Uncategorized
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment
Fair Thee Well
Can art dealers evolve beyond the gallery-space owning model into something different? That’s beginning to be a concept for survival in the coming art crunch. Here’s Colin Gleadell’s take on the concept from the Telegraph:
The proliferation of art and antique dealers’ fairs has been one of the chief characteristics of the art boom, but will they succumb to the pressures of a recession? Sales were noticeably weaker at the recent leading contemporary art fairs, Frieze and Art Basel Miami Beach, and last month it was announced that the 13-year-old International Asian Art Fair, due to be held in New York in March, had been cancelled. Exhibitors were “in panic mode”, said its London-based organiser Anna Haughton, “so we decided to put it on hold”.
But the fair phenomenon, which grew out of the need for dealers to compete with the ever-expanding range of the auction rooms, is now deeply entrenched as a concept for convenient one-stop shopping and has become a key source of income for dealers. Some even think that doing fairs is more important than keeping an art gallery or antique shop open. [emphasis added]
So, although there may now be too many fairs, and some may fall by the wayside, those that adapt to the new economic reality can survive. [ . . . ]
In New York, the Outsider Art Fair this month and the Works on Paper fair in February are going ahead as planned, and all 70 stands for the American Art Dealers’ Association fair, The Art Show, next month have been booked, with a waiting list in case anyone drops out. For the time being, at least, it looks as if dealers are backing the fairs, and that the cancellation of the International Asian Art Fair is just an isolated case.
All’s Fair As Crunch Bites (Telegraph)
Also of Interest:
- All’s Fair
Of all the changes the art market boom brought about, the importance of art fairs may turn out to be... - How the Affordable Art Fair Makes So Much Money
The Telegraph tells the story of the Affordable Art Fairs which grew from a local operation into a multi-national effort... - The Fair Truth
Carol Vogel looks at the pressures facing art fair organizers and discovers that galleries might not have recovered as quickly... - Fair Weather Friends
Jonathan Melber has a brief history of the Armory Show fair in his Huffington Post piece: That was in 1994,... - Fair Man
Lorenzo Rudolf takes a break from working on Art Stage Singapore to try his hand at revitalizing a fair in...
So many dealers are slow-moving trend followers. Those that are innovative have a chance of succeeding.
For over a decade, the traditional gallery model has been unraveling – mostly because of the internet.
Dealers have guarded their client list, contacts and strategy for far too long. With websites, collectors can find artists directly. And artists can easily send jpegs to a growing client list, or being better educated, make appropriate demands of their dealers.
With an economic downturn and the cessation of easy-money sales galleries can little afford the protectionist attitudes they’ve proffered historically.
I thought the lead to this article was going to reveal the innovative strategies select dealers were employing.
Participating in art fairs is an insufficient response. Dealers are going to need allies and their best option is to collaborate with their artists – unless the dealers are clueless as to how to cooperate – to present art in new and/or unusual venues, to present art that is relevant and properly priced. Now is not the time for hyperbole – it is a time for value.
Collectors often have a “disease.” They need to acquire. However, they have no need to acquire expensive or overpriced art. Good art at good prices will fill the bill.
Survival for galleries is a definite possibility, but it’s going to take substance, integrity and creativity – things not all dealers know much about.