There’s no arguing that 2024 was challenging for the art world. In a recent report, consultancy firm Artprice revealed that art sales dropped by a third compared with 2023, to US$9.9 billion. This figure, the lowest since 2009, reflects the ebb and flow of the global economy.
“The overall art market is currently more conservative,” says Meiling Lee, head of modern and contemporary art, Asia, at Phillips. “Art collectors are cautious about investment, hoping to make no mistakes and looking for the best artworks at the best prices.”
It may be that the turn towards digital innovation is a move to focus on millennial and Gen Z collectors. Despite the 2024 Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting showing an overall decline in auction sales, major houses such as Phillips, Bonhams and Christie’s all found that around 30 to 40 per cent of sales for 2024 came from millennial and Gen Z collectors.
