Like it or not we are all living in the aftermath of one of the most defining periods in modern history, impacting all levels of society, business and education. In many ways living in a digital and technological age has enhanced our coping mechanism in a good way resulting in a more positive, less isolating experience . On a global scale change has been intense and rapid during the the past few years impacted initially by the pandemic and then the cultural and economic repercussion felt by all.
The art world is one area that was impacted financially, primarily as the whole scene was set on pause with the closure of galleries, museums and exhibitions due to the restrictive access to public spaces. Traditionally the contemporary art scene is mostly driven by physical locations, art fairs and installations mainly held in galleries. Though the online art world is becoming increasingly dominant and diverse, galleries naturally function as the integral place where local and international artists can meet, a place where different cultures and their expression connect and new art and mediums can appear. Fundamentally, it presents a physical platform providing an opportunity to exhibit, expanding the artist’s exposure and ability to make a living through their art.
Due to the pandemic, the Swedish government provided funds to art and cultural organisations. Later funds were provided to corporations in the arts sector as well as art and culture institutions run by the state. The artists were also a part of the funds, but not to such a great extent. The artists were obligated to apply and provide a close assessment of their loss of personal income. However, in the present gig-economy that was hard for artists to measure and as a result many weren’t funded or supported. According to Kulturrådet (in April 2022) the arts and culture community has been funded seven times since the beginning of the pandemic with a total amount of 3,7 billion Swedish kroner. In reality, very little of that funding filtered down to independent artists.
The art scene has been evolving digitally for years before the pandemic, but with the art institutions, galleries and other physical platforms closing down or having to pause during these restrictive years of pandemic and financial instability, the artistic scene has been stifled and evolution, exploration and exhibiting limited. This pause may have been the last and final push for many artists to commit more fully to going online, building their own brand and taking control of their direct sales. Potentially as artists became less reliant on galleries or agencies, the independent artist’s profile could grow, find a new audience and yield more direct financial returns. For some this is a good opportunity for artists to circulate their work in their own way. For others, it has been a huge loss not to be a participant in something bigger than their own platform; a manifested place like galleries, exhibitions or museums. Artist’s livelihoods are mostly unstable and with the gig-economy present. If just one piece of the artist’s work-puzzle falls away that is potentially a great loss of opportunities, paths and potential career enhancing activity. Through necessity artists increasingly found their own way and became heavily digitalised.
The digital space has for a long time existed in the arts and this was naturally considerably accelerated by the pandemic. Everyday art purchases began to be digitalised and increased for both galleries as well as direct artists sales. According to Statista, a global consumer survey research group, online sales of art and antiques skyrocketed in 2020 and continued to grow during 2021. Online art sales amounted to a fifth of all world art sales in 2020. Online sales were also driven by NFTs (non-fungible tokens), a type of crypto art, and have been alternating heavily in worth in resent year.
In Statens offentliga utredningar, the Swedish government’s official investigation, from 2018 it stated that art buyers have adapted to digital development and that in turn has provided expansion for consumers, mostly to purchase from online platforms. The investigation stated the digitalisation creates an advantage for the creators to reach a broad audience with small means, but also as a disadvantage when taking away the important meeting between artist and buyer as a mediation of knowledge and art experience. This investigation commenced years before the pandemic and shows us that the digitalisation was and still is very present. Did the increase in 2020 & 2021 represent the boom years for digital purchases in the art world or is this trend here to stay?
With social restrictions in place it was challenging to experience physical art, so as art went digital new variations emerged. Many websites came to the surface, especially here in Sweden such as; Wall Of Art, Desenio and Postery. Poster services became an art buyers dream selling a huge amount of prints and posters of artist’s original work. This is a way to experience ‘original art’ at home on your own walls providing a new take on commercialised art. Wall Of Art is a platform with a curated selection of “up and coming artists”, currently with a collection of 95 artists, where you can buy a poster of their original painting, mass production, some unlimited and some limited. It makes you wonder if then art at a lower expense and higher frequency equals lower wages and higher popularity? These digitalised platforms may be considered a modernised and fast pace take on a new art scene, like a digital gallery that mainly focus on selling volume for profit more than appreciation of the individual artist or craft. Although, many artists may perceive these platforms such as Wall Of Art , as a space to create followers and a successful way of marketing themselves independently as an artists. Ideally they become a more recognised name in an evolving industry.
