What is perhaps ironic is that higher end artists and galleries have less trouble selling in today’s limping economy than those who attempt to sell at lower prices. There is a high end niche market that is relatively unaffected by varying market conditions. A recent article in the Boston Globe quotes Barbara Krakow, a long time high end gallery owner, who discusses the fact that some galleries are seemingly unaffected by outside economic forces. She tells the Globe, “There’s a pocket in the art world not affected by what’s going on economically at all.” She should know – her clients buy her artists’ work at prices that reach upwards of $150,000.

Discretionary Spending: Alive and Well?

The Art Newspaper has focused on information along the same vein. A recent article by Brooke S. Mason reports on art market shifts and quotes gallery owner David Maupin as saying, “I have far more people I can call for a $75,000 to $100,000 work than the lower-priced artists.” He also says the category of younger (and less-expensively priced) artists’ sales has dropped by half in the past few months. The art journal Big, Red, and Shiny published a recent interview with gallery owner Joseph Carroll in which he discusses the current economy and its effects. He points to the recent Francis Bacon triptych, which sold at Sotheby’s for an astounding $86 million. Carroll sums the situation up nicely saying, “I don’t think the art market is independent of the larger economy but they don’t appear to be synchronized at the moment. At a certain level, like the recent auctions show, the market is independent of the general economy. At the lower end, I would say they are more closely linked.”

But what about those younger, emerging artists? This younger generation of artists and dealers has found alternatives to sell their creations besides the traditional, sometimes stuffy, brick-and-mortar galleries. Between increasing commercial rents in traditionally established art markets like Boston, Santa Fe and New York and increasing rents for residential areas, these regions are getting tougher for up-and-coming artists to thrive.

Many artists and gallery owners have turned to alternative routes to sell their work. Art fairs have become quite popular, and the art fair “circuit” extends around the country. While the travel and setup can become expensive, the overhead can be considerably less than a traditional gallery. And artists often don’t have to travel far afield to attend multiple art fairs. Some cities hold several fairs per year, or even per month, and fairs have become popular worldwide. A number of websites are dedicated to maintaining art fair listings both large and small, including www.artfairsinternational.com, www.festivalnet.com and www.artfairsourcebook.com. These are not local hack events either. These events are generally juried, well-publicized affairs attended by large numbers of people.

Online Galleries

In addition to art fairs, the biggest change to hit the art scene over the past decade or two is the proliferation of art sales on the Internet. Gallery owners and artists alike can show their art to buyers around the world with very little overhead costs and can easily ship worldwide. Whether selling through online auctions or sales websites, art can be shown and purchased at the click of a mouse, and the World Wide Web has changed the art sales landscape, much the same way the MySpace phenomenon has changed the indie music business. Even that mammoth of art dealers, Sotheby’s, offers previews of art online so potential buyers can get a good look at the art before attending a live auction.

One other perhaps less well-known option for struggling artists is to attend an MFA program at a university. Because most public and private donations for artists go to institutions and not individual artists, a Master of Fine Arts program can be a place artists can study, create and build a reputation. Of course, like anyone who chooses additional higher education, there is always the issue of cost to live and attend school, but scholarships and other grants can help pave the way, and the long term benefits hopefully outweigh current costs.

The art world is perhaps one of the most intriguing pockets of an economy not affected by outside forces. While high end collectors and investors (and the artists they patronize) are seemingly unaffected by the more pedestrian issues of high gas prices and rising food costs, emerging artists and the galleries that support them around the country are getting crunched by increasing rents and fewer buyers in their category. Whether this bifurcation of the art world persists as the economy continues to struggle remains to be seen, but for art enthusiasts, it will certainly be interesting.

Many organizations, of course, will feel the painful impact of the slumping economy. Touring companies may cut back on the number of stops. Tourist-based destinations may have fewer travelers. Nonprofits may have state and local funding cuts from municipalities. In Washington, D.C., the Helen Hayes Awards reported a decline of 1.9% in overall theater attendance, a decrease of nearly 37,000 attendees from a year ago. This makes the fifth year in a row attendance is down in D.C. area venues. Helen Hayes, the CEO and President of the organization who conducted the study, said, “In an uncertain economy, art is often among the first things to be eliminated from discretionary spending.”

In the academic theater realm, the University of Mississippi in Oxford has reported low attendance woes as well. The faculty believes a lack of funding for advertising is one of the most pressing issues. With a lack of money to get the word out, a self-perpetuating cycle is created. Since much of the program’s funding comes from ticket sales, poor attendance makes the situation worse, particularly when word of mouth is an important component. Free ads in local newspapers are the primary means of getting the message out. Students and faculty are exploring alternative methods of generating buzz, including enhancing publicity and increasing attendance among certain student groups, such as sororities and fraternities.

Other Factors

However, even with the expected economic pains affecting theater ticket sales, other factors are often at play as well. The Orlando Fringe Festival, a 12-day event held each May, reported a slight decline in ticket sales. The festival offers a variety of venues for a wide range of live performances and is attended by over 20,000 audience members. The 2008 festival did have a decline of ticket sales by about 7.5% over the 2007 numbers; however, the festival itself blames the lower sales on the lower number of venues and shows available this year rather than directly on fewer overall ticket sales.

In New York City, the theater hub of the U.S., Broadway itself has experienced a dip in sales, albeit relatively slight. The Broadway League has released its annual end of season numbers, which run from May of 2007 to May 2008; 12.27 million attendees saw shows, compared to 12.3 last year – a decrease of only .2%. In Broadway’s case, the Broadway League attributes the measly drop not to a shrinking economy but to a 19-day stagehand strike that occurred last fall.

In fact, tourism officials in New York City expect the wounded economy to potentially bolster theater and tourism in the Big Apple. Why? In the first quarter of 2008, the number of visitors to New York was up by a million people compared to 2007, with an attending $700 million more in money spent. According to a CBS News report, George Fertitta, head of the NYC tourism office, said, “Faced with an expensive euro and tighter budgets, Americans who might usually choose a trip to Europe are more likely to take a shorter trip to New York.”

Theater attendance is also highly influenced by local forces. In Bloomington, Illinois, the Bloomington Arts Center has seen a boom in attendance. The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA) has recently undergone a $15 million renovation; as a result, live performances in a variety of genres are available nearly all week long. Furthermore, the center has created a partnership with local schools, resulting in over 10,000 student attendees this year.

European Arts

Across the pond, theater attendance is mixed as well. In London, a wave of reality TV shows has generated a flurry of interest in live theater. The concept of choosing the next musical theater star through a televised competition has created a large interest in seeing the final staged product. Shows such as Andrew Lloyd Weber’s productions of Grease and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat have drawn in television viewers from the living room to the theater, with musical theater attendance up a startling 10%.

On the flip side, the Vienna Opera has had its own troubles. Not affected by the euro or other economic forces per se, the Opera has had to contend with a force all its own – soccer. The Euro 2008 soccer matches were held in Vienna at the same time as the famed opera house staged a Verdi production; the opera believes its fans were avoiding the stampedes of crowds in the city and have taken steps to avoid future conflicts.

While an economy in recession may have a direct impact on some arts organizations, it is clear that many will not suffer deeply. Local forces and other outside factors play into the way a theater and its audiences respond to economic changes. Both in the U.S. and Europe, pop culture, local facilities, venue changes and publicity factor into ticket sales; it is not just a tightening wallet.