Welcome to the inaugural Artsy Art Fair Report, a new survey of the key trends and topics impacting art fairs today.
Since Rudolf Zwirner and Hein Stünke first launched Art Cologne in 1967, art fairs have become an ubiquitous part of the contemporary art market, with more than 350 set to take place in 2024. In today’s globalized art world, fairs have evolved from trade fairs to bona fide cultural events.
With this report—the first of its kind—we gathered insights from our global community of galleries and art dealers that undergird the commercial art world. To get a full picture, we surveyed gallerists and dealers who do participate in art fairs and those who do not.
What we found, in short, is that art fairs continue to be a central plank of the art world. Some 69% of the gallerists that we surveyed participate in art fairs, and those that do champion their role as a way to meet new collectors, and increase the presence of their gallery: Some 75% of those surveyed that participated in an art fair in 2023 said that they gained new clients, and 47% described the collectors of artworks at these events as mostly new to their business. Those who are planning to participate in more art fairs this year list expansion into new markets (45%) and increased sales (37%) as their primary motivations for doing so.
Galleries that take part in fairs are also utilizing different sales channels to connect with collectors: 57% of respondents said they use online viewing rooms on platforms such as Artsy, and 54% use the online viewing room platforms provided by art fairs.
This report also looks into the key sales methods of galleries that participate in fairs; the types of artworks that they are selling; and the art fair cities that our respondents view as the most important to the international art world.
Below, find a summary of our key takeaways. For the full analysis, download the The Artsy Art Fair Report.
The Findings
1. Art fairs remain a vital way to meet new collectors.
Art fairs give collectors the unique opportunity to browse artworks from a multitude of galleries—often from across the world—under a single roof. Concurrently, they enable exhibitors to reach collectors in jurisdictions and environments outside of their traditional cities and sales channels.
It’s not a shock, then, to see that among the galleries we surveyed that participate in art fairs, more respondents (36%) chose “meeting new collectors” than any other option when asked for the reasons why. Some 75% of those who participated in art fairs last year said that they had gained new clients from doing so.
2. Most galleries are not taking part in more fairs in 2024.
If 2022 marked a full-scale return from most COVID-19 precautions around the world, 2023 can be seen as a year of relative adjustment, where the aftereffects of the pandemic were being weighed up against a broader economic picture that was uneven at best.
For art fairs—endeavors that incur costs, necessitate travel, and require extensive shipping and installation logistics—these broader shifts in the art market were always going to have an acute effect. Our research shows that galleries are taking a more cautious approach to art fairs in this context.
Heading into 2024, just a quarter (25%) of respondents said that they will be taking part in more art fairs than they did last year, and 34% of respondents said that they will be participating in the same number. Some 29% said they will be taking part in fewer fairs.
3. The cost of art fairs is the highest barrier to entry.
Whether it’s in shipping works, transporting and lodging team members, or purchasing installation materials, art fairs can be expensive endeavors. It’s this factor that respondents viewed as the most significant driver leading galleries to participate in fewer art fairs or skip them altogether.
As the chart above shows, a majority (56%) of galleries that don’t participate in art fairs consider them too expensive. The resources required for galleries to participate in fairs can also make them difficult to partake in—some 19% said they don’t take part in fairs due to a lack of staff, and 18% said that the events are too time-consuming.
4. VIP days are just a slice of the ways that galleries make sales at fairs.
How and when are artworks selling at art fairs?
When asked to select the two time periods of an art fair that generate the most sales, most respondents (50%) said that most of their sales are made during the course of the fair after VIP day. However, almost as many (49%) said they made most of their sales on the VIP day. Meanwhile, almost a quarter (24%) said the bulk of their works are sold after the end of the fair. Perhaps surprisingly, just 12% of respondents said that they make most sales before the fair starts, countering the popular suspicion of recent years that most works at art fairs are pre-sold.
Many of our findings from this survey fell in line with art industry standards. A majority (53%) of respondents said that they give an average discount of 10–15% on works at art fairs, followed by 18% who said they offer discounts of less than 10%; 14% who said their discounts range from 15–20%; and 8% who don’t offer discounts. Just 3% of those surveyed said that they gave discounts of more than 20%.
5. New York is viewed as the art fair capital of the world.
International art fairs are essential platforms for collectors, galleries, and artists to converge in one place. They can also function as flag bearers for their local art scenes and destinations in their own right.
When asked what cities with major art fairs are most important to the international art world, this combination comes to the fore. New York was identified by the most respondents (75%) as among the most important art fair cities in the international art world. As well as its deep art scene and resilient concentration of collectors, the Big Apple has two distinct annual art fair moments—two weeks in May, anchored by Frieze New York; and a week in September, anchored by The Armory Show—whereas most cities tend to have one.
Download The Artsy Art Fair Report 2024.
Methodology
The Artsy Art Fair Report 2024 was developed through an online survey that ran from January 2024 to February 2024. It yielded responses from 377 gallery professionals and art dealers that are both partners and non-partners of Artsy.
The majority of participants (33%) are based in the U.S., followed by the U.K. (10%). Some 19% have been in business for less than three years, 48% have been in business for 3–15 years, and 33% have been in business for more than 15 years.
Thank you
This report would not have been possible without the gallerists, art dealers, and other art world professionals who took the time to share their thoughts in our survey. We would like to express our gratitude and hope that this report serves you well.
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