A huge ad of the 4th Shanghai International Artwork Trade Week at Times Square in New York City.

The 4th Shanghai International Artwork Trade Week raised the curtain on Thursday, aimed at enhancing the city's art vitality and openness as an international hotspot for art trading.

More than 100 events, including art fairs, auctions and exhibitions, will the held through November 14. Around 150 galleries, designer brands and art institutions from home and abroad will display artworks with a total value of around 12 billion yuan (US$1.66 billion).

The trade week will follow and practice the city's guideline for the management and administration of private cultural relics trade, an effort to boost and regulate the cultural relics and artworks trading market.

Visitors at the ART021 fair.

Among the week's leading programs are the two fairs: ART021 and West Bund Art & Design. Both will run until November 13.

The 10th ART021 Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair at the Shanghai Exhibition Center features 134 premier galleries from 36 cities in 19 countries.

Over the decade, the fair has provided a global communication and trading platform for galleries, museums, art institutions, and collectors.

Nearly 10,000 contemporary art masterpieces are exhibited at the ART021 fair.

This year, nearly 10,000 contemporary art masterpieces are being exhibited to accelerate the establishment of an art industry scale, consolidating Shanghai's status as an international art trading center.

In addition to top-notch galleries, the fair also offers extensive support and opportunities to emerging exhibitors and young galleries across the world.

Organizers of the fair noted that they have discovered a huge number of young artists and nurtured a lot of young collectors in China over the years. Many promising artists have risen to international fame through this platform. Art which has no boundaries has become a way for China to have exchanges with the world.

A piece of artwork presented by Line Gallery.

"Actually I have witnessed the tremendous development of the fair because I have attended every year since its first edition," said an employee with Line Gallery, surnamed Wu.

He recalled that a decade ago, the fair attracted only about 20 exhibitors in an era when art was not that accessible to ordinary people. But in recent years, the fair has been flourishing with more than 130 exhibitors, and the art industry in China is booming.

This year, Line Gallery has brought a few paintings with distinctive elements of Chinese culture and customs.

"Domestic buyers account for a large proportion," noted Wu. "Last year, we had quite a good performance in the trade, with a total turnover of more than 10 million yuan."

Marina Fedorova's Cosmodreams" series

Sputnik Partners has teamed up with Russian contemporary artist Marina Fedorova to exhibit six artworks from her "Cosmodreams" series. The company is happy to bring this art project to ART021, which it describes as one of Asia's most dynamic, visionary and irreplaceable art fairs.

Augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are being applied in the project to invite viewers to enter a digital and imaginative world that is related to the ideas of Fedorova's paintings through mobile phones and VR glasses.

The artist believes that art and culture can transcend the limits of time and space and inspire generations of people.

"Alice" by Fedorova

Fedorova started creating the "Cosmodreams" in 2017, aiming to offer viewers a special immersive art experience with diverse approaches. The series provides an insight into modern life and culture and reflects the artist's thoughts on technological progress, life on earth and the rising role of women in many fields.

One of her paintings, titled "Alice," pays tribute to Valentina Tereshkova, former Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman to fly in space. The artist's solo exhibition will be held in Shanghai next year.

The 9th West Bund Art & Design, another lead event of the week, sees more than 100 high-level galleries and art institutions from 43 cities in 19 countries. Artists from all over the world are displaying their recent works, including paintings, installations and digital artworks.

The fair has also opened an online exhibition section for international viewers. Artists will also attend series forums to discuss topics on art, design and urban life.