Eye of the Collector

Eye of the Collector is a new art fair for London which was scheduled for May and has moved the dates to September amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

The fair founder Nazy Vassegh is a London based Art Advisor with over 25 years’ experience in the international art world. She is widely known for her role as Chief Executive of Masterpiece, where she took the fair to great critical and commercial success. Prior to joining Masterpiece Nazy worked for Sotheby’s.

I caught up with the director Nazy, before the lockdown and before the situation was classed as a pandemic, to talk about some of the considerations around moving the fair date.

Eye of the Collector was scheduled for May 2020 and will now take place in September due to the situation around Covid-19, what was the tipping point in making this decision? 

The art world is so global and interconnected that when news started to circulate about the cancellation of Art Basel Hong Kong we began to monitor the situation closely.  As soon as it began to escalate we knew we’d have to take a decision to protect the health and well-being of everyone involved. We’re very fortunate in that the unique nature of our boutique format fair means we were able to be nimble and swiftly communicate with all our exhibitors and partners about alternative dates and re-secure our venue.

How does this change of date affect what you are doing now?

From an emotional and production point of view it’s disappointing to have had to postpone but our exhibitors have been nothing but supportive about the new dates. It will give us more time to plan the details of production and to develop new and existing partnerships. With no booths or boundaries Eye of Collector is an experiential event and we’re working on enhancing the experience for all come September.

What considerations had to be made in coming to the decision to change the date?  

As with any fair there were so many things to take into account but our venue was key. Eye of the Collector is designed to showcase works of art as they might be presented in a collector’s home and Two Temple Place with its history of artistic patronage, is an embodiment of the joy of collecting.

Has the change of date meant you have to change any other aspect of the fair that you had planned?

Not thus far.

As someone who has worked in the industry for 25 years, in your opinion, what are the implications of restricted travel and social distancing due to Covid-19 on the wider art market?

In many ways the art world has been slower to embrace new technologies but this will change and there will be greater focus on digital and online engagement. I suspect we’ll see a trend towards the re-localisation of events and a focus on regional rather than global events.

Follow at https://www.instagram.com/eyeofthecollectorlondon/

Eye of The Collector
Location: Two Temple Place, London WC2R 3BD
Dates: 8-11 September 2020