The Hiscox report is generally a good place to get the sentiment of the art world in any given year - this years report is no different and is a little predictable. The acceleration of online activity by businesses operating in our lovely deregulated, slightly antiquated industry continues. So that you don’t have to read this chunky report we distilled the nuggets worth noting.

In 2019 online art sales had slowed to just 4% after a period of declining growth seen in recent years. However, with many galleries across the world closing at the start of 2020 the market was forced to prioritise online sales. Online-only auction sales by Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips were five-times higher in the first half of 2020 than in the same period in 2019.

This movement to buying art online saw players in the art market racing to adapt and digitalise their processes. Google Arts and Culture has collaborated with over 500 museums and galleries world-wide and so we have seen a burst of virtual tours and online exhibits. When Art Basel launched their art fair in the form of online viewing rooms earlier in the year there was a frenzy, with over 250,000 visitors flocking to click through hundreds of galleries pages. It felt a bit like looking back at a new years eve party - an underwhelming experience, with expectation set far to high, but certainly a healthy marker of what’s to come. We expect to see many other fairs jumping on the online bandwagon.

While some platforms have struggled to build business online, others have seen success. Sotheby’s rate of online growth has accelerated significantly during the COVID-19 crisis, with 131% increase in the number of lots sold online in their virtual live auctions. Of course, we have to consider how these stats are taken out of their macro contexts and recognise that less people are visiting physical spaces, so no wonder they’re higher, people need to see art somewhere. Many of our gallery friends have told us their marketing budgets have been moved from art fairs and prioritised towards digital channels.

In the future, even the most traditional platforms are expected to increase their online presence. The report suggests that if big galleries can embrace technology they could emerge as key online players, with 80% of online art sales platforms expecting sales to increase in the next 12 months. While there will still be plenty of opportunities to see art in person, there is no denying the online art market is making huge strides.

It’ll be interesting to see if these larger incumbents can be agile and adapt. There is also a refreshing enthusiasm around the community of smaller curators, project spaces, and younger platforms; while they may not have such large budgets to splash cash on digital, they still own the right for the same online real estate. This is good and bad news for the humble art buyer; ultimately it means buyers from anywhere will have the chance to access more. More variety, more rubbish, more quality. The artistsupportpledge started by artist Matthew Burrows is a great example of this. You have everything, decentralised, uncurated, but at least you have it.

Words Grace Barclay

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