Armory Show, 2009, via Guardian

New York’s Armory Show will introduce a geographic theme for the March 2010 edition. The first city to be spotlighted will be Berlin.

The fair has targeted key Berlin galleries, and offered them subsidized shipping rates and other inducements, confirmed fair spokesman Giovanni Garcia-Fenech.

Dealers say the initiative was created to beef up a weak pool of Berlin dealers who had initially applied to the fair.

Art fair organizers face an uphill battle in convincing European exhibitors to take part in American fairs. There is skepticism that the expenses are worthwhile at a time when galleries are conserving cash, and American collectors’ appetites for contemporary art has waned.

Yet a well-rounded international contemporary art fair needs representation from a diverse range of cities, including Berlin, especially given the city’s rising reputation as a hotbed for artistic innovation.

In the future, each edition of the Armory Show will have a different focus, moving from city to city or geographic area, confirmed Garcia-Fenech.