Despite new autumn slot, Tokyo Gendai remains a largely local affair

"The fair's cofounder Magnus Renfrew says feedback for the first two editions was that the original early July date was "suboptimal" for European and American dealers and collectors, plus the humid summer climate was a deterrent. The cooler autumn season brings more overlap with other cultural events in Japan, and the fair week also overlapped with a major survey of Japanese contemporary art at the National Art Center, Tokyo and openings at Tokyo gallery compound Terrada Art Complex."

"Still, the new date falls two months before Japan's main cluster of art events, Art Week Tokyo and Art Collaboration Kyoto in November. Renfrew says the organisation opted against the late autumn season due to space availability and international schedule conflicts. "Galleries feel that it's while it's busy for them to have two weeks of art fairs back-to-back," after Seoul, "it is actually, for those traveling from further afield, more convenient.""

"Renfrew says the "vast majority" of collectors are local, mainly from Yokohama, Tokyo and other nearby cities. "The natural catchment area for Japan is, of course, Japan itself, but then Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and mainland China all within striking distance." Major Asian collectors this year included Jam Acuzar, the founder of Bellas Artes Projects in the Philippines and Patrick Sun, the Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand-based founder of the Sunpride Collection."

Tokyo Gendai shifted its third-edition dates to early autumn (11–14 September) and recorded mixed sales against a slow local and international economy. The fair moved from July in Yokohama to avoid humid summer conditions and to better accommodate European and American dealers and collectors. The new schedule ran shortly after Frieze Seoul and before the Aichi Triennial and Go for Kogei, and overlapped with major exhibitions at the National Art Center and openings at Terrada Art Complex. Organisers avoided late autumn because of space limits and international schedule conflicts. The majority of collectors were local, with notable Asian collectors attending.

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