Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc with the art fair calendar and, days after Art Basel announced its postponement from June to September, Tefaf Maastricht has followed suit.
Having already shifted back from March to May, the Dutch fair will now run from 11 to 19 September (preview 9 and 10 September) at the Mecc. That puts it immediately ahead of the Swiss fair, which will take place from 23 to 26 September (previews 21-22 September), causing a logistical headache for any Modern and contemporary art galleries that normally exhibit at both events. Some, no doubt, will be forced to choose between the two.
Meanwhile, Tefaf New York Spring, scheduled for May at the Park Avenue Armory and coinciding with Frieze New York, has been cancelled and will return (hopefully) in 2022.
Last March, there was a spate of Covid-19 cases among visitors to Tefaf Maastricht and the fair was shut down early after one exhibitor tested positive for the virus. The new plan for 2021, a statement says, “results from the foundation’s strong commitment to navigate the year ahead responsibly”. Tefaf Online will also be relaunched.
“The unpredictability and endurance of the pandemic has cast a new light on our work and our lives over the past year,” says Hidde van Seggelen, Tefaf’s chairman, in a statement. “We are confident our decision to postpone Tefaf Maastricht to September 2021 will create the opportunity for both a physical and online fair this year, serving our community and the art world in the best possible and safest way.”