Publish Date:

One of the worlds premier decorations, art is hung, stood, and displayed in places all over the world.  Whether a wall painting, sculpture, or online design, art is a topic that is frequently overlooked as a major influence on society.  Much like it can be overlooked as something that simply belongs on a wall, the global art market is not often talked about in the economy.  Despite this, the art industry is a 63.7 billion dollar global market that deserves attention.

Publish Date:

Art sales reached an incredible peak over the past few years. Billionaires and other wealthy art enthusiasts around the world have taken joy in paying exorbitant prices for pieces by both well-known and up-and-coming artists. Many of these pieces are fed into personal collections, some of which are put on display. The art collecting habit, popular among the global affluent, has driven prices of popular art to the hundreds of millions. Big name international auctioneers have thrived and the industry has reached unprecedented levels of prosperity. However, 2015 saw a decrease in reported sales for the first time in six years, causing many to believe the art boom is starting to decline.

Publish Date:

In terms of art, China is certainly in a buying mode. Meg Maggio, an American gallery owner with 20 years of experience in China, found that western firms are pouring into the Chinese art market nowadays. This year, China has officially surpassed the United States in becoming the world’s profitable art and auction market. The Chinese art market posted auction revenues of $8.9 billion in 2013. However, freedoms of foreign firms in the industry are strictly limited by Chinese authorities and competition has increased between local and foreign firms. This post will address the challenges that foreign auction houses are facing in the Chinese art and auction market.

Publish Date:

The past several years, the economy in Morocco has been characterized by macroeconomic stability and low inflation. However, the country has been faced with high unemployment and its task in recent years has been to accelerate growth in order to create more jobs.

Morocco's initiatives for developing entrepreneurship put stress on improving the literacy rate and encouraging women to enter the business field. In the past decade there have been numerous literacy programs, targeting mostly women, the largest one being "Massirat Nour". The government sees education as the tool to decrease poverty. The larger goal is to diversify the economy so that it is not as agriculture focused and make the country more attractive to foreign investors.

Publish Date:

Unfortunately, the global economic crisis was not biased when it struck industries across the world.  Driven by high-rolling, high-ego aficionados, the art industry was impacted more than one would have expected.  With artworks ranging from just $500,000 to well into the millions of dollars, buyers who take interest in these unique items also felt the burn from the instability of the world markets and significant decrease in personal wealth.  As a matter of fact, in 2007 the art market was valued at $65 billion, down from $113 billion just five years before.  Today it is estimated to be as low as $50 billion.