Concentration on quality
They are benchmarks and trendsetters the world over. The jewellery show Baselworld, the art fair Art Basel and the Geneva International Motor Show hold a unique position.
There aren't many shows from Switzerland that play in the international exhibition league. But the three that do so are undisputed musts in their respective sectors.
Baselworld, "the dream world for jewellery and watches becomes reality in Basel," François Thiébaud, president of the Swiss exhibitor committee, enthused at the close of the 33rd edition of the world's biggest watch and jewellery show early this April. He explained: "The enormous variety on display stimulates new emotional values for the consumer. We notched up very good sales. The relevance of Basel is underscored by the fact that more than 90 % of Swiss timepiece manufacturers are represented there." In addition, producers from 45 countries showcase their watch and jewellery brands, and other labels from related sectors present their precious collections of gems and pearls, for example. Subcontractors from the sectors watch bracelets, packaging, displays, components, tools and machinery round off the nomenclature.
Baselworld is perceived as the most important meeting place for the watch and jewellery industry. "In the region of 2,200 exhibitors present their latest innovations to trade attendees and end consumers. Extending over more than 60,000 m2 of stand space - some booths are multi-storey - visitors will find an exquisite assortment in luxurious surroundings. Many distinguished makers from the watch and jewellery industry even exhibit at Baselworld only," says MCH Swiss Exhibition Ltd. in corroboration of Baselworld's unique standing. What is more, the selection of articles on display is reputed to be matchless, and nowhere else are products from across the entire industry to be found at one and the same place. Antje Heepmann from the editorial staff of U.J.S. Uhren Juwelen Schmuck published by BVA Bielefelder Verlagsanstalt, puts it in a nutshell: "For exhibitors Baselworld is an absolute must - not only can they address an international trade audience there, but many thousands of end consumers as well. For visitors it is a must because they get to see the biggest range of jewellery and timepieces and technical and design innovations." So where's the distinction between Baselworld and, say, Inhorgenta? "inhorgenta europe has a more European focus, it is the biggest watch and jewellery fair in the EU with a strictly B2B character," Heepmann says. Clear segmentation of the six exhibition halls into watch brands, jewellery brands, related industries and national pavilions provides the more than 85,000 retail and wholesale visitors with an overview.
The show could grow and grow. The waiting list is long, but moving forward it is not Baselworld's intention to spread. "Quite the contrary," says Jacques J. Duchêne, president of the exhibitor committee. "We wish to continue raising the profile of our exhibitors and their products."
To provide the fitting setting for this, Baselworld has been subjected to a multi-year process of restructuring and upgrading. Launched in 1998 with demolition of the old exhibition halls and the construction of a new Hall 1 for the big watch brands, enhancement of the jewellery sector followed in 2001. Clear segmentation and a new decoration concept for Hall 2, comprising the Hall of Visions for the most prestigious brands, the Hall of Feelings and the Hall of Fantasies, were put in place.
The installation of a gallery and a new stand construction concept in Hall 5 were intended to further uprate the watch sector in the Hall of Emotions. A year later Hall 4, the Hall of Inspirations for elite and high-end watch brands, was successfully given a new design with a full overbuild. Finally, last year the construction of Hall 6 made the necessary space for the national pavilions available in the Hall of Universe.
The last step: the revamped Hall of Elements. "We are handing our precious stones and pearls exhibitors a deluxe platform. With this clear upgrading, these sectors are being offered an infrastructure within the international watch and jewellery show in keeping with their important position in the market," says René Kamm, chief executive officer of MCH Swiss Exhibition Ltd., of the significance of the concept change made.
Representatives from other countries appreciate the success the show brings with it. Lore Buscher, Regional Director Central & Eastern Europe at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), says that "Baselworld is an important fair for the representatives of Hong Kong's watch and jewellery industries. The watch sector registered very good ordering behaviour, with orders up 20 to 30 % on the previous year." Next time, the international Baselworld 2006 takes place from March 30 to April 6.
The second in the threesome, the art fair with global outreach - Art Basel - has established itself as an annual meeting place for the international art world. It is considered the most famous of all international art fairs. The New York Times lauds it as the "Olympiad of art," the Paris daily newspaper Le Monde as "The best in the world", and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung headlined "Art in its best form", while Vogue calls it "The most beautiful temporary museum in the world". And its organisers MCH Swiss Exhibition Ltd. have no doubt that together with the 51st Biennale in Venice it forms the highlight of the 2005 art summer. For 36 years Art Basel has been the show for modern and contemporary art. Is there a secret to its success? Samuel Keller, Director Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach, says: "There's no secret: concentration on quality, international focus, constant innovation, motivated staff, luck, close cooperation with institutions in the city of art Basel, orientation to clients needs and partnership with the world of art" is everything that makes this fair so successful.
