
The Art Market in the New Millennium: Tradition and Innovation
28 April 2022 - 26 May 2022
Thursdays 10.45 – 12.45
£63 – £260

Coffee, tea and biscuits are included on arrival and during half-time break
Description
The global art market is currently worth $60-70 billion per annum. This series of lectures discusses how the market has developed from the economic boom years of the early Millennium and how it has responded to the global recession. It will be seen that the art market is remarkably resilient in times of crisis, responding positively to both financial externalities as well as pandemics. Galleries, auction houses and art fairs have developed hybrid market channels, embracing online technology whilst maintaining the real-world traditional triangular artist/dealer/collector relationship. Some artists are renowned for their academically-curated public museum exhibitions, whilst others often ignore these validating institutions and work in the commercial environment building their fame through soaring record auction sales. New fashions of collecting and display have developed, including a return to the ‘cabinet of curiosities’ of the eighteenth century, with the cross-collecting of the present day, as well as an increasing interest in the effects of Artificial Intelligence on artistic production and the collecting of New Media and digital art. The series concludes with a look at the ethical and legal issues which still affect the art world and its markets, from antiquities to emerging art.
“How the hours fly by! Absolutely absorbing and brilliantly delivered”
Course Outline
THE ART MARKET SINCE 2021: UPDATE – 28 April 2022
This lecture will provide an introduction to the recent history of the international art market as well as an update for students of the 2021 series.
THE HYBRID ART MARKET: REALITY AND VIRTUAL REALITY – 5 May 2022
Today we will focus on developments in online engagement of auction houses, commercial galleries and art fairs which have become increasingly important market channels since the growth in millennial art market players as well as post covid-19.
INTERNATIONAL ART MARKETS: How does the Cultural Status of an Artist relate to their Financial Value? – 12 May 2022
We will discuss the differing career trajectories of non-market-orientated artists and those who place a greater emphasis on commercial success.
EMERGING ART MARKET SECTORS: from Cross-Collecting to New Media – 19 May 2022
This lecture will look at recent trends in marketing, collecting and displaying art from different periods and nations as well as the relationship of New Media and Performance Art to the market.
LAW, ETHICS AND THE ART MARKET – 26 May 2022
The series concludes with an investigation into ethical and legal issues affecting the art market, including looted art, provenance and the trade in art which incorporates endangered floral and faunal species and ‘conflict’ materials such as diamonds.