Image from Wall of Art
The Affordable Art Fair is an annual international art fair that showcase 1000s of contemporary handpicked original artworks and small edition prints from local and international galleries. Artworks are typically sold at affordable prices below 6000 euros. The fair is now held in ten different cities around the world; New York, Hong Kong, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Brussels, Singapore Stockholm, Melbourne, Sydney and began in London 1999. The AAF’s mission is to make art accessible for all. The pandemic was a catalyst to all of us in business to acclimatise faster and become a bigger part of the digital space and this included the Affordable Art Fair. During the pandemic their strategy pivoted as they created their online digital platform which has been widely successful and appreciated. Their website integrated a digital fair component creating an opportunity for people to still take part in a contemporary fair style showcase in times of uncertainty.
Stockholm Affordable Art Fair
Following a recent discussion between the Nordic Art Agency and the Affordable Art Fair they shared that the participants for the fair in Stockholm 2022 were still mainly art galleries. With a total of 63 exhibitors only 5 were art collectives, artists driven exhibitors who came together to exhibit. This illustrates that despite the changes in the industry there were very few independent art exhibitors outside of the galleries. Regarding digitalisation, the Affordable Art Fair also suggested that individual artists may find it easier to represent themselves in order sell directly to collectors but many still seek help and support from representatives. They also noted that the gallery is still in need as they function as a warranty mark for artworks and as a support for the artist, although some artists don’t necessarily see the appeal of that.
”The digital market is an integral part of the art market and has been for an established period of time. The art market fulfils a completely different needs in the physical space compared to the digital space. To meet in person and have an exchange with likeminded people is highly valuable.
Above all, art is difficult to grasp fully simply through a photo on a screen, art is always best experienced in person.”
– Affordable Art Fair
In relation to this view point there is still evidence that in these times of instability, warfare, climate change, equality demonstrations, the financial, political and sociological effect still is present and inhibits people from fully exploring these cultural experiences. Either if it is due to economical issues or the slightly unsettling feeling of being out-in-the-open once again. Certainly there is an ongoing uncertainty still felt here in Sweden and the sense that we are almost having to relearn behaviours. The physical art galleries are foremost a cultural place, a meeting point for dissemination, interchange and where knowledge can assemble. Cultural places and visual spaces are valued and considered as a need for humanity, an experience to nourish your mind.
Kirsten Hastrup is a professor and researcher in anthropology from the University of Copenhagen. Her focus has been on a reflection of the social processes. In her book Kultur: det fleksible faellesskab (2004) she tells us about how the culture is defined with a broad kind of aspects. Culture can be seen as an illusion, that the society isn’t going to remain one thing and is always evolving. Cultural places are where people influence one and other to make new choices and that the culture becomes a process instead of something fixed. The culture as a ‘flexible matter’ where each individual is a part of something bigger that is challenged and therefore must flexible and react to the actions of humans. She also explores how culture in many senses is about community and a collective among humans, in a way that connects people but also separate them.
Kirsten Hastrup
When questioning the impact of digitalisation on the artist and gallerist it feels that we are currently still in a state of flux. Galleries are still essential as a meeting place which keeps the art alive, thriving and flourishing. Galleries enable an interaction of different cultures, as part of a contemporary and democratic atmosphere, improve the workfare of being an artist – with no unpaid labour as a part of the gig-economy. To weather the current landscape and in order to survive and grow the capacity to adapt and pivot, like the Affordable Art Fair has done, is a necessity for contemporary gallerist offering a different function, strong online component and possibly a more modern Agent relationship with an artist than a traditional Art Dealer.
On our own Nordic Art Agency podcast we aim to bring our artists closer to the viewer in a highly digitalised format. An episode from season three with Jo Hummel and Sara Dare podcast host Juliet Rees Nilsson discussed with both artists the digitalisation of the art world and how important was the need still for a physical space. Jo Hummel explained how she still finds it “thrilling to have her art in a physical space”, and how she enjoys seeing how the space and room interacts with her artwork. She also talks about how being a part of a community is an important aspect as an artists. Participating in something physical like an exhibition or gallery group show, being a part of something you didn’t know you belonged to has meaning. Furthermore, she expresses how artwork can be curated and accompanied by another artists artwork, and how the different cultural experiences intertwine and add value.
Artist Jo Hummel - Photo by Maria Bell
That podcast conversation felt like an honest reflection by a contemporary artist highlighting the importance and remaining role of galleries in the art world. For now the gallery continues to provide a physical cultural community, intertwining the online and offline art spaces and supporting a visual exchange and learning experience between viewers and artists. Long may this continue, but it will be interesting to see in the coming years how the market place levels out and if the digital boom in online art sales is ongoing or will even out as society returns to normal.
By Gry Hammarlund
References
https://kro.se/media/documents/konstbranschen_i_siffror_2019_200210.pdf
https://www.statista.com/statistics/883755/global-art-market-value/
https://affordableartfair.com/about-us/