Displaying items by tag: global economy

In an effort to connect more directly with the global museum community, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will host the inaugural “Global Museum Leaders Colloquium.” The two-week program is slated to take place in April 2014 and will bring together over a dozen directors from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The colloquium will explore the major challenges that museum directors face including conservation issues and the well-being of the global economy.

The Met has been an international institution since its founding in 1870 and has continued to collaborate with museums across the globe through exhibitions, excavations, training and research projects. In addition, the museum runs a number of programs that bring international curators, conservators and scholars to New York.

Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Met, said, “I wanted to establish a program that would strengthen our existing ties with our overseas peers and encourage a more focused dialogue between museum leaders.”

China’s art market experienced a substantial boom in 2011, bumping the United States out of its top spot and ultimately becoming the world’s principal market for art and antiques. In 2012, amid the uncertain global economy, China’s growth began to slow and its art and antiques market shrank by almost a quarter. This deceleration allowed the U.S. to regain its title as the world’s most significant art market.

The power shift was announced as part of the highly anticipated TEFAF Art Market Report compiled by Dr. Clare McAndrew. McAndrew, a cultural economist who specializes in the fine and decorative art market, is the founder of Arts Economics, a company commissioned by The European Fine Art Foundation to provide a yearly analysis of the worldwide art market. The report coincides with the beginning of TEFAF Maastricht, the Foundation’s annual art fair, which begins March 15, 2013 in the Netherlands and runs through March 24, 2013.

Slowing economic growth and a lack of high quality, high priced items on the market are to blame for China’s slip to the second most influential art market. While auction sales dropped by 30% in China, U.S. sale figures were up 5% to $18.4 billion. In 2012, buyers opted to minimize financial risk by buying works by well-known artists at the top end of the market with Post-War and Contemporary art performing the strongest.

Dr. McAndrew will present her findings at the TEFAF Art Symposium on Friday, March 15, 2013 in Maastricht.