasant, and the island is lush and green.

The first goal is to achieve enough good sales for the galleries so that they are happy and will return. The second goal is to bring divergent groups together to learn about and discover new art in a beautiful setting.

Yes, many. One of my personal highlights is the work of Lin May Saeed (1973-2023), a German Iraqi artist who unfortunately passed away just two years ago. Jacky Strenz Gallery, from Frankfurt, is presenting a solo show of her sculptures, which are made from styrofoam. Saeed managed to create poetic beauty and elegance out of this simple packaging material. 

Ideally. We are already scheduled to take place in April 2027, and I hope to create more bridges to the art scene in the Balearic Islands.