Founded in 1997, Shanghai Art Fair organized by Shanghai Cultural Development Foundation has been in its 7^th year. Since it’s beginning, over 800 famous art galleries, organizations, agents from more than 20 countries and areas have taken part in the lively art gala; there have been nearly 60,000 art works presented and be in deal; about 300,000 Chinese and foreign visitors have attended the past Shanghai Art Fairs with the deep love of art. Meantime, based on the several successful past fairs, Shanghai Art Fair has raised new measures in order to do all it can to be linked with the well-known international art fair’s standard operating model to conform, such as has established firmly the gallery’s leading status in the fair, held Preview Evening Benefit for seeking business, held annual seminar regarding theory of art business, various creative theme-shows have been presented to public, which all have gained full approvals from artistic companions ranged widely.

Along with the art market growing up with fine market environment which reveals vigorous consuming demands of artworks, and be closely related to the domestic and overseas media that give wide range propagandas, as well as based on the organizer’s excellent organizing work, Shanghai Art Fair has been bring exciting news out continuously---the volume of trade has been rising successively. For example, at the 6^th Shanghai Art Fair 2002, Salvado Dali’s one lithograph named “Portrait of Picasso” was bought by a collector; a sculpture “Life” that had already ordered by the collector at the preview evening benefit was sold at the price of RMB 1, 000,000 Yuan; the famous sculpture of Cesar “Thumb” was bought and collected by Zhengda Group as RMB 2,600,000 Yuan, this is another worldwide well-known sculpture settled in Shanghai after Auguste Rodin’s “The Thinker” was bought and collected at the price of USD 1,000,000 by a real estate dealer. At Shanghai Art Fair 2002, overseas galleries also got desirable sales achievement, which the total amount of their sales is seven times over that of the Fair 2001.

Shanghai Art Fair has already become the landmark event of external cultural exchange of Shanghai. Does not only it reveal lively Chinese art market’s development and improvement through the 7 years, but also it sets up a bridge with great affinity between art and the numerous masses. Moreover, it did promote positively to build the city’s cultural attainment with people’s artistic accomplishment improving, as well as guide and popularize to buy and collect artwork.

In particular, since the annual China ∙ Shanghai International Art Festival opened in 1999 in Shanghai, which is sponsored by Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, undertaken and organized by Shanghai Municipal Government, Shanghai Art Fair has been brought into this national class art festival as a main event with its standard of high taste and quality.