Arts investments are active in auctions Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper

Anyone who looks at the art market at the global level in general will see that it has not been significantly negatively affected by the crises that the international economy is going through. It declined in some short periods, but quickly returned to the growth it had enjoyed for decades. The art market is expanding, with an increase in sales rates, especially those conducted through auctions, especially in the Western arena. Last year, sales rose by 16 percent to $12.6 billion, from $10.9 billion recorded in 2021, according to Art Market Price. Although the performance of the American art market has declined recently, it returned last year to first place, which enhances this activity and supports its growth paths globally. The American market recorded a record number of transactions taking place within the scope of well-known major auctions.
The truth is that growth in this field is not limited to Western countries only, but also includes countries in Asia, led of course by China, which entered this market forcefully more than two decades ago and maintained its active movement in it. In 2021, global art sales declined by 3.1 percent, due to the decline in sales in China, where the decline reached 34 percent, as a result of government policies imposed in order to reach what was called “zero Covid” in Beijing. This decline contributed to some global slowdown. But things returned in a short period to what they were before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic in general, and before the world entered into a difficult confrontation with the inflationary wave that is still present on the scene in various forms until now.
There is currently no slowdown in the art market in general, and in the fields of international auctions. It seems clear that the current movement, in its active form, is based on basic economic factors. In light of the global economic uncertainty, speculation is active in this market, in addition to the crises resulting from severe geopolitical differences, adding more momentum to strengthen the course of these speculations on the part of owners. capital in general.
On this basis, the arts market will witness continued growth in the coming period, unless strong shocks occur to the global economy. But even these shocks are no longer likely at the present time, because the latter has already gone through one of the worst periods since the global economic crisis that occurred in 2008. What raises optimism in this market is that the United States has returned to occupying its first position on the global level. In just one week, art sales in New York exceeded two billion dollars, while the market is showing good performance, which enhances confidence in it, knowing that there are other major auctions that will be organized at a later time, which will push the market to further growth. Last year, the volume of auction sales in the United States reached $7.34 billion, with 158,000 different pieces of art sold. America accounts for about 44 percent of the size of this global market overall. With the return of full normal activity on the Chinese scene, it is expected that the size of the art market next year will increase significantly compared to the previous period, in addition to major auctions in multiple regions of the world preparing to launch their activity strongly in the coming period.