The current global recession just might bring about some long-term benefits for the arts. It’s also possible that I need better ventilation in my studio. I lost my only gallery representation when they closed their doors a few months ago. Art is anything but recession-proof, as well I know. It’s one of the first luxuries to get axed from the budget in tough times, but hear me out.
Many parts of the world are still in the summer vacation season and, with less cash to burn, people are looking for cheap entertainment. According to Brook S. Mason in the on-line newsletter, The Art Newspaper, attendance at National Trust properties in the US and the UK have been on the rise. Visitors have flocked to artist sites and historic homes, in some cases by as much as 50% over last year. Overall, in the UK, 24% more people have visited National Trust sites this year than last. Many of those sites have free or very modest admission. Anyone who has taken a family of four to the movies will like the sound of that.
In the US, the home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) saw 50% more traffic just in the month of May. Visits to Jackson Pollock’s place was up 20% this year, and Frederic Edwin Church’s crib had a 10% increase in interest. Clearly, millions of people are foregoing more expensive forms of entertainment for a whirl through a museum while soaking up some air conditioning. They’re also soaking up art and history, which is never a bad thing.
Can you see the silver lining here? If not, maybe a little history will help. Flashback to the Great Depression in the States. President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the Public Works Art Program, which later became the Federal Arts Project (FAP) in 1935. It employed thousands of artists who painted murals and crafted sculptures for public places. Millions of people were exposed to public art for the first time. After the economy started humming again at the end of WWII, the stage was set for the great American art movements of the 1950s and 60s. People had seen art and liked it. Now they had some money. Get the picture?
Once the economy gets cranked up again, a public newly interested in art will be spending money like sailors on shore leave and starving artists will be eating caviar and filet mignon. Sweet! Make mine medium rare please!
There is a dark side to all this, though. Donations to National Trust sites are down, especially at the higher levels ($25,000 and up). While memberships are up, it takes a lot of $35 memberships to replace that $50,000 gift. It becomes a war of attrition.
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Gary J Dombrowski said:
Pete, Cool article. Sorry to hear about the gallery. I figured they closed when I was walking around downtown Gettysburg earlier this month. ~Gary
August 28th, 2009 at 3:06 pm