A market snapshot for Thomas Crampton

Thomas Crampton from Ogilvy asked me to give him a few impromptu comments on the state of the Asian art market.

http://www.thomascrampton.com/china/sonia-kolesnikov-jessop-art/

Here are the main points
1- China as a new major art consumer: Chinese art collectors purchase everything from art to wine and jewelry, and you increasingly see international art galleries catering to them.


2- The rise of Indonesian Art as a serious, political and social commentary: Very much different from the tourist-driven known Balinese art with pretty women and village scenes.

3- The rise of Asian cities as international art hubs: Although Hong Kong is the number one art hub in Asia, thanks to all the auction business done there, Singapore is fast catching up and will host its first international art fair next year and will also open soon a Freeport, where art can be store and trade taax free.
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Published – Singapore Looks for a Softer Side of Growth

Singapore may be best known as a hub of electronics manufacturing and transportation, but as it plans for its next stage of economic growth, its leaders are looking toward a radically different sector: the arts.

Support for theater, museums and other cultural activities has been quietly moving up the official agenda of the city-state in recent years. But this month, an economic panel appointed by the government recommended that establishing Singapore as a “leading cultural capital” and a “distinctive global city” should be among officials’ top three priorities in the next decade.

To find out more about the city-state’s aspiration to transform itself into an art hub, read my full story in the IHT




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Published – Ramayana Casts Its Ancient Spell


With numerous heroes and villains and its powerful feel-good message of good triumphing over evil, the Ramayana has been one of the great epic poems of Indian culture for centuries. Originally attributed to the Hindu Sanskrit poet Valmiki, who lived about 400 B.C., the story has been retold and adapted over time by poets, scholars and everyday storytellers

It has also captured the imagination of many other cultures beyond its origins in India. In Southeast Asia, scenes from the Ramayana can be found in places ranging from Prambanan, a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Yogyakarta in central Java, Indonesia, to the magnificent 12th-century Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

“Ramayana Revisited: A Tale of Love & Adventure,” an exhibition that is running at the Peranakan Museum, Singapore until Aug. 22, underlines the cross-cultural power of the popular epic.
For full story: www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/arts/04iht-RAMAYANA.html
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