2021 Art Market Predictions

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why hello there The Bossy Mealz Newsletter link to past newsletters and to subscribe 2021 Predictions  My only New Year's resolution this year was to (finally!) jot down my predictions on the art world for the coming year.  At this time next year I will not only make new predictions, but I will be able to benchmark how much my predictions measured up to reality.  I'm oh so glad I'm starting in 2021 because I have a gut feeling that my 2020 ones would be very far off course. Top: The Parrish Art Museum, Watermill, NY Bottom: Illustration by William Powhida from The New Republic article on this topic The Year After a Global Pandemic The art market has had to adapt and change in many ways to deal with the pandemic in 2020, coupled with an overdue reckoning for racial justice and representation sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement.  I think 2021 will see the continued to response to both of these and other external factors: Museums and institutions will continue to grapple with their role in society. Are they a vestige of the Enlightenment or an integrated member of the communities they serve?  This interview with Curator Helen Molesworth best illuminated the dilemma they currently face. Unionization and Organization of Workers in the Arts Industry I consider an article in the New Republic written by my friend and artist Rob Kaiser-Schatzlein on the history of labor organizations required reading for anyone interested in how creative communities can thrive: “Artists in the middle of the twentieth century flourished not because the economy was inherently favorable to them, but as a result of powerful economic winds and the groups that joined in an attempt to harness them.” I expect to see much further labor organizational efforts take place this year, brought about by a realization of how fragile these jobs are. Although we are all dying to see art-and each other-in person, the digitalization of art transactions in the past year will continue to grow exponentially. Especially in the auction market, business can mostly continue as usual as a digital presence, with only the very top end of the market unwilling to go online.  (I wouldn't buy a multi dollar painting I had not seen in person either.) Someone is finally going to figure out how to sell art under $5K at scale and will likely use the internet to do so. I'm talking to a number of different startups in this arena, some already launched and some still in MVP mode, but either way I am excited by what 2021 will bring.  The art world will continue to grow and develop outside of the global art centers. Here are just a few examples, from world renowned artists supporting the arts in West Africa, to The Little Free Art Gallery in a residential neighborhood in Seattle. What Are Your Predictions for the Art Market? Copyright © 2020 Bossy Mealz Inc. All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.