September 24, 2021
The Fair Returns: Art Basel Comes Back in Person
After pandemic cancellations, the flagship Art Basel fair returned to Switzerland in person in 2021 — a cautious sign of life for the global art market.
Art Basel in Switzerland is the most important art fair in the world, where the biggest galleries, collectors and museums converge each year. The pandemic shattered that rhythm — until, in September 2021, the flagship fair finally returned in person.
Behind masks and amid travel restrictions, dealers and collectors reunited in the halls of Basel, hungry for the face-to-face encounters that no online 'viewing room' could replace.
Sales were brisk and the mood relieved. It was a milestone in the art world's slow, uncertain return to normality after a devastating 18 months.
Image: “Messe Basel during Art Basel 2025” — Bea Phi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.