How to make and market art in an economic slowdown
Topics include:
- rethinking your approach to art
- being business-like
- different ways of marketing art
- what to cut and where to invest
- reducing and avoiding risks
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- 10 benefits of a recession
- Making A Mark - posts for artists working in a difficult economy
- Making A Mark Guides - The Art Economy
- Books: About recession economics and performance
- Blogging about the Recession
- Artbusiness.com - Alan Bamberger comments on art and the economy
- Articles about the art economy
- Art Galleries and the economy
- BOOK: How to start and run a commercial gallery
- Art Economy - websites of note
- The Art Business - Blogs of Note
- Art Business Bloggers blogging about art and the economy
- Economics and business bloggers - blogging about the economy
- Art Supplies and Equipment - more information from makingamark
- Comments and Feedback
10 benefits of a recession
- It causes you to get more creative.
- It forces you to make the tough decisions.
- It thins out the competition.
- It makes you realize you can't take anything for granted.
- It reminds you that real wealth isn't about the stuff you own.
- It fosters out-of-the-box thinking..
- It makes it easier to abandon business-as-usual.
- It brings you back to the basics.
- It accelerates change.
- It causes you to be less wasteful
Making A Mark - posts for artists working in a difficult economy
- Making a Mark: What should artists do about marketing their art in a recession?
- January 2008: How does the economy affect art?
What are the possible strategies for artists in a recession?
What are the options for marketing art? - Making a Mark: What should artists do about marketing their art in a recession? - Part Two
- April 2008: An analysis of how the marketplace is changing and ideas for responses
- Making a Mark: The art of economising - on art materials
- Every morning I glance at the headlines in the paper that I read online. This morning's headline jumped off the screen at me - Economy: 80% fear we are heading for recession - ICM poll. As a result 60% are trying to spend less, with clothes and fuel costs heading the list of cutbacks.
But there was no mention of art materials..........
What does spending less mean for artists? - Making a Mark: Fine artists in decline in the USA?
- Provides a summary of basic facts about fine artists - which tends to suggest that fine art is a precarious career.
The total of fine artists, art directors and animators is completely bucking the overall trend of growth and has been in overall and significant decline since 1990. - Making a Mark: Taking action after the bubble has burst
- September 2008: Introduction to a series of posts about how to manage risk and/or recover from a truly dire situation.
- Making a Mark: Art values - gold standard or more derivative rubbish?
- Art values - gold standard or more derivative rubbish? (15th September 2008) - published on the day that Merrill Lynch was taken over, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy and banking shares took a major tumble all around the world - and Hirst had his auction at Sotheby's I queried why top end art values have surged ever upward in the last 12 months.
- Making a Mark: Contemporary Art as a Hedge Fund
- Making a Mark - Contemporary Art as a Hedge Fund (September 2008) - in which I compare some contemporary art to the unwarranted valuations of derivatives - Warren Buffet's "financial weapons of mass destruction"
- Making a Mark: Managing Business Risks as an Artist
- Do you know what is the biggest business risk you're exposed to?
Have you ever thought about how likely it is to happen - or indeed what sort of impact it would have if it did?
Do you have any plans in place to address that risk - and any other major risks that you face?
Read this if you want to learn more about how to identify, assess and address risk - Making a Mark: 10 good habits for good times or bad
- These are good habits for any time - good times or bad - but they're particularly relevant when the financial picture looks bleak and you need to know you're making the very best use of your time and resources.
- Making a Mark: Bright spots in the gloom and doom
- I thought it was about time to start pointing out some of the things we can be cheerful about as artists. So here's my list of bright spots. I'm really sorry they're not all going to apply to everybody but there are very definitely some bright spots in all this gloom and doom
- Making a Mark: Government seizes control of Singer & Friedlander
- This post is about the impact of the banking crisis and the looming recession on the sponsorship of art competitions and prizes.
- Making a Mark: What happens to artists in a recession?
- What happens to artists in a recession? (16th October 208) - which offers different perspectives on the practical impact of a recession from an artist's perspective
- Making a Mark: Making art and selling art - communities of interest for artists
- Making art and selling art - communities of interest for artists (24th November 2008) - looks at the rise of blogs and websites in 2008 which represent communities of interest for artists for selling and marketing art
- Making a Mark: Art in 2008 - A Review (Part 2)
- You may find some of the predictions for 2009 in this post to be unpalatable. However they are based on continuous observation, a considerable amount of research and reading throughout 2008 plus a good understanding of the dynamics of business.
