Art for the People?
Questioning the Democratization of the Art Market
2nd Conference
TIAMSA – The International Art Market Studies Association
Vienna, 27-29 September 2018
In Cooperation with:
Belvedere Research Center, Vienna University – Department of Art History, and Dorotheum
Apply by April 15, 2018
The art world and the market have traditionally been the domain of the elites and have thrived on exclusivity. However, the art world has arguably become much more democratic in recent years thanks to the digital revolution, the inclusion of emerging economies in the world art market system, and the vastly improved access to art and information. The price histories of works of art can nowadays easily be reconstructed using online databases; the threshold for art buying is significantly lowered by online sales platforms; and new buyers in emerging economies are making the art market much less Western-oriented. Moreover, an ever broader range of artworks in different price categories has put (fine) art within reach of the middle classes across the globe. At the same time, art institutions such as museums are under tremendous pressure to be less exclusive. Some of these democratizing tendencies are of course not new. For instance, publishing houses in Europe started disseminating prints on a massive scale already in the sixteenth century, thereby enabling larger segments of the population to acquire images. Continue reading “CFP: Art for the People? Questioning the Democratization of the Art Market – Second TIAMSA Conference (Vienna, 27-29 Sept, 18)”