Creo, the London-based organizer behind the ten-year-old Photofairs contemporary art events, has canceled its planned Hong Kong edition scheduled to take place in March 2025, citing logistical issues. First announced in July, the event was expected to add another commercial element to the city’s art market despite a recent stall in activity there.
Focused on photo-based and video art, Photofairs launched in Shanghai in 2014 to tap into an emerging niche accessible to collectors with roots in Asia. In a statement on the Hong Kong debut cancellation, Creo said the decision came after the UK company fielded strong interest from galleries but noted that “recent logistical constraints” made it unfeasible to hold the edition for 2025. (Creo is partially owned by an independent UK-based art fair organizer; representatives for Creo did not further specify the nature of the business constraints.)
“We remain committed to Hong Kong and believe it deserves a dedicated photography platform,” Creo added, saying they have plans to revisit the initiative. The news follows Creo’s decision to cancel Photofairs’ New York edition earlier this year, attributing the decision to a difficult environment in the market for gallerists.
Hong Kong’s art market has suffered a retraction amid a slowing Chinese economy, with auctions reporting higher unsold rates and lower sales figures than in recent years. Meanwhile, other fairs, like Shanghai-based Art021, received significant government subsidies for local editions. Art021 secured HK$15 million ($1.9 million) from Hong Kong’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund for its inaugural outing in 2024.
Despite the two setbacks, Creo is still holding its flagship Shanghai edition, now entering its tenth year, in May, while Hong Kong’s government reconsiders strategies for continuing to build up an arts center that competes with European hubs. At the time that Creo announced the Hong Kong fair in July, the firm said that it hadn’t received additional funding from the Hong Kong government agency that oversees culture.
The cancellation of the fair is just one signal of recent drawbacks in the city’s arts investments. The government’s Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, set up in April 2023, recently underwent an official review of its operations and budget. After the review, the government put in place a new requirement that the committee overseeing the fund prioritize events that bring in tourism and generate some measurable economic benefits.