In order to work out how to ride out the storm, my feeling is that it's crucial to become well informed and to understand the risks that will be present and the scope of what may well happen. There are no surprises when you appreciate how much could change. - Making a Mark: Selling art online - 10 benefits of a recession
- Thursday, January 29, 2009
Part of the reason I've been prompted to do this short series of posts on selling art online is that I genuinely think now is the time to really look long and hard at the way we've been going about things. We need to 'abandon business as usual' thinking and get back to basics - whichever industry we're in.
So just as the recession is going to make sure that the car industry really get to grips with "going green" rather than "gas guzzling" so artists can really focus on their basics too. - How does a recession impact on artwork and art jobs?
- Monday, February 16, 2009
How does a recession impact on the art world?
* What happens to the way artists are employed and remunerated?
* What happens to the sort of art that gets produced?
* Does subject matter change or stay the same?
* Do sales patterns change?
* What actually sells?
In my view these are not only fascinating questions, they are also ones that a lot of artists think about even if they don't always ask them out loud. For professional artists it's obviously essential to address such issues to make sure income continues to be generated and that they can survive the downturn.
Making A Mark Guides - The Art Economy
- MAKING A MARK A Making A Mark Guide - Managing Business Risks
- Managing Business Risks describes an approach which can be used by artists to identify, assess and address business risks
- Making a Mark: Art in 2008 - A Review (Part 2)
- The implications of changes in economic behaviour are significant for the art market.
Books: About recession economics and performance
The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008
Paul Krugman received his B.A. from Yale University in 1974, his Ph.D. from MIT in 1977 and has taught at Yale, MIT and Stanford. At MIT he became the Ford International Professor of Economics. Currently he is Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University. On October 13, 2008, it was announced that Mr. Krugman would receive the Nobel Prize in Economics.
He joined The New York Times in 1999 as a columnist and has an NYT blog called The Conscience of a Liberal
This is what the book is about:
In 1999, in The Return of Depression Economics, Paul Krugman surveyed the economic crises that had swept across Asia and Latin America, and pointed out that those crises were a warning for all of us: like diseases that have become resistant to antibiotics, the economic maladies that caused the Great Depression were making a comeback. In the years that followed, as Wall Street boomed and financial wheeler-dealers made vast profits, the international crises of the 1990s faded from memory.
But now depression economics has come to America: when the great housing bubble of the mid-2000s burst, the U.S. financial system proved as vulnerable as those of developing countries caught up in earlier crises and a replay of the 1930s seems all too possible.
In this new, greatly updated edition of The Return of Depression Economics, Krugman shows how the failure of regulation to keep pace with an increasingly out-of-control financial system set the United States, and the world as a whole, up for the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. He also lays out the steps that must be taken to contain the crisis, and turn around a world economy sliding into a deep recession.
Brilliantly crafted in Krugman's trademark style--lucid, lively, and supremely informed--this new edition of The Return of Depression Economics will become an instant cornerstone of the debate over how to respond to the crisis.
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Outliers: The Story of Success
Read my review in Outstanding performance - a talent or 10,000 hours of practice?
Malcolm Gladwell explains on his website in some detail what it's about and how it came about. Malcolm Gladwell is a staff writer for The New Yorker. He was formerly a business and science reporter at the Washington Post.
Essentially, in his new book Gladwell Malcolm Gladwell seeks to explain "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing.
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Blogging about the Recession
Artists and gallery owners writing blog posts about the economic slowdown / recession from different perspectives
- Ancient Artist: Developing an art career after 50: Time for an Equity Stake in Yourself
- Sometimes it feels as if everything has derailed. Our personal hopes and dreams are eclipsed by larger dangers and catastrophes. Worries pop up from beneath our feet and the path we charted is now so steep it's impossible to move forward. For the creative personality, these fears can stop us dead in our tracks. But it doesn't have to be this way.
We can take out an Equity Stake in ourselves.
Why not take advantage in the economic slowdown to slow down our own mad dash forward? - The Extraordinary Pencil: Recession-Proof Marketing Strategies
- The economists say that during a recession business slow to a slow crawl. You don't have to get caught up in this if you're willing to explore new venues and make some marketing changes.
- Spirit River Studio: Self-Marketing as an Artist
- This week as I read an article about self-marketing from a corporate perspective, I realized that these marketing strategies could easily apply to the self-marketing of an artist.
