Eastward bound via Paris and Marrakech

To the East we go! As I've mentioned before, Paris and above all the East (Beijing, Hong Kong, Russia) are the new hotspots in the art world. Not only are the traditional art centers in the West feeling the pressure to compete with their younger Eastern counterparts, a taste for the East has also been palpable in recent auctions with a growing contingent of buyers demanding Chinese art. Below are a few recent links on the emergence and growth of thriving new markets.

• PARIS. France's "premiere" art fair: FIAC. The five best booths according to ARTINFO.
• MARRAKECH. "Morocco is developing economically and will be very important in the Middle East." It only makes sense then that it should get its first art fair in Marrakech.
• DUBAI. Mahmoud Said's 1929 painting sold for $2.5 million at Christie's Dubai, setting a world record for Middle Eastern Art. The modern and contemporary auction netted $14 million, far exceeding the estimate of $6.7 million.
• BEIJING. Poly auctions opens fall season with strong sales of diverse Chinese antiquities.
• SHANGHAI. "Dizzying array of art" at the Shanghai Biennale.