Wang Jie/Shanghai Daily news

Some call it an art cliche, while others say it's a must-see. The 2007 Shanghai Art Fair may be both - it's also big, busy, diverse, and the place to be seen, to be shown and to make a deal.

This year's fair, occupying 22,000 square meters at ShanghaiMart, features 140 galleries from 17 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany, France, Israel and Russia.

It runs from tomorrow through next Monday.

All the 215 exhibition booths have been sold out; the organizing committee received around 380 applications.

Launched in 1996, Shanghai Art Fair is gradually becoming an important event for Chinese galleries.

The boom in the domestic contemporary art market means there's a lot of deal making. Heavyweight foreign collectors, the predatory "art crocodiles," will be there. Fresh artists hope to be "discovered."

A series of big names in Chinese contemporary art will be represented - Zhang Xiaogang, Yue Minjun and Wang Guangyi, among others. Their works now fetch astronomical figures, making today's Chinese art an investment for the future, and a good bet for venture capitalists.

For example, one of Zhang's canvases from his "Big Family" series sold for US$2.11 million this year at Sotheby's.

But too much emphasis on money is crass, so this year's fair has changed its name from "Investing in Art" to the only slightly more refined "Collecting Art and Enjoying a Fortune."

For years the organizing committee faced an awkward situation as there have been few powerful and quality Western collectors and galleries. This has made the fair seem more like a "self-contained gathering" within the Chinese art community.

However, everything changed in September with the highly successful "ShContemporary 2007," a major foreign-invested art show held under the auspices of the Shanghai Art Fair.

About 100 European collectors, all international art VIPs, flew to Shanghai, all in first-class seats paid by the BolognaFiere Group, the Italian partner of the Shanghai Art Fair.

That five-day event at Shanghai Exhibition Center startled the international art community since its size and quality almost matched that of top art fairs around the world.

"We called that a 'contemporary version' of Shanghai Art Fair," explains Gu. "ShContemporary 2007 actually enhances our collaboration and communication with the Western art community."

A Chinese art industry insider, declining to be identified, says the Italian side made sufficient contributions to cover the license fee for holding ShContemporary 2007, which explains its world-class quality. Otherwise, it would not have taken place, he says.

The local organizing committee is considering scheduling the two fairs next September, so that the "art crocodiles" can visit Shanghai Art Fair after they take a bite of ShContemporary 2008.

"We are embarking on a 'global highway' with abundant sources," says art fair organizer Gu. "We will also promote our fair in the West," he says, citing the Bologna Art Fair in Italy in January.

"I think there will be more opportunities ahead for both Chinese galleries and artists whose work is shown at the Shanghai Art Fair," says Wang Yuhong, a local oil painter. Unfortunately, her contract gallery missed the application deadline and there's no more space. She hopes her work is shown next year.

In order to upgrade the quality of the fair, the organizing committee has set higher standards for participating galleries. The design of the exhibition hall is improved, as are services for galleries.

"The inflow of foreign capital through the art fair can boost and improve the domestic art market," says Zhang Qing, artistic director of the Shanghai Biennale and vice director of Shanghai Art Museum. "The high-level art exchange also shows the improvement of Chinese people's cultural life."

The arts platform, of course, is not a shortcut or lift for everyone, Zhang says.

"Once the Chinese art scene gets fully connected with the international community and as more world-level art events come here, the good (artists and artworks) will be better, while the bad get washed out," he explains.

Date: November 15-19, 10am-6pm

Address: 99 Xingyi Rd

Admission: 30 yuan

Tel: 6236-6888