Tokyo art collectors were out in force as the first-annual Tokyo Art Fair (TAF) debuted this past weekend (Aug. 6-8) at the Tokyo International Forum in Yurakucho. The fair saw participation from 81 galleries and art-related companies.

The demise of Nippon Contemporary Art Fair (NICAF) in the '90s left the world's largest city without an art fair -- a sad fact cited in promotional materials for the TAF. The world's largest art fairs -- New York City's Armory Show and Art Basel in Switzerland -- have rigid selection criteria and last year attracted 30,000 and 60,000 visitors respectively. While certainly not in this class, on the whole, and especially for a fledgling show, the TAF came off pretty well, establishing itself as a comprehensive Japanese art event and positioning itself to challenge the Melbourne Art Fair as a leading Asia-Pacific art showcase.

Many of the TAF organizers were previously involved with NICAF, and the major changes this time round are the institution of a selection committee to weed out would-be exhibitors who were not up to standards and the dropping of the "contemporary" prerequisite for participation. And so we had a higher level of quality than at the NICAF, and we saw a more varied selection of art as well.