Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Ars Longa, Banks Brevis

August 20, 2008 by Marion Maneker

How Long Can the Financial Firms Sponsor Art World Events?

Too many financial firms are experiencing exploding balance sheets or facing the threat of extinction. Anthony Haden-Guest looks into the fate of art world sponsorships for Portfolio.com and discovers there’s a good business reason for all of that art world beneficence. So don’t expect it to go away too easily:

Lehman has spent more than $14 million on sponsorships annually since 2002, supporting more than 80 cultural institutions. This year it was lead sponsor of ART HK 08, a new Hong Kong art fair that ran in May.

“Asia is not only part of the emerging strength of Contemporary art, but it is also a strategic focus for us,” Kittredge says. “We have close to 5,000 employees working in Asia between India and the Pacific Rim. And spreading our brand is part of our worldwide business strategy.”

Which helps explain the apparent immunity of the arts programs from the headman’s ax.

Like Lehman, UBS is feeling a lot of pain this year. They’ve got a big art collection and a hefty sponsorship deal with ArtBasel.

A Bear Market for Art Giving? (Portfolio.com)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Emerging Dealers See Swift Sales at an Online-Only Edition of Hauser & Wirth’s June Art FairEmerging Dealers See Swift Sales at an Online-Only Edition of Hauser & Wirth’s June Art Fair
  • Swiss Satellite ActionSwiss Satellite Action
  • Scenes from the Jo'burg Art FairScenes from the Jo'burg Art Fair
  • The Banksy BacklashThe Banksy Backlash
  • Jo'burg Art Fair in One StopJo'burg Art Fair in One Stop
  • Vernissage TV Interviews Heide HatryVernissage TV Interviews Heide Hatry

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Art Fairs

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor