Save the Date: VIP Art Fair - Exclusively Online

140 art galleries worldwide will participate in the VIP Art Fair, an online-only contemporary art fair, from January 22 - 30, 2011. Each gallery will show 8 to 20 artworks in virtual booths and store others in virtual back rooms, from which it can bring pieces out to show to collectors. Browsing the VIP Art Fair is free, chatting online with the dealers requires a ticket, which will cost $100 the first 2 days and $20 after that.

"For anyone passionate about art, the Fair is a transformative experience: it delivers all the excitement of world-class art fairs with the convenience and personalization of the Internet," said James Cohan, co-founder of VIP Art Fair in collaboration with Jane Cohan, Jonas Almgren and Alessandra Almgren. "We've invited the most prestigious international galleries, both established and emerging, to come together for an online event, creating a virtual community that will allow collectors, curators and the public to access distinguished galleries and learn about their artists, all with unparalleled ease and absolute discretion."

VIP Art Fair Founding Galleries David Zwirner, Galerie Max Hetzler, White Cube, Gagosian, Gallery Koyanagi, Hauser & Wirth, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Xavier Hufkens, Fraenkel Gallery, Kukje Gallery, Sadie Coles HQ and James Cohan Gallery will be joined by other international contemporary galleries.

The revolutionary design of VIP Art Fair allows art collectors the opportunity to view artwork online as never before. VIP Art Fair's technology presents artworks in relation to other works of art and in relative scale to the human figure. Inquisitive visitors can zoom in to examine details of a painting's surface, get multiple views of a three-dimensional work, and watch videos of a multimedia piece. Galleries will provide comprehensive details on artworks and artists, including biographies, catalogue essays, artist films and interviews, and in-depth information that will empower collectors.

One of the many distinct features of the VIP Art Fair is the interactivity between gallery and collector. Each gallery has the ability to hold conversations with collectors via instant messaging, Skype, and telephone to discuss works on offer in the virtual booth. Dealers can also provide access to their gallery's back room inventory, sharing works in real time with collectors in specially-created private rooms on the client's own computer screen.

There are many ways to explore the VIP Art Fair, including online tours which are core to the VIP Art Fair experience. Visitors to the Fair can choose from a wide selection of tours: whether of featured works or a tour created by collectors, critics, and curators from participating museums. Visitors also can design their own personalized tours of the Fair that showcase their favorite works and can be shared with friends or posted in the VIP Lounge. The VIP Lounge is where visitors can watch films of leading private art collections and artists' studios, check out Fair tours created by other visitors, access status updates on art market news, and learn about new works on view in the Fair.