Creative Times

In recent years contemporary art has become big business. Susie Stubbs speaks to some of the movers and shakers of the Northwest art-world to find out what it means for the region.

Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on contemporary art. From the critic and collector to the man on the street, the great British public knows a thing or two about Hirst, Emin and Banksy et al. And the public’s new found love affair with art doesn’t stop there. Collecting contemporary visual art has become big business. Estimates vary, but the global contemporary art market is now worth around £30 billion. Not bad for an unmade bed and diamond-encrusted skull or two.

Contemporary art sales are slowing, both at home and abroad, revealing that the art market can, as the Art Newspaper put it, ‘no longer withstand the pressure of the surrounding economic turmoil’. But despite the economic downturn, contemporary art is still selling. Take the Frieze Art Fair, which last month talked of sales that ‘exceeded expectations’, or the Zoo Art Fair, which also reported healthy trading. So where does this leave regional artists? As art sales have rocketed, and as London has become the epicentre of the art market (second only to New York), how has the Northwest fared? Have Liverpool and Manchester seen an explosion in commercial galleries? Have collectors been jetting in to buy the latest offerings from our artists?

It seems that we in the North haven’t been taking advantage of the art boom perhaps quite as much as we should. “Given the strong public sector, the fact that there isn’t a strong contemporary art market here is slightly ridiculous,” says Sarah Turner, Head of Visual Arts at Arts Council England, North West. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised. Yes, we might have Liverpool Biennial and the Tate and the Walker, FACT and Cornerhouse (and dozens of others in between), but it appears that we don’t have all the ingredients required to kick-start the commercial market. What the Northwest needs, if it is to support such a market, is a critical mass: something akin to the combination of Frieze, Saatchi, the commercial galleries of London’s East End and strong public galleries that turned London from a European backwater into an international hub of commercial art sales.

It’s not as straightforward as it might sound. The market is based on a shadowy system of networks and endorsements. Behind any art sale is a tangled web of museums, galleries, critics, dealers, academics, artists and collectors – and if an artist is based outside the capital, how much more difficult will it be to access that network? “It is hard to break into the top tier of the international art market,” admits Sarah Turner, “and it’s harder still if you are not based in London, where you have collectors, curators and public galleries very connected to emerging galleries. But what’s important is to focus on how we can put the Northwest on the map.”

The Ceri Hand Gallery, Liverpool’s first international commercial art gallery, may be one of the winning moves in this profile-raising game. “Artists wanted to live outside London but have the same ambition as artists living in London,” says Ceri Hand. “The problem was that there was no outlet for them. This remains a challenge but one that organisations like the Workplace Gallery and International 3 are addressing.” Ceri Hand is also, presumably, redressing that imbalance herself by staging eight shows a year. “I’ve set out to be an out and out commercial gallery but it is hard,” she says. “My strategy is to build on the public sector network that I’ve been embedded in – I’ve had the British Council bring two trips here, the Contemporary Art Society and curators from all over the UK – because I know that the commercial sector often doesn’t know how to talk to the public sector.”

Most artists recognise that the relationship with their art dealer is their most important. After all, it is the dealer who supplies early career support and then provides long-term professional development. “There has been resistance to what we do because we’re sometimes seen as only being interested in selling art,” acknowledges Comme Ca Art director, Claire Turner. “But that’s not what we do. Comme Ca has been going since the mid-90s and we’re still working with many of the same artists now, developing them and nurturing their careers. It’s a two-way street.”

International 3 is another organisation with ambition. The Manchester-based gallery, formerly an artist-run space, branched out in 2005 into artist representation. “We wanted to accelerate artists’ careers, those artists we felt were ready for that kind of exposure,” says director Paulette Brien. “They were our peers, we knew their work and felt we could be their advocates. We didn’t feel there was anywhere in Manchester doing that at the time and we saw it as an area that had great potential for our artists, helping them secure exhibitions, commissions, career development and, of course, money.”

p. It’s hard to sell if you are not based in London, where you have collectors, curators and public galleries very connected to emerging galleries. But what’s important is to focus on how we can put the Northwest on the map.

The gallery’s ambition doesn’t end with its artists. “There isn’t the market in Manchester,” says Brien, “so we are trying to develop that. It’s a long, slow process.” Part of that process focuses on international art fairs, with the International 3 setting its sights on getting into the invite-only Frieze Art Fair. Tough to break into, fairs such as Frieze are nevertheless key to developing a worldwide reputation. The work on show is seen by vast numbers of people and, crucially, by reputation-makers as well as collectors. “Buyers do tend to come to us now,” says Jody Goodall of the Richard Goodall Gallery, which in 2007 opened a second space, one that focuses on high-end art and photography. “But that’s the result of years of doing decent shows and always being at the big art fairs.”

There is cause for cheer for those eager to break into the international art market. In the region’s favour is its combination of public galleries and commissioning bodies; together, they have created an enviable reputation for the region.It is this awareness that is leading to the slow transformation of the art market. “Things are changing,” confirms Ceri Hand. “The Arts Council is keen to build and develop markets for art, particularly in the North. The Biennial, Walker, Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery: they all have initiatives to develop collector bases, and work is being done to shift things from the London-centric buying market.”

Both public bodies and independent galleries alike understand the value of converting public awareness into the more tangible act of buying artwork. Early next year, for example, the Contemporary Art Society, the national body that supports contemporary collecting, launches a Northwest branch. Arts&Business has just extended its Visual pilot project to the region, a service that helps businesses buy and commission contemporary art, while the Arts Council has pledged to continue its Own Art loan scheme.

Commercial galleries play a vital role in developing a culture of buying within the region. Comme Ca, for example, works closely with potential buyers, aiming to develop a long-term (and mutually beneficial) relationship with them. “People used to go to London because there were more “reputable” galleries there, but now that’s not the case,” says Claire Turner. “We spend a long time with our buyers, taking them to meet artists and to exhibitions, and now we’re starting to see collectors coming up from London rather than going through the dealers based there.” Buyer confidence is key; while Jody Goodall talks up what he calls the ‘Banksy effect’, he also acknowledges that buyers are still shy of becoming serious collectors. “Artists such as Banksy have brought art into the mainstream,” he says, “but people are still wary of buying the more expensive works. So we go to buyers homes, hang things for them, give them a choice of works and guide them to buy something that’s right for them.”

So, credit crunch aside, is the Northwest really in a position to develop a strong commercial art market? Sarah Turner remains optimistic, arguing that where pioneer commercial galleries are leading, others will follow. “Look at Germany,” she says. “Berlin is an example of how quickly art markets can grow, and how the market itself is not set in stone – it can shift from city to city and even country to country. What we need to do is look internationally and build links and learn from like cities, wherever they are in the world.” But without that outlook, and further bridges being built between the public and the commercial art world, galleries such as the International 3, Ceri Hand, Richard Goodall and Comme Ca will continue to be lone regional voices operating in an underdeveloped marketplace.

With thanks to Morris Hargreaves McIntyre, Arts Council England, North West, the Ceri Hand Gallery, International 3, the Richard Goodall Gallery, Tate Liverpool and Comme Ca.

W: www.cerihand.co.uk
W: www.international3.com
W: www.richardgoodallgallery.com
W: www.commecaart.com