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 At the Fair: The Shifting Economics of Art Panelists: Kristy Edmunds, Richard Feigen, Michael Orlove and Vendeline von Bredow Moderated by Richard Flood The following white paper is drawn from the remarks of the panelists and moderator for this session, along with the questions and responses from members of the audience. This document is intended to reflect the variety of viewpoints offered during the discussion, and to frame broadly the issues discussed; it should not be taken as a formal statement of opinion by the panelists. Art fairs and performing arts festivals have become increasingly important features of the cultural landscape. In a world of more and more artistic activity, engaged in and followed by more people than ever, these events are crucial to the ability of all players in their respective fields to see and experience a broad range of artworks. On the face of it, art fairs and performing arts festivals seem to be entirely different. But in the current cultural climate they share some salient characteristics. Just as the ethos of the 1990s art world was encapsulated in the proliferation of international contemporary art exhibitions, generically referred to as biennials, the growth of the commercial art fair seems to exemplify our current situation. Given the expansion and greater public visibility of the contemporary art market, this is not surprising. But what is surprising is the way in which the commercial fairs have assumed one of the central roles of the large international exhibitions, which is to be the places to which art world participants feel they must go in order to see what is most new and exciting. The sight of curators and museum directors taking groups of their trustees around the major fairs is as telling as is the apocryphal frenzied buying, indicating that art fairs have become central venues of display as well as of commerce. Art fairs also have taken on other functions of the biennials of the '90s: fostering economic development and building cultural notoriety. The spread of art fairs reflects local aspirations in both of these areas, with an art fair marking a city or region as an important participant in the world of contemporary art. The most striking example is the spectacularly successful Art Basel Miami Beach, exporting the august Art Basel fair to the new world in a hip offshoot for the new century. But the general importance of fairs is shown by their appearing in cities that already are contemporary art centers, such as London's Frieze Art Fair and New York's Armory Show. The growth in the number and importance of art fairs is a consequence of the tremendous expansion of the art market, and their viability and future is linked to that market. Some argue that as the market for contemporary art cools, as they believe it must, there will be fewer art fairs and those that remain will be less important. But others think that the unprecedented growth of the contemporary market will not end anytime soon. They argue that this market is highly diversified internationally, in terms of both artists and buyers, and that new wealth in China, India, Russia, and elsewhere will support continued expansion. And with the large number of high net worth individuals worldwide, there are more people able to pay high prices for contemporary works. From this standpoint it is thought that the market might stabilize gradually, but that it will not fall precipitously. While performing arts festivals also are used by local and national governments to facilitate economic and cultural development, they are not dependent on a commercial market. Rather, festivals generally are supported by state funding, supplemented by corporate and private donations. As such, they are viewed as expressions of civic responsibility, with public funds employed to provide cultural opportunities for citizens. For instance, over the past nine years the city of Chicago has made substantial investments in the arts both to foster tourism and to create free public activities and amenities for residents. The site of an important commercial art fair created in the 1980s, Chicago now is better known in cultural circles for arts programming and the ambitious cultural infrastructure project that is Millennium Park. The Melbourne International Arts Festival is an important example of a citywide performing arts festival that has become central to its community. First held in 1986, it brings to Melbourne a wide range of international performers in addition to showcasing Australian talent. Although the festival itself lasts only seventeen days, it creates relationships among local institutions leading to post-festival collaborations and new programming. Primarily supported by the government, the Melbourne Festival provides an audience of 500,000 the opportunity to engage with a large number of challenging contemporary artists working in dance, theatre, and music. Viewing art as part of the social fabric rather than as an amenity, it seeks to build a long-term engaged cultural audience. Both those exhibiting visual arts and performing arts festivals have faced great difficulties since September 11, 2001. Museums and other visual arts venues have seen exhibition costs rise significantly due to increased insurance premiums, with many potential museum exhibitions becoming prohibitively expensive. In the United States, organizations that feature performers from abroad must deal with a vastly more difficult, and more expensive, visa process that affects their ability to bring in these artists. Consequently, the number of foreign groups touring in the United States has dropped, and this has and will continue to affect the quality and breadth of festival programming. Art fairs and the galleries that fill them would seem to compete with museums, as festivals appear to compete with other performing arts venues, both for-profit and non-profit. But the audiences for visual and performing arts are growing, and the situation is less a competitive one than that of a symbiotic system. For all of these venues depend on a community of interested parties, and the development of such a community is of benefit to all. Art fairs and festivals both attract and contribute to growing audiences for the works that they, and their institutional colleagues, appreciate and promote. Whether selling artworks or presenting artists, at this moment they are critical elements of our cultural ecology. For citation, please reference: http://berkshireconference.org/content/2007-at-the-fair.cfm
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