Frieze Los Angeles has moved its 2021 fair back by five months as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to reshape the art world’s calendar for the coming year. It is the second major fair to announce a delay on Tuesday, with Art Basel Hong Kong revealing earlier today that it will launch its 2021 edition in May instead of March, the month in which it usually occurs.
In a statement, Frieze, which also operates fairs in London and New York, did not mention the pandemic, though it did mention that the Los Angeles fair will “implement the highest health and safety standards and employ the appropriate policies and procedures to ensure the safety of visitors, galleries and staff.” Its new dates are set for the week of July 26, 2021, and the fair will now be helmed by Rebecca Ann Siegel, Frieze’s newly appointed director of Americas and content.
“Frieze’s strong commitment to the city of Los Angeles, its galleries and institutions, is reflected in the dates and format, as they offer the best opportunity to continue the success of previous editions of the fair,” Frieze said in its statement. “In 2022, the fair plans to return to its regular February dates.”
The fair is to be the third one held in Los Angeles by Frieze. This year, Frieze canceled its New York and London fairs; its Los Angeles edition was not impacted by the pandemic as it was held in February, prior to much of the world going on lockdown. The news comes as Frieze’s New York operations undergo a shakeup: Loring Randolph, who helmed the fair in the city, stepped down from the role in August, and in October, Frieze revealed that the 2021 edition would now take place in the Shed, in an event set to be roughly half of the size of its prior ones held at Randall’s Island Park in New York.
