According to a story in the New York Times (22 August 2013), the art market is being globalized. Dealers must now travel to far-flung art fairs in cities such as Hong Kong, Miami, and Basel, Switzerland in order to compete and sell art work to the richest collectors. Expenses for this approach to selling art can add up to the hundreds of thousands. Cost of most booths begins at $15,000 and can go as high as $100,000 for a large space. Mid-sized galleries are being forced to ante-up or close up shop, which many have done already, and the rate of attrition is alarmingly high. The Times article states that “the number of galleries in the big art districts has declined in the past few years — galleries in West Chelsea have fallen to 282 from a peak of 364 in 2007; those in SoHo have dropped to 87 from 337 in 1995.”
I wonder, will San Miguel be seen globally as an art fair destination? Perhaps it will, but not in the strictest sense. With most of our galleries located in centro and with Fabrica Aurora as an anchor, the city itself might be perceived as a kind of open art fair if promoted in the right way.
On the other hand, San Miguel might be overlooked by high-end collectors for the simple reason that we are not cutting edge enough, that is, we do not offer the glamour and excitement of big-city art fairs.
I’m not advocating for a gliztier approach to selling art in San Miguel, as I prefer the more relaxed method of individual gallery sales. However, if the future of selling art to high-end buyers is indeed the art fair model, then we must make adjustsments to our city’s image in order to put ourselves on the global art map and attract more affluent collectors.
Here’s a link to the NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/arts/for-art-dealers-a-new-life-on-the-fair-circuit.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&hp
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