If you want to be an artist in a recession....
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This page covers:
  • what is a recession?
  • ​what happens to artists and art businesses in a recession?
  • who survives a recession - and how
  • what should artists do in a recession?
There's a few things you NEED TO KNOW - particularly if you've never ever had experience of a serious global recession before.
  • the OECD (in 2020) predicted that things won't be back to normal for AT LEAST TWO YEARS
  • those who survive are those who
    • keep alert and well-informed, 
    • are prepared to change their current practice re making money from art
    • try to be nimble in their responses

What is a recession?
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In very simple terms, a recession is when a country's economy shrinks.
  • Normally, a country's economy grows and governments focus on making sure it can grow, create more jobs and more income for more people
  • When the economy shrinks - in terms of Gross Domestic Product (i.e. how the economy is measured) for two consecutive quarters then a country is in a recession.
  • the results of a recession are:
    • companies close down and/or cut jobs
    • people lose their jobs and associated income
    • people lose confidence in the future
    • the income available for discretionary purchases (eg art) drops like a stone across most income brackets

Below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has projected
  • how long it will take to recover to where we were at the end of 2019
  • the impact of Covid-19 on different countries and geographical blocks - in terms of decline from a single hit pandemic (red) - and with the damage caused to the economy by a second wave (crimson).
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OECD: Projected change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a result of the 2020 Pandemic
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What happens to artists and art businesses in a recession?
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The major implication for artists of the recession is going to be a BIG REDUCTION in available cash to spend on art - which makes selling art a major challenge

​​The Pandemic Recession: Likely Impact on Art Sales and Artists | Making A Mark
galleries serving the low/middle end of the market (ie £200+ prices) are finding the going tough and a number are 'shutting up shop'. ​
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What should artists do about marketing their art in a recession? - Part Two (3 April 2008) 
How does this all affect art?
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Well anything which impacts on homes and stimuli for changes in decoration (like house buying and selling) and the amount of 'free' money which is around to spend on and invest in art is likely to have a very major impact on sales of artwork in 2008.

Plus, let's face it, at the end of the day unless you're involved in high end investment art, most of the art which is bought is actually purchased to decorate a home whether or not the artists who produce it would like it be called "decorative art". Which means both galleries and sales can be very vulnerable to economic shifts. It's just not the sort of thing which people buy when their financial status is uncomfortable or possibly under threat.
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What should artists do about marketing their art in a recession? (23 January 2008) ​
You MUST KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT!

In 2008, the art world crashed with the banking collapse. Lots of artists had to work out how to cope with the fact that
  • sales dried up and
  • many art galleries closed
  • particularly those that were not good at running their art business - many with artwork still inside

The articles in the reference section are ones which highlight what was predicted, what happened and what artists did
REFERENCE:
In 2020, an even bigger recession is riding in on the back of the coronavirus pandemic
  • lots of businesses are going under
  • people are losing their jobs.
  • This will affect the buying power of a proportion of those who like buying art - now and in the future (until the recession ends - and for a while after that)
REFERENCE:

The Pandemic Recession: Likely Impact on Art Sales and Artists | Making A Mark - this covers: 
  • the biggest drop in economic history since records began
  • the impact on art sales and artists
  • lessons for artists from the 2008 recession 
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SEARCH QUERIES RE. ART IN A RECESSION
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  • art marketing in a bad economy
  • articles on artists and recession
  • being an artist in today's economy
  • fine art and the economy
  • how do artists survive recession
  • how economy affects art business
  • how does the economy affect the arts
  • how does art benefit the economy?
  • is the economy affecting visual artists
  • selling art affected recession
  • selling art during recession
  • selling art in a recession
  • selling art in this economy
  • visual artists, what to do in a recession
10 BENEFITS OF A RECESSION
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  1. It causes you to get more creative.
  2. It forces you to make the tough decisions.
  3. It thins out the competition.
  4. It makes you realize you can’t take anything for granted.
  5. It reminds you that real wealth isn’t about the stuff you own.
  6. It fosters out-of-the-box thinking.
  7. It makes it easier to abandon business-as-usual.
  8. It brings you back to the basics.
  9. It accelerates change.
  10. It causes you to be less wasteful. 
Howies Brainfood - 10 Benefits of a Recession
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What should artists do in a recession?
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Those of us who've been around for a while know that every time recession happens, the art world is impacted in basically the same way. In other words, learning from the past is a great way to prepare for the future. 

Alan Bamberger | ArtBusiness.com
Alternative "and/or" strategies for artists 
​trying to remain afloat and survive in an enormous sea of uncertainty
  • assess market for your type of art
  • move upmarket
  • move out of galleries
  • get into direct selling
  • invest in effective marketing
  • manage your debt
  • create opportunities for the risk averse to feel good
ASSESS MARKET FOR YOUR ART
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  • ​Identify sales trends in art sales - You must keep an eye - all the time - on how sales are going, both for your art and similar art by other artists. Trends become very clear over time.
While my galleries aren't "dumping" me, my work is being edged out by chance (closing galleries) or choice (customers opting for easy, affordable, decorative work).
REFERENCE:
MOVE UPMARKET
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People with money still have money throughout the recession unless their company collapses.
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The one art market which does not not tend to change much during a recession is that for high end art - with prices in five,six and seven figures
Our data reveals that the value of even some extremely well-known artists’ work can be adversely affected by market vicissitudes, and that the exact time when a collector decides to go to auction can have a major impact on price performance.
Artsy - ​Why Certain Artists’ Markets Can Weather a Recession While Others’ Flop
MOVE OUT OF GALLERIES
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The absolutely critical issue is to get art out of galleries fast if it shows clear signs of being in trouble.
  • Many an artist has found their art locked inside a bankrupt gallery and then sold to pay creditors if there is no clear documentation about ownership and consignment arrangements.
  • It's your responsibility to:
    • keep an eye on sales and payments - drying up of either is a sign an art gallery is in trouble
    • chase down the administrator of a bankruptcy. Although he or she will make some effort to find you - it's often an advertisement.
ENGAGE WITH COLLECTORS & SELL DIRECT
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A lot of artists spent lockdown working very hard on doing one or more of the following in order to increase art sales via direct selling:
  • selling small works direct to new customers
  • sorting out their website so it has a proper ecommerce set-up for priced artwork for sale
  • developing an improved presence on social media
  • developing artwork which proves popular with buyers
That's because money coming in is better than money only going out!

In the main those artists who have been through the 2008 recession moved fastest because they remember what the impact is like on income and how long the recession effect can last. 
Over my career, I’ve lived through six recessions and learned two big lessons:
1) fear and anxiety will paralyze you if you are not prepared, and
​2) a crisis that forces you to stop, just stop, can be a meaningful moment to learn and prepare for your next stage.​

Bruce Nussbaum
INVEST IN EFFECTIVE MARKETING

​see Marketing Art and Selling Art Sections

Given the constraints of travel and meeting people, this time around the recession means that artists simply MUST develop skills around marketing using technological means and social media
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MANAGE YOUR DEBT

It's ESSENTIAL that you understand:
  • the cash flow of your art business - what comes might come in; what must go out
  • at what point you become insolvent (you cannot trade if you are insolvent)
You might also like to review the legal repercussions of trading while "breaking the law" - if you want to avoid potentially stiff penalties
REFERENCE:
INDEX of Art Business Information for Artists website
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: How to be a successful artist
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