Art Basel 2022: how digital innovation saved Hong Kong’s art market – virtual exhibitions, online masterclasses and live-streamed studio visits helped the ‘glocal’ scene get ‘phygital’
- The digital drive is keeping the art market alive, with a global turnover of US$65 billion in 2021 as galleries moved forward with video content and 360-degree photography
- While many clients still prefer face-to-face interaction, they are also taking to online salesrooms, live-stream video tours of exhibitions and digital fairs
One can sense a huge collective sigh of relief in Hong Kong’s art world as Covid-19 restrictions are progressively relaxed and gallery owners, auction houses, collectors and exhibitors see a light at the end of the tunnel.
According to “The Art Market 2022” report, produced by Art Basel and UBS, the market contracted 20 per cent in 2020, but 2021 saw a welcome resurgence, with a reported global turnover of US$65.1 billion in 2021.
For a sector that traditionally revolves so much around in-person attendance at viewings, sales and high-profile events, the last couple of years necessitated a major rethink of how business could be conducted.
Increasingly the industry has allowed itself to be led by technology, with stakeholders stepping however reluctantly into the “digital space” alongside their clients and international contacts and finding, in many cases, that it really could offer a viable alternative.
Overall revenues for the period may have been down, and the anticipatory buzz of a big auction week or a new gallery opening may have been missing. But, importantly, the business kept moving and now, all kinds of new possibilities have come into focus.
“We fast tracked new initiatives and made a quantum leap in our digital presence and engagement,” said Lihsin Tsai, senior director at Hauser & Wirth, a leading international gallery which specialises in contemporary and modern art.
“We realised that people were still eager for connections and content during the lockdowns and travel restrictions, so we did our best to keep art accessible to all.”