![\"From-Basel-to-Beeple-How-will-the-art-world-fare-post-pandemic-rapidnews\"](\"https:\/\/dailyrapidnews.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/From-Basel-to-Beeple-How-will-the-art-world-fare-post-pandemic-rapidnews.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe hubbub that descends each summer on a sleek exhibition hall in Basel, where collectors snap up art and hunt for hot-ticket new talent, is likely to be replaced this year by lines of socially distanced Swiss waiting for COVID-19 vaccines.<\/p>\n
The Herzog & de Meuron building usually hosts one of the world\u2019s biggest art fairs in June, but last year\u2019s event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and this year\u2019s has been moved to September. The adjoining congress centre, meanwhile, has been turned into a vaccination hub.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The\u00a0art\u00a0world is reeling from the impact of lockdowns, travel bans and social distancing, and fairs like\u00a0Art\u00a0Basel suffered more than most. The business of buying and selling\u00a0art\u00a0is having to adapt to limit the damage.<\/p>\n
Global art sales fell 22 percent in 2020 to $50.1bn, UBS and Art Basel\u2019s Global Art Market Report published on Tuesday showed, the steepest market drop since the financial crisis of 2007-2008.<\/p>\n
But the picture was uneven, as buying by the ultra-wealthy, notably from Asia, held up.<\/p>\n
In contrast to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when many of the world\u2019s rich lost money, the super-rich have become richer during the pandemic as financial stimulus and volatile markets served to increase their fortunes.<\/p>\n