France plans to bolster its sagging art market
By Angela Doland - Associated Press
PARIS - After watching the fashion industry go more global and seeing fierce competition from New World wines, France is determined to resuscitate another stagnant national treasure: its art market.
Calling the decline "undeniable," Culture Minister Christine Albanel unveiled a plan yesterday that includes zero-interest loans for art buyers, more tax breaks for corporate art buyers, and measures to free up strict regulations on the auction business.
While France's museums pull in millions of art viewers, French auctioneers and gallery owners have long struggled to attract art buyers. A study this week from market watcher Artprice crystallized their fears, with China taking France's traditional No. 3 spot in worldwide art sales.
The United States had 41.7 percent of sales in 2007, Britain 29.7 percent, China 7.3 percent and France was flat at 6.4 percent, the study said. A year earlier, China had 4.9 percent of the market, while France also had 6.4 percent.
Contemporary art in France is in especially bad shape: France had a mere 2.8 percent share of worldwide sales in contemporary and modern art last year, Artprice said. On top of that, the culture minister said art was being "relentlessly drained" from the country. |
Own Art to take home
The Own Art scheme is designed to make it easy and affordable for everyone to buy contemporary works of art and craft including paintings, photography, sculpture, glassware and furniture.
You can borrow up to £2,000, or as little as £100, and pay back the loan in 10 monthly instalments - interest free. The scheme is available through a network of over 250 participating venues across the country.
Arts Council England aims to put the arts at the heart of national life. One of the ways we do this is to encourage people to live with art they love. We also want to help artists live by their creative output and support galleries who sell high quality contemporary art. |