- Edward_ Winkleman - How to Buy Art in a Recession, Part 1
- How to Buy Art in a Recession, Part 1 which "discussed discounts, payment plans, and advanced payments as means of buying work when money's tight or taking advantage of the situation to secure a better position in a waiting list or pecking order." and notes that even Damien Hirst is now prepared to take a price cut
- Edward_ Winkleman - How to Buy Art in a Recession, Part 2
- How to Buy Art in a Recession, Part 2 is about positioning yourself for the next upswing
- Economics 101
- What will happen to us creative spirits during the economic downturn? While I'm no economist, there's evidence of a hard truth... and 3 available strategies to consider.
- Flash Art - The Gagosian Way
- A mail from Larry Gagosian to his staff this November - it doesn't pull any punches!
- Joanne Mattera Art Blog: Marketing Mondays: Gallery Business
- Examples of changes in gallery practice during this recession
Artbusiness.com - Alan Bamberger comments on art and the economy
- Articles for Artists - Resources to Present, Promote, Market Your Art
- Highly recommended
ARTICLES FOR ARTISTS RESOURCES TO PRESENT, PROMOTE, MARKET YOUR ART
A list of Alan's hugely informative and helpful articles about the business of being an artist
He tells it like it is! - How to Sell Artwork in a Weak Economy
- SELLING ARTWORK IN A WEAK ECONOMY - A BASIC HOW-TO
confronting adversity is a fact of life, especially for artists, and any artist who expects to be successful must continually adjust to prevailing conditions in order to survive. So let's assess the situation and explore how certain adjustments might play out to the upside at this point in time. First, we'll talk money, and then add a few words about expanding markets - Art Market Trends - Art in a Weak Economy
- ART MARKET TRENDS - ART IN A WEAK ECONOMY (November 2007)
Note to readers: The following article examines the probable impact of recent economic and financial events on the overall art economy and art market trends, and on the speculative sector of the art trade in particular, a sector which has been, to resurrect the dotcom homily of Alan Greenspan, "irrationally exhuberant" over the past several years. On a broader level, it explains how the art economy works and examines the risks and misconceptions inherent in art speculation. However, no matter who you are or what kind of art you create (or collect), economic uncertainty makes buying and selling art more challenging. (I promise you artists an article within the next several months on how to surmount some of those challenges.) And now back to an analysis of current art market trends... - Contemporary Art Market Bubble 2005-6
- HEY KIDS-- IT'S BUBBLE TIME!!
This article pre-dates the mortgage meltdown. It once was art market news; now it's art business history... - Art in the New Economy - Consulting, Sales, Marketing
- ART IN THE NEW ECONOMY
Articles about the art economy
- The Independent - Do we need art galleries any more?
- Do we need art galleries anymore?
As art becomes the only viable option for investors, Annie Deakin argues whether the internet is a help or a hindrance to the art market. - Wall Street Journal - How to Survive the Art-Market Crash - WSJ.com
- The art market's crash - for that is what it is - threatens to remake the art world. In the past few weeks, auctioneers, dealers, artists and collectors have changed strategies and policies, and it's likely that future changes will be even more sweeping.
- Art Calendar | ART AND THE ECONOMY Crisis or Transformation by Renee Phillips
- Art Calendar - ART AND THE ECONOMY Crisis or Transformation, Renee Phillips - Although historically the art market is far less sensitive to economic crises and geopolitical events than other assets, we are currently living in a new global economy.
- The Guardian - Don't Mention the Depression
- There are varying reports from Miami about Art Basel Miami. I read all reports keeping in mind who is writing and what level of investment do they have in promoting particular messages. The message from the Guardian was "Don't mention the Depression" as they noted that there was talk of recession everywhere.
- The Russian sales | Salvation in Cyrillic | The Economist
- Will Russian buyers rescue the art market?
- Art Market Coming Back to Earth, from Jeff Watson : Daily Speculations
- Jeff Watson suggests that the Art Marketing is coming back to earth but also that major pieces are no longer being consigned for sale at the major auctions.
