The Evolution of Contemporary Arts Markets looks at the historical evolution of the art market from the 15th century to the present day. Art is both an expression of human creativity and an object of economic value and financial refuge at times of economic turbulence. Historically, the art market evolved with the development of capitalism, finance and technical change, and art schools responded to social events such as wars, revolutions and waves of democratization. The author discusses the main features of modern art markets such as complexity in art valuation, globalism, segmentation, financialization, indivisibility, liquidity and provenance issues. The book studies the impact of wealth inequality and economic cycles and crises on the art market and features a chapter focusing specifically on the art market in China. This accessible publication is ideal for a broad, interdisciplinary audience including those involved in the economic and financial fields as well as art lovers, art market participants and social and cultural scholars.

This is the first English-language account of the modern history of China’s art market that explains the radical transformations from the end of the Cultural Revolution, when a market for art and artifacts did not exist, to today. The book is divided into three sections: Part I examines how the art market in China was suspended during the Cultural Revolution, restarted, grew, and expanded into its current scale. Part II analyzes the distinctive value system of the Chinese art market where the state-run art system including academies, artist associations and museums co-exist with an independent market-oriented system; and traverses the most significant policies that drive decision-making and market structure. Part III explores the driving force of art creation by telling the stories of five contemporary artists across three generations. Arts and culture professionals, scholars, and students interested in Chinese art, global art markets, Chinese government policy, and China will find this to be a valuable resource.

This book gives a comprehensive account of the history and underlying economics of the modern art market in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain.

This is the first sourcebook to trace the emergence and evolution of art markets in the Western economy, framing them within the larger narrative of the ascendancy of capitalist markets. Selected writings from across academic disciplines present compelling evidence of art's inherent commercial dimension and show how artists, dealers, and collectors have interacted over time, from the city-states of Quattrocento Italy to the high-stakes markets of postmillennial New York and Beijing. This approach casts a startling new light on the traditional concerns of art history and aesthetics, revealing much that is provocative, profound, and occasionally even comic. This volume's unique historical perspective makes it appropriate for use in college courses and postgraduate and professional programs, as well as for professionals working in art-related environments such as museums, galleries, and auction houses. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 2017. This is the first sourcebook to trace the emergence and evolution of art markets in the Western economy, framing them within the larger narrative of the ascendancy of capitalist markets. Selected writings from across academic disciplines present compellin

This book brings together from four years of study on Nigerian contemporary art's internationalization. The monograph integrates voices of African (Nigerian) artists and art market players into the growing discourse on the emerging art markets in the global South. It explores the logic of competition and dynamics of power relations in the global markets, focusing on the internationalization of contemporary art forms from peripheral regions. The book confirms that the internationalization of contemporary art form from Nigeria is limited due to systematic marginalization in the artistic field, which in this case based on postcolonialism, and debilitating socio-economic factors such as outmoded art education, unstructured support system and weak mechanism for local validation, and an inefficient political framework for art governance. It will therefore be useful to students and researchers in the sociology of art, art market studies, art history and culture polity.

With contributions from international scholars of marketing and consumer studies, this renowned text engages directly with a range of contemporary themes, including: The importance of arts consumption and its socio-cultural, political, and economic dimensions The impact of new technologies, platforms, and alternative artforms on the art market The importance of the aesthetic experience itself and how to research it The value of arts-based methods The art versus commerce debate The artist as entrepreneur The role of the arts marketer as market-maker This fully updated new edition covers digital trends in the arts and emerging technologies, including virtual reality, streaming services, and branded entertainment. It also broadens the scope of investigation beyond the West looking to film in emerging markets such as China, music in Sub-Saharan Africa, and indigenous art in Australia. Alongside in-depth theoretical analysis, this edition of Marketing the Arts takes inspiration from the creativity inherent in current artistic practice to demonstrate a plurality of approaches and methodologies. Marketing the Arts: Breaking Boundaries is core reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students studying arts marketing and management. Online resources include chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint slides and questions for class discussion.

This Special Issue of Arts investigates the use of digital methods in the study of art markets and their histories. As historical and contemporary data is rapidly becoming more available, and digital technologies are becoming integral to research in the humanities and social sciences, we sought to bring together contributions that reflect on the different strategies that art market scholars employ to navigate and negotiate digital techniques and resources. The essays in this issue cover a wide range of topics and research questions. Taken together, the essays offer a reflection on what takes to research art markets, which includes addressing difficult topics such as the nature of the research questions and the data available to us, and the conceptual aspects of art markets, in order to define and operationalize variables and to interpret visual and statistical patterns for scholarship. In our view, this discussion is enriched when also taking into account how to use shared or interoperable ontologies and vocabularies to define concepts and relationships that facilitate the use and exchange of linked (open) data for cultural heritage and historical research.

Who gets to say what counts as contemporary art? Artists, critics, curators, gallerists, auctioneers, collectors, or the public? Revealing how all of these groups have shaped today’s multifaceted definition, Terry Smith brilliantly shows that an historical approach offers the best answer to the question: What is Contemporary Art? Smith argues that the most recognizable kind is characterized by a return to mainstream modernism in the work of such artists as Richard Serra and Gerhard Richter, as well as the retro-sensationalism of figures like Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami. At the same time, Smith reveals, postcolonial artists are engaged in a different kind of practice: one that builds on local concerns and tackles questions of identity, history, and globalization. A younger generation embodies yet a third approach to contemporaneity by investigating time, place, mediation, and ethics through small-scale, closely connective art making. Inviting readers into these diverse yet overlapping art worlds, Smith offers a behind-the-scenes introduction to the institutions, the personalities, the biennials, and of course the works that together are defining the contemporary. The resulting map of where art is now illuminates not only where it has been but also where it is going.

This book examines the art markets of the Global South while questioning, based on the heterogeneity of the selected contributions, the very idea of its existence in the context of the global art market. Gathering new research by recognized scholars, you will discover different markets from the so-called Global South, their structure, the external determinants affecting their behavior, their role in the art system’s development, and how they articulate with other agents at the local, regional, and international level. In this publication, an important wealth of research on various African countries stands out, providing an unprecedented overview of the markets in that region. This volume originates from the TIAMSA conference The Art Market and the Global South: New Perspectives and Plural Approaches, held in Lisbon in 2019.

The art market is worth billions globally, despite the effects of the Covid-19 health pandemic. This book brings together a strong cast of contributors to explore contemporary and historical themes. Readers of the book will gain awareness of how historical foundations of arts markets continue to impact on contemporary global developments, while transformational digital technology shakes up the art world. With new insights into emerging arts markets, the book also covers themes and phenomena such as NFTs, secrecy, platforms, and financialization in the arts. The result is a book that will prove valuable reading for scholars involved in art markets studies.