Continues from January 2nd.

A corner titled "Encontour" was set up between the gallery booths, where large-scale installations by 17 artists and groups, curated by Hasegawa Yuko, chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, took over the space. Benches were set up around the area, allowing visitors to take a break from the information-packed booth exhibits.

Another feature that set this fair apart from other art fairs was the numerous talk and debate sessions held within the venue.

One debate, sponsored by The New York Times, on the topic of "Is the art market sufficient to determine the value of art?" attracted particular attention. Moderated by Artforum magazine's Charles Guarino, the event featured Jeffery Deitch, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), representing the gallerist's perspective; Amy Cappellazo of Christie's, representing the market; Matthew Collings, representing the critics; and Rirkrit Tiravanija, representing the artists' perspective. Each speaker discussed the relationship between art and the market, engaging the audience in a lively discussion. Additionally, various talk sessions hosted by the Asia Art Archive provided in-depth and lively discussions on the current global art landscape from academic and journalistic perspectives. This was the first Art Basel in Asia, attracting over 60,000 visitors. What was particularly striking was the large number of works by Japanese artists on display. Not only were there works by Japanese galleries, but also by Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, and Kohei Nawa, all lined up in booths here and there. The presence of Japanese members on the fair's selection committee and curators also indicates Japan's strong presence in the Asian contemporary art market.

If the art industry, centered around the two poles of Europe and the United States, expands to include Asia and the Middle East, which have strong market potential, as the third and fourth poles, the Japanese art world will likely occupy an important position.