Art Basel presents to some 50,000 artists, art collectors, gallery owners, curators and art lovers what 270 distinguished galleries from all over the world have to offer, representing works by more than 1,500 20th- and 21st-century artists. The strictly adjudicated offering is far from confined to works of classical modernity, also showcasing present-day art, painting, drawings, sculptures, installations, photography, editions, video, digital art, art in urban spaces and - an entirely new feature this year from June 15 to 20 - artists books.
The Artists Books exhibition introduces a selection of noteworthy copies created in the new millennium. They are intended to give an idea of the variety and vitality of this field of collection. "So far, artists books have been represented only marginally at art fairs, partly because art exhibition stands are too expensive for the purpose and not a very suitable means of presentation," the organisers explain. Mindful of this, a special platform is to be created for this rather quiet art form. It is planned to augment the exhibition with informative events and presentations in the presence of the artists.
Around 60 unusual works of art, otherwise hardly ever put on show at art exhibitions because of the spatial, temporal, technical, financial, contextual or conceptual limits imposed on them, can be viewed in the Art Unlimited exhibition hall. Novel and large-format works of art in the form of big sculptures and installations, video projections, murals and performances are being installed.
The Art Basel organisers never lose sight of the young generations of artists. Each year contemporary art galleries are offered a forum at greatly reduced rates, be it Videoforum or Young Galleries, Perspectives, New Trends or Art Statements launched in 1996, to guarantee them international attention.
Over the years Art Basel has become a measure of current artistic production. There, artists are selected for exhibition programmes by art galleries and museums. Art Statements is this year showing international curators, collectors and the media 17 individual exhibitions by young artists from six countries, chosen by the Art Basel Committee from among 218 applications.
That the municipal museums in Basel are staging exhibitions worth seeing in parallel to the art fair and various parts of the cityscape are opening up to art far more than usual, is one effect of such a global leader exhibition. Basel enjoys this - along with the presence of more than 1,500 representatives of the media during the days of art in the "three-country triangle" on the Rhine.
The successful fair grew wings a few years ago, although it didn't quite make the journey across the Atlantic to Miami Beach at the first attempt. Nothing came of its original plans to premiere in 2001, but a year later Art Basel Miami Beach landed right on target. Since then the offshoot has been flourishing, attracting 33,000 visitors and 800 journalists last December. 190 galleries from the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia were admitted. Officials in Basel say the American sister event has had a distinctly positive effect on the parent show, whose awareness level has been lifted enormously in the US and Latin America. Sponsors also appreciate now having a global partner occupying top position in Europe and America. "We haven't lost anyone in Basel - and we've gained a lot," the show-makers maintain.
From Miami to Geneva, where the International Motor Show completes the trio of Swiss events with global pilot character. From the budget-price mini car for EUR 8,000 to the deluxe limousine worth the equivalent of a dream villa - in the Palexpo halls they're all putting their best wheel forward. 75 times already Geneva has acted as the centre of the automotive world for a few days. At the latest edition this March, the currently economically embattled auto world hoped to kindle enthusiasm once again for all that drives and thrives on the roads. "Notwithstanding the unpropitious economic data, luxury is well and truly in again. After a rather weak showing of new models at the IAA, there was no shortage of highlights to admire in Geneva," so motorline.cc wrote after the last motor show from March 3 to 13, 2005. The exhibition is also renowned for its many studies, showing everything that still has some way to go until serial production, experts say. It's a blend that attracts visitors in their droves: roughly 747,000 from 70 countries this year, Geneva-Palexpo reports. And 5,500 of them alone were media representatives!
The motor show in Geneva unquestionably benefits from its spring time slot. "A special feature instrumental to the Geneva Automobil Salon's international position is its annual frequency. For the automotive industry, the International Motor Show is the first major spring event of global importance in Europe, assuming the function of a spring indicator for the entire industry. Correspondingly high is the proportion of international media representatives and visitors," officials from DaimlerChrysler in Stuttgart report. In terms of its image, too, Geneva has secured itself a distinctive profile among the automotive shows. "Clearly defined design regulations on the stand architecture guarantee outstanding orientation and enable visitors to oversee the entire exhibition space from every position," the brand with the emblematic star waxes enthusiastic. Geneva is also a sales show, where those interested can sign up to purchase on the spot. Various special shows, for instance on the themes "History of the Salon" or "100 years Swiss automobile manufacturing", and historical exhibitor presentations on the theme "Image & Emotion" round off an exhibition area occupied by almost all the motor manufacturers in the world. The 2006 International Motor Show takes place from March 2 to 12.
m+a report Nr.4 / 2005 vom 14.06.2005
m+a report vom 14. Juni 2005