Old and new art worlds meet at London's Frieze Art Fair

The art world descended on London this week for the Frieze Art Fair, with over 160 top international galleries making their pitch to dealers, artists and assorted eccentrics. Alongside the US and European powerhouses are scores of galleries from outside the traditional hubs of the industry, flexing their increasing muscle on the world stage. “The presence of non-western art is very strongly felt across the fair,” Shanay Jhaveri, a curator at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, told AFP on Thursday. “There is a gradual shift that is taking place, there is growing integration of non-western work.” The event at Regent’s Park in London comprises the main Frieze, which focuses on contemporary works, Frieze Masters, which showcases more traditional art, and Frieze Sculpture — with over 1,000 artists on display in total. The event attracts dealers looking for the