Every year, UBS and economist Clare McAndrew publish a report that analyzes the global art market. For the first time, McAndrew has also released a second report dedicated to the role played by cities in the United States in the global art market. According to the report, “star artists” make up only 4 percent of what appears in the Wondeur AI database, but they are responsible for 47 percent of institutional exhibitions and 23 percent of exhibitions in commercial galleries. On the other hand, “emerging artists” make up 84 percent of the database, but only 17 percent of institutional exhibitions and 36 percent of gallery exhibitions.
The report also revealed that gender parity has not yet been achieved in these cities, with women's programs representing between 30 and 45 percent of the shows in each urban center surveyed. When it comes to risk appetite and performance scores, New York scored 82 for galleries and 70 for museums for risk appetite, and 21 for galleries and 36 for museums for performance. For gender breakdowns, New York galleries scored the best risk appetite score for male and female artists, with a score of 83 for both. Meanwhile, New York museums obtained the best risk appetite score for male artists (7) and the second best for women (6).Los Angeles has long been a city known for encouraging diverse experimental practices, with its group of major art schools attracting some of the country's best artists as teachers.
In recent years, its profile has grown internationally with the arrival of first-rate galleries, new private museums and an edition of the Frieze art fair. San Francisco has always had a strong culture scene since its earliest days, reinforced by key institutions such as SFMOMA, San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and San Francisco Institute of Art, as well as notable galleries such as Berggruen, Fraenkel, Jessica Silverman and Jenkins Johnson. Its risk appetite was 74% for galleries and 61% for museums, while its performance score was 16 for galleries and 16 for museums. Chicago's risk appetite was 74% for galleries and 48% for museums, with a performance score of 23 for galleries and 34 for museums. When analyzing gender breakdowns, Chicago museums scored the best for male artists (5) and the worst for women artists (1). Chicago galleries and museums also had the worst risk appetite scores for women artists, with 68 and 33 respectively. Miami's star has grown over the past two decades thanks to Art Basel settling in nearby Miami Beach.
Meanwhile, museums have built strong programming and have started opening more galleries across South Florida. Miami's risk appetite score was 74 for galleries and 48 for museums, while its performance score was 17 for galleries and 33 for museums. Santa Fe is home to more than 200 galleries with pieces ranging from classic to contemporary. It is also home to two art markets: The annual Santa Fe Indian Market and the biannual market of the Spanish Society for Colonial Arts. New York surpassed Paris as the world center of the art market in the years after World War II. It has now been the biggest art market city in the world for so long that it hardly attracts comments anymore.
However, data from three main areas - art providers, dollars for arts and government support - were measured per capita by NCAR to create a conversation focused on what artistic vitality can be like in the United States and how it can vary by city. According to their report, New York has the highest proportion of art institutions in the country at 26 percent. This month marks a series of fairs in New York City such as American edition of TEFAF (May 12-16), Frieze New York (May 17-21), NADA (May 18-21) and Contemporary African Art Fair from May 1-54 (May 18-21). It seems that dreams of ever greater globalization and diversification are fading away as problems in other parts of the art world are once again a gain for New York City.
With its strong culture scene since its earliest days reinforced by key institutions such as SFMOMA, San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and San Francisco Institute of Art; Los Angeles' diverse experimental practices; Chicago's best risk appetite scores for male artists; Miami's star growing thanks to Art Basel; Santa Fe's more than 200 galleries; it is clear that New York City is still leading when it comes to being the biggest art market city in the world.
