The global art market reached an estimated US$64.1 billion in sales in 2019, according to a new report compiled by Art Basel and UBS. The three major art hubs, the United States, the United Kingdom and China – dominated the market, making up 82 per cent of all transactions. While the Singapore market might only be comprise a small portion of the global art transactions, the Lion City is making its presence known.
(Related: Art Basel Hong Kong might be cancelled due to Covid-19, but still viewable online)
Here are 5 fascinating bite-sized statistics that demonstrate Singapore’s might in the global art market.
- 40 per cent of collectors spent between US$50k – US$100k on art, with another 30 per cent willing to spend more than US$100k. Interestingly, Singapore handily beat the major art markets with regard to the number of collectors willing to shell out serious dough for art.
- 38 per cent of Singaporean collectors always or often use online platforms to purchase art, with 11 per cent of these respondents stating that e-commerce was their preferred channel. And when it came to e-commerce platforms, Instagram surprisingly captured the lion’s share. 29 per cent of respondents bought art through Instagram.
- While men made up a larger share of active high net worth art collectors in Singapore, the women weren’t too far behind. 60 per cent of the survey respondents were male while the rest were females. Asia also trumped the rest of the world when it came to equal representation of both genders in the art world.
- Millennials (defined as 23 to 38 years old) made up 48 per cent of Singaporean art collectors, while Generation X (39 to 54 years old) made up 42 per cent. The remaining 8 per cent of collectors were above the age of 54.
- Finally, in the realm of fine art, Singapore boasted the largest number of collectors, with 83 per cent of respondents stating that they owned at least one piece of fine art. Decorative art and antiques were also popular with the art collecting set.
