Will SeaFair Stay Afloat?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 9th 2008 at 8:02AM

Looks like it's rough seas ahead for SeaFair, the floating art show. Bloomberg reports that Expoships has announced that their first ship, the Grande Luxe, will be holding fewer events than expected. They had originally planned a full 44 week schedule but have now said that the will be taking booking from art dealers for 10 to 12 two week segments, a reduction of about half the planned exhibitions. Last year, the yacht held six weeks of exhibitions.

The 228-foot yacht was built at a cost of $30 million and serves as a floating art gallery for 28 dealers at a time. The yacht is currently docked in Miami for minor repairs but is hoped to start shows again in March or April. Expoships Director Nick Kornikoff has left the company and managing partner David Lester told Bloomburg reporter Scott Reyburn that the are in the contrast of making changes to the original business plan including opening the boat to the general public for certain hours (rather than just hosting invitation-only events) and including more contemporary art. The big question is whether or not the faltering economy and its resulting drag on the art market will end up sinking this ambitious project.

Tags: art, art gallery, exposhps, seafair, yacht