
The event was set for 4 – 8 October at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, which is not renewing the fair’s tenancy agreement after 2012. Art London has been running annually since 1999 and Event understands it will now no longer continue.
A statement on Art London’s website said: "It is with great sadness that Art London has announced it will not be taking place in 2012.
"The fair has had longstanding issues with the local council’s planning restrictions, going back as far as 2003. These have been exacerbated by the venue’s decision not to renew the fair’s tenancy agreement after 2012. Once this became common knowledge, and without a confirmed alternative location, Art London’s commercial position became hard to maintain."
Visitor figures for last year's event were 15,300 and more than 70 galleries from around the city took part.
The statement added: "Art London thanks its visitors for their loyalty and enthusiasm, many of them citing Art London as their favourite art fair. They are especially proud to have been amongst one of the first fairs globally to introduce the concept of a solo or themed show on an exhibition stand, with a single hang and a clean look."
Ralph Ward-Jackson, founder and chairman of Art London, said: "When I launched Art London in 1999 it was a small fair with a mere 28 exhibitors, and we took this to over 90, many of them international. Likewise, the number of visitors increased from 6,000 to over 16,000. We are proud of the fair’s achievements and of its contribution to the vibrant London art scene. We hope that a little piece of Art London will live on in the homes of those lovers of beauty who treasure the artworks they discovered there."
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