2013 was a special year for ART MOSCOW – the fair was held in a completely renewed format. Organizers listened to the criticism of previous years about the art quality and the contemporary art market in Russia and decided to close the fair in its traditional format. The major reason of this reformation was an insufficient number of high-quality applications. Due to objective factors, the Expert Council declined the majority of applications. Artworks that were too mainstream and commercial were starting to take over the fair. Because of this, the best solution was to change the fair concept.

During the past 17 years, ART MOSCOW has formed a core of established galleries who present very high-quality art. Unfortunately, their number is insufficient to keep the main exhibition area in traditional format. For this reason, instead of inviting galleries which fail the high requirements and bring the overall quality of the fair down, the organizers have chosen to go with a new format.

New Platform was launched as a parallel event to the traditional Art Moscow for the third floor of the Central House of Artists in winter. It was designed for young galleries that are less likely to follow market trends, are innovative, and more open to experimentation. The three main conditions were chosen to determine the participation in New Platform: a gallery should be less than 3 years old, it must have never participated in Art Moscow before, and it must not sell artwork for more than ?5000.

New Platform changed its status as a “parallel event” and instead became the heart of the new Art Moscow. Art Moscow stays as a platform for contemporary art and art market development in Russia, and changes over time. The main mission of the fair is to support young artists, curators and gallerists, as well as to extend non-commercial projects, contribute to the spread contemporary art knowledge, extend regional presence at the fair and promote art accessibility for society.