Economics
Small but mighty: sales under $10,000 defy market
The lower-priced sector is also the fastest growing, doubling over the past decade
The arts should be recognised as a key part of what it means to be human, argues a new publication
An urgent treatise on the decommodification of culture by the professor of cultural economy Justin O’Connor
A step backwards for women and an ‘increasingly thin’ top end: five key takeaways from the latest Art Basel/UBS collector survey
We speak to the report’s author, Clare McAndrew, about its findings
What's behind China's spate of museum closures and downsizings?
As the country's economy takes a nosedive, its institutions face fiscal freeze and covert control amid an increasingly chaotic and arbitrary government censorship regime
One in three UK artists say they can't afford to stay in the art industry
The true impact of the cost of living crisis on British art is revealed in a new survey by the UK charity Acme
How will the art market cope with stagflation?
Plus, Spain’s historical memory and a Dürer plate remade by Goldin + Senneby
US art museums generate $52bn in well-being benefits annually, study finds
Every museum visit produces $905 in social benefits per visitor, according to a study conducted at 11 art institutions
'Don't fear recession—it could create the art market’s next revolution'
While auction houses and dealers are increasingly worried of a downturn, a look back to the 1970s and 1980s suggests that their anxieties might be unfounded
Global art market 'beginning to cool’, according to latest Art Basel/UBS report
Total sales grew just 3% in 2022, while China's zero-Covid policies saw UK overtake it as second-biggest market
Visual and performing artists have struggled to recover from the pandemic, analysis of California’s creative economy shows
Fine and performing artists contributed $34.9bn to California’s economy in 2021, according to Otis College of Art and Design’s latest annual report, far less than workers in media and even architecture
Museum Association demands that UK government invest in institutions as cost of living and inflation soar
Influential museum organisation calls for a new pay settlement, warning that workers face pay decreases "at the fastest rate for decades"
Frieze announces galleries for London fair in October and doubles down on city's 'global reach' post-Brexit
Amid rising interest rates and continued supply chain havoc, the UK's premier contemporary art fair resolves to celebrate the capital's position as an "international centre"
How auction houses became the big winners of the pandemic
With the forced shift to online sales due to Covid-19 restrictions, global sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips boomed in 2021, with an increased focus on luxury goods as the rich get richer
'Very, very strange and wildly illiquid': Freakonomics' Stephen Dubner on the 'bizarre' art market
The New York-based author has just released a three-part podcast series on The Hidden Side of the Art Market. Here, he speaks about what he learned—and why art is a bad financial investment, but a good emotional one
‘Build back beautifully’: new bill aims to support arts jobs with $300m federal grants and commissions programme
The bipartisan Creative Economy Revitalization Act is inspired by the New Deal-era Works Progress Association and the 1970s Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
Further cuts at SFMoMA end its film programme, art loan gallery and publishing platform
Seven staff will also lose their jobs as tightened budgets and low attendance impact operations
New French art market report finds auction sales dropped 19.5% to $25.5bn in 2020
The Conseil des Ventes Volontaires concludes that China dominates global auctions, accounting for $8.6bn of sales and 35% of the worldwide market
Biden wants to boost culture funding to historic levels as part of $6 trillion budget proposal
If Congress approves, the National Endowment for the Arts in particular would see its 2022 budget go up to $201m—the highest amount of government funding since its inception
‘Way too close to homeless already’: New York’s live models teeter on the brink
Henry William Oelkers, one of the most beloved artist’s models in the city, may be a dream subject, but the pandemic has exacted a heavy toll on everyone in a financially insecure profession
Economic reports reveal drastic loss of arts jobs in the US
In New York, two-thirds of posts in the creative sector are gone, while nearly a quarter of the workforce in Los Angeles has been cut
Neoliberalism is distorting how we see art—is there no alternative?
While today’s art world has been shaped by the prism of price, our current economic model may not be inevitable
Covid-19 impact on US creative economy 'disproportionately' affects fine and performing arts, report finds
A new study from the Brookings Institution estimates losses of $150bn in creative industry revenue while calling for more federal support for cultural workers
Senate investigation finds art market secrecy allowed Russian billionaire brothers, friends of Putin, to evade government sanctions
A detailed report calls the trade “the largest, legal unregulated industry in the United States” and recommends increased transparency and government oversight
Cultural figures discuss ‘Art in the Time of Coronavirus’
The UN-sponsored event led by Christopher Bailey, the WHO’s lead on art and health, included art critic Jerry Saltz, Brooklyn Museum director Anne Pasternak, and artist Mona Chalabi
Great Depression of the 21st century looms over the art market
As the IMF warns we are heading towards the worst economic slump in living memory, the art industry starts to fear a double dip recession
Museums must adopt new models to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic
Institutions need visionary leaders to find ways to adapt to a dramatically altered culture
‘I’ve always been wary of big business’: Paula Cooper on weathering adversity and building better social systems
The veteran New York dealer shares her concerns about the current coronavirus crisis—and what the art world needs to stay focused on
US coronavirus legislation could do more for the arts, Boston museums say
The coalition is asking for $6bn in federal aid, and to permanently expand the charitable giving deduction to encourage US taxpayers to donate to non-profits
With ‘no reserves and no endowment’, Bloomsbury group’s country home needs £400,000 to survive
Charleston, a ramshackle farmhouse complete with painted interiors by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, has launched an emergency crowdfunding appeal
Los Angeles councilman plans to create emergency grants for artists
Funding from development fees would be used to help artists and non-profits by the pandemic instead