Tbilisi Art Fair cancels 2020 edition with pandemic restrictions in mind

Tbilisi Art Fair, an event hosting thousands of visitors with its focus on emerging contemporary art scenes, will not be held in 2020 after organisers decided to cancel the third edition amid ongoing travel and event restrictions complicating their plans.

Releasing their update to social media followers on Monday, the fair team said they had initially postponed the run - originally planned for May - to October with hopes of COVID-19 circumstances permitting the hosting of the public display.

Citing ongoing restrictions on international flights and still present limits on public gatherings, they then explained their move to not hold the 2020 edition at all.

After giving the situation very serious consideration, we have concluded that we cannot go ahead with TAF this year. This decision probably doesn’t come as a big surprise, but was nevertheless taken with a heavy heart," the announcement said.

The fair's next edition is now pencilled for next year, with the team promising "stimulating artistic program, exciting discoveries and a vibrant art week" for it.

Founded by Kaha Gvelesiani and directed by Eric Schlosser, the fair was unaugurated with focus on the “underrepresented” emerging scenes of the Caucasus, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

With over 8,000 visitors entering fairgrounds over four days of its maiden 2018 edition, organisers hosted galleries and artists from 15 countries for their displays and meetings.