Latitude: Platform for Brazilian Art Galleries Abroad
Latitude is delighted to announce the launch of their new website, which is set to be a leading international resource on Brazilian art and the activities of contemporary art galleries from Brazil. With this, Latitude also published the results of their 2nd Sectorial Study, which reports a steady growth in sales for member galleries above the international market trends. This study is the only one of its kind to be published and was completed by Latitude’s Research Coordinator Dr. Ana Leticia Fialho.
2nd Sectorial Study
This report has been compiled based on data from the 44 contemporary primary market galleries that are part of Latitude: Platform for Brazilian Art Galleries Abroad. The findings prove that Brazil is a competitive player in the international art market with sales that do not show signs of slowing.
Highlights include
–Total export sales for 2012 were 27,130,165 USD, which is an increase of over 8 million USD from 2011 and an almost 350% increase since 2007.
–81% of Brazilian galleries surveyed reported an increase in volume of business and 70% hired additional members of staff in 2012.
–The average growth among all galleries surveyedwas 22.5%.
–The main destinations of international sales were reported to be the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France and Hong Kong with a 200% increase in sales to the United Kingdom in 2012.
Within Brazil,81% of galleries reported growth in business in 2012. The report found that 6,700 pieces of contemporary art were sold by Latitude’s member galleries. The vast majority of galleries polled reported gross sales under 1.8 million USD per year, while near 20% reported sales between 1.8 and 15 million USD. 70% of galleries reported that they hired new staff in 2012. Galleries also reported that they have invested more money in not-for-profit activities in 2012, such as supporting their artists in museum exhibitions, helping produce publications and financing other non-commercial and public projects. The study has revealed that the sector is quickly expanding, with 50% of galleries in Latitude created after 2000,11 created since2010 and a steady rate of additional new galleries created each year since.
The majority of sales reported by the galleries were done within the gallery space, with the second most made at Brazilian and international fairs. SP-Arte, the São Paulo art fair, was identified as the fair that Brazilian galleries sold the most at, with Art Basel in Miami Beach as the top selling international fair. 72% of all sales done by the Brazilian galleries were to private Brazilian collectors, with 12% to private international collectors and the rest to Brazilian and international institutions, corporate collections and funds.
The 2nd Sectorial Study also shows there has been expansion for Brazilian contemporary art galleries within the international market in 2012. Total export sales were 27,130,165 USD, which is a 350% increase in the last six years. Overall, local sales within Brazil represented 85% of the total volume of business for galleries, with international sales accounting for 15% in 2012. As Latitude represents galleries operating within the primary market only, the project reported that its helps account for a significant portion of export sales. Considering Brazil’s art market as a whole, in 2012, Latitude galleries were responsible for 53% of the total volume of exports, the main destinations for the export sales being United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France and Hong Kong. Sales within the United Kingdom increased by over 200% in 2012 and sales to Hong Kong have increased dramatically with Brazilian galleries starting to attend Art Basel in Hong Kong.
This trend also applies to introducing international artists to the Brazilian market with 75% of the galleries working with foreign artists and an average of 22% of foreign artists on each gallery’s roster. 30% of galleries within Latitude have reported they have a formal partnership agreement with a foreign gallery.
New website
Latitude today launches their new website, www.latitudebrasil.org, which will be a major resource for the public to learn about the latest news on international and local projects featuring Brazilian art. Taking inspiration from the title of the organisation, the website includes an interactive map with up-to-date information about what artists represented by Brazilian art galleries are showing abroad. It will also be a rich database for all of the activities of the organisation over the past three years and will present reports on the activities Latitude has been involved with which includes bringing Brazilian galleries to international art fairs such as a recent project at Art Basel Hong Kong. With the launch of the website, Latitude has also developed a new Facebook page that will help foster public engagement (facebook.com/latitudebrazil). The website also includes information about the art market in Brazil and will include every annual edition of Latitude’s Sectorial Study, which have also helped inform overall strategy for the organisation.
Website: www.latitudebrasil.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/latitudebrazil
For further information, press images, or interview requests please contact:
Jenny McVean, Sutton PR
jenny [at] suttonpr.com / T +44 (0) 20 7183 3577 / M +44 (0) 7595 217 650
