EMERGING MARKETS: FOCUS ON BRAZIL
An article from a newspaper illustrates my comments on this expectation of effervescence in the art market in Brazil. Written by the journalist Roberta Pennafort, from Rio, and published in the paper O Estado de São Paulo on 26 August 2011, the article describes the financial status of art today in Brazil and the expectations of this market, and gives some of the figures for ArtRio, an art fair that is hoping to become one of the biggest: 83 galleries, half of them from abroad from the United States, South America, Europe and even Australia, and 700 artists, many presenting works done especially for the occasion, and sales expected to reach a hundred million reales. These figures for ArtRio, an international contemporary art fair, do not seem to be those of an event in its first year. The fair, which was held between 8 and 11 September, was strengthened by the state government’s authorisation exempting business done at the fair from state tax. “It’s a step forward”, wrote the journalist. “São Paulo was recently mentioned as one of the most important creative cities across the globe”. But what is really going on in the Brazilian art market, which grew dramatically in the last ten years? The Brazilian art market is produced prior to its commercialisation in fairs at an earlier stage by artists, dealers, auction houses, collectors, investors and so on. It is an irrefutable fact that no artist can make a living from his works unless he sells them. It is an intrinsic relationship that has important ramifications for institutions and the market alike. It creates a chain of production that involves jobs and investments and without doubt results in culture. The public does not play a part in this business, although the exception is New York. São Paulo was recently mentioned as one of the most important creative cities across the globe, alongside New York, London, Barcelona and Berlin. The creative economy already moves around $30 million in the city, around 10% of its GDP (Gross domestic product). The city has a climate that favours a flourishing art market, with young liberal professionals who welcome all kinds of manifestations of culture. These are educated people who may become potential art collectors. It is a fact then, that the arts are drawing closer to the interests of the market and are merging and transforming into money. That is dangerous if, as a result, the artist’s work is turned into a simple ‘commodity’. With the commercialisation
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