- Lehman to Sell $8 Million of Art to Pay Creditors (Update2)
- Lehman to Sell $8 Million of Art to Pay Creditors (Update2) By Linda Sandler and Lindsay Pollock in Bloomberg
- I Like to Move It, Move It | Art Market Monitor
- Who would have thought that the art handlers would have such leverage in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy? But here's Bloomberg on the orphaned art collection
- Art Lending Tightens Up - Portfolio.com
- No Banking on Art
by Troy McMullen Nov 5 2008
Mortgages weren't the only easy, low-interest loans during the boom. But now art financing is drying up too, putting pressure on an already wavering market. - Has Hirst's Bubble Burst? - News Blog - Daily Brief - Portfolio.com
- On the very day that Lehman Brothers collapsed, Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced its then-greatest single day loss ever, a solo auction of Damien Hirst works at Sotheby's London offices shattered presale estimates and almost all expectations.
Fast-forward three months to Art Basel Miami Beach, a fair that has become one of the most important art world events in the United States. New York art dealer Christoph Van de Weghe had eight works by Hirst for sale in his booth. He sold only two, and both below their asking price, Bloomberg reports. - Art Market Optimists - Portfolio.com
- If you take Wall Street's word for it, the art market is headed for devastation of epic proportions.
- The Guardian - Jonathan jones - Is it all over for contemporary British art?
- Jonathan Jones: The YBAs found their voices in a recession but in the public's eyes they are linked with the age of easy credit
- Salesroom Sanity - ARTINFO.com
- The order of the art market was restored at November's Impressionist and modern sales, as great rarities triggered record prices and less-compelling fare had more trouble selling.
- Art for art's sake; money for God's sake - Times Online
- Art is its own reward, but it has always helped to have a generous patron
- Robert Genn - Economics 101
- What will happen to us creative spirits during the economic downturn? While I'm no economist, there's evidence of a hard truth... and 3 available strategies to consider.
The Art Business - more information from makingamark
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Blogging for Artists - Resources for Artists
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Are you an artist and want a blog? Or maybe an artist who wants to work on improving your blog? If you are then read on - you'll find links on this site to sources of advice, information, and all other matters which are relevant to blogging for arti...
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Packaging, posting and shipping art - Resources for Artists
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How do you pack art? How do you post art? What about international deliveries? What about customs? How do you get it back again?This site doesn't pretend to have the answers to all the very many questions people have about getting art from artist to...
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Copyright and Orphan Artworks - Resources for Artists
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Visual artists need to know how to protect their images - both on the the internet and in the wider marketplace where artists have to deal with the fact that not all countries operate copyright law in exactly the same way. At the same time they need...
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The Art Business - Resources for Visual Artists
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Do you want to know more about the business side of being an artist? Or maybe you're looking for a particular piece of business information for artists? Whether you are an emerging or experienced artist, this site provides you with a link to informa...
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The Making A Mark Poll - Resources for Artists
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Find out the results of the monthly Making A Mark Polls for artists - as seen on popular art blog Making A Mark. See the charts and read the main findings about topics of interest to artists. Questions to date include: - What's the MAIN way you have...
Art Galleries and the economy
- Edward_ Winkleman: Starting a Commercial Art Gallery in This Economy
- Believe it or not, should the art market truly spring back to life in 2-3 years (yes, we're all praying for it to be sooner), now could actually be the perfect time to launch a new gallery, assuming you have the working capital to last that long. The reason now might be right is that in the emerging art market in particular (i.e., in galleries representing artists with no established market) it can take 3-5 years for a new gallery to turn truly profitable, even during a boom.
- Marketing Mondays: What Artists Should Know About Running a Gallery
- a review of a dealer's guide, How To Start and Run a Commercial Gallery by Edward Winkleman
BOOK: How to start and run a commercial gallery
by a successful gallerist and art blogger
How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery (How to Start & Run a)
Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 11/23/2009)
Aspiring and new art gallery owners can now find everything they need to plan and operate a successful art gallery in this comprehensive volume. Edward Winkleman draws on his years of experience to explain step by step how to start your new venture.
Chapters detail how to: write a business plan - find start-up capital - find your ideal locale - renovate the space - manage cash flow - promote and grow your new business - attract and retain artists and clients - hire and manage staff - represent your artists
How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery also includes sample forms, helpful tips from veteran collectors, a large section on art fairs, and a directory of art dealers associations.
Release Date: 07/14/2009
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Art Economy - websites of note
- ArtTactic
- ArtTactic provides unbiased art market research, analysis and advice for art collectors, art professionals, art institutions and art funds.
- ArtTactic - Newsletters
- ArtTactic provides unbiased art market research, analysis and advice for art collectors, art professionals, art institutions and art funds.
