Another fair falls victim to the recession

The art market: Chill wind on the beach (New York)
Another fair has fallen victim to the recession. New York's International Asian Art Fair, due to be held in March during Asia Week and organised by the British-based couple Anna and Brian Haughton, has been axed, after they were unable to gather enough exhibitors. "We decided a fair would put an untenable strain on their resources," said Anna Haughton. Financial Times - London,England,UK

The street artist who gave America an icon (Washington, US)
From skateboarder to famous street artist, Shepard Fairey has seen the inside of numerous police cells in his long career. This week his ubiquitous portrait of Barack Obama, which appeared on billboards, T-shirts, hats and magazine covers throughout the 2008 election season, was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
Independent - London,England,UK

Cultural Destination of the Year Doha, Qatar, a New Arts Capital (Doha, Qatar)
Much of Qatar's cultural ambitions can be traced back to its emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and his 26-year-old daughter, Sheikha al Mayassa, an avid film and art buff with a seemingly bottomless purse. (She was the reported buyer of three artworks, a Mark Rothko, a Francis Bacon and a Damien Hirst, recently auctioned at Sothebys for more than $160 million.)
New York Times - United States

London Art Fair (London, UK)
The London Art Fair celebrates its 21st anniversary this week, bloodied but only slightly bowed. The fair, which runs from Wednesday until Sunday at the Business Design Centre in Islington, north London, was launched with great ambitions: to give the flourishing London art scene what it had long lacked - a contemporary art fair of global coverage and appeal. It also shrewdly judged where the big collectors of the future might come from by locating itself close to the City of London.
Financial Times - London,England,UK