The Turkish Newspaper, Hurriyet Daily News, cribs a story from Fortune Turkey on the local art market. One important concern expressed in the story is that Turks are the primary buyers of Turkish art and without global appeal, prices can never appreciate:
The annual volume of Turkey’s art market stood at only $7 million during the 1970s, but with free-market reforms in the 1980s, wealthy people were able to become wealthier and buy more art, said Arzu Erdoğan in a report in Fortune Turkey’s February edition. […] Nonetheless, the development of the Turkish market is nothing in comparison with the rest of the world, whose volume is around $50 billion. Turkey currently commands a market of roughly $200 million. […]
“The decline in inflation and interest rates, a stable currency and various investment instruments not yielding quickly have all helped art investment rise,” said Erhan Ersöz, owner of Art Depo and a former deputy general manager for Körfezbank. “The appreciation of art in value is related to personal wealth, plus the elevation of the cultural level,” he told Fortune Turkey.
High Demand in Turkey’s Small Art Market (Hurriyet Daily News)