The Art Business - Blogs of Note
- Articles for Artists - Resources to Present, Promote, Market Your Art
- Artbusiness.com - Highly recommended - He tells it like it is!
ARTICLES FOR ARTISTS RESOURCES TO PRESENT, PROMOTE, MARKET YOUR ART: A list of Alan Bamberger's hugely informative and helpful articles about the business of being an artist - Art Biz Blog
- Art business blog for marketing, promotions, and general business help for artists. From Alyson B. Stanfield.
- Art Print Issues
- Barney Davey's News and Views on the Business of Fine Art Prints and Giclees. Practical information visual artists can use to learn how to sell art prints and giclees.
- EmptyEasel.com: Oil Painting Tips, Selling Art Online, Artist Reviews and more
- Review of sites for selling your art online and helpful tips for selling art on the internet.
- FineArtViews Blog by Clint Watson
- FineArtViews Blog by Clint Watson
- Edward_ Winkleman
- New York Gallerist Edward Winkelman offers comments on art | politics | gossip | tough love
Art Business Bloggers blogging about art and the economy
- Art Print Issues: Art Is What You Make It
- Now, if you are not so depressed about the undoing of our national financial underpinnings, you might be wondering how you can sell some art.
- Art of a recession - Studio Art Direct shares how to market your art business in an economic downturn / Studio Art Direct Blog
- Art of a recession - Studio Art Direct shares how to market your art business in an economic%uFFFDdownturn November 13, 2008
- Art Market Blog with Nicholas Forrest www.artmarketblog.com
- Art Market Blog with Nicholas Forrest www.artmarketblog.com
The art market blog provides analysis of the art market and advice on art investment by the Sydney, Australia based art critic and art market analyst Nicholas Forrest.
Economics and business bloggers - blogging about the economy
for those who like blogs of note with generic comments on the economy and economics
- Economics and Politics - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com
- The New York Times's Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winner, blogs about economics and politics.
- Decade at Bernies - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com
- By now everyone knows the sad tale of Bernard Madoff's duped investors. They looked at their statements and thought they were rich. But then, one day, they discovered to their horror that their supposed wealth was a figment of someone else's imagination.
Unfortunately, that's a pretty good metaphor for what happened to America as a whole in the first decade of the 21st century. - Opinion - Freakonomics Blog - NYTimes.com
- Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, authors of Freakonomics, keep the conversation going from their best-selling book that explores the hidden side of everything.
Art Supplies and Equipment - more information from makingamark
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Art Supplies in the USA - Resources for Artists
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Do you have problems finding art shops or art suppliers or just anywhere that has got that illusive item that you want. Do you forget who stocks which range? This site provides details about where to find fine art materials supplies in and around th...
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Art Supplies in the UK - Resources for Artists
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Do you have problems finding art shops or sites providing artist supplies or just anywhere that has got that illusive item that you want. Do you forget who stocks which range? This site provides details about where to find fine art materials and art...
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Art Equipment - Resources for Artists
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This site is for visual artists. It provides links to: items of art equipment and tools recommended ways of putting together toolkits and recommendations for equipment for working in the studio or plein air Additional information about speci...
Making A Mark
Katherine Tyrrell's blogging portfolio about: - Making a mark creating drawings with pastels, pencils and pen and ink - Art projects - Notable Artists - Developing art careers - Art blogs and blogging about art - Reviews of art books and exhibitions - Inf
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- Bob Ragland Bob Ragland Oct 28, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
- Making a living as an artist in a bad economy ain't rocket science. One has to do the extra stuff to survive. I learned the business part of being an artist early, I repeat early. See the barn, paint the barn, sell the barn. Do this again and again. The artwork is a product and one has the option of selling that product. Purity leads to the poor house. There are a lot of artists who bank regularly. Market harder when the economy is tough. Do some alternative guerilla marketing stuff. I paid my house off ten years ago this year, so I could withstand not having sales for a while. In fact I can cherry pick the people I want to have my work. I sell my own work. I am a non starving artist by my own effort. See www.freewebs.com/bobragland
http://bobraglandraglandnonstarvingartist.blogspot.com
I am not the best artist, I just give my art life the best effort.
Marketing matters!!!!!!
Bob Ragland
Who is makingamark?
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Who is Making A Mark?
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I'm an artist with a very wide range of interests who enjoys learning about art, making art and sharing information about art. I've combined all my information sites with sections of my other websites and blogs to highlight my main interests and acti...
and finally......
by makingamark
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