“This too shall pass” An exploratory study of the art market in Azerbaijan MA Thesis Name: Jamila Orujova, 483247 Supervisor: Prof. Filip Vermeylen Second Reader: Prof. Isidoro Mazza Date of submission: 11th of June 2019 MA Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship Erasmus University Rotterdam Abstract “This too shall pass” is the title of one of the works exhibited by Yarat contemporary art organization at Venice Biennale in 2013. The choice of this artwork as a cover image is not random. This non-space artwork consists of light coming through letters made from Plexiglas, that create the four-word English phrase on the opposite wall. The interpretation of this work relates to the history of the Azerbaijani alphabet that has been changed four times over the last century. This depiction of a linguistic heritage full of temporality, perpetual change, and generational break altogether portrays the modern Azerbaijani art market. However, in the last decennium, the local art market had a significant boost characterized by the launch of art institutions, commercial art galleries and active presence of local artists on the global art events. The visibility of the peripheral artists on the central art events demonstrates the globalization and economic internationalization of the visual arts. This exploratory thesis aims to examine the adoption of the western model and the influence of the local contexts in the emerging Azerbaijani art market within the framework of cultural globalization. The research employs 12 in-depth semi-structured interviews with important players and ethnographic observations during various exhibitions, events, and work experience. Finally, this thesis contributes to the researches about post-soviet emerging art markets and gives an idea of the development of the art market in a small Caucasian country with complicated historical background. Keywords: contemporary art, emerging art markets, cultural globalization, Azerbaijan, local contexts TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Research background 4 1.2 Research objectives and Research question 5 2 Literature Review 7 2.1 Contemporary art market: Western Model 7 2.1.1Definition 7 2.1.2 Contemporary art market structure and key actors 8 2.2 Cultural Globalization 12 2.2.1 Leading cultural globalization theories 12 2.2.2 Globalization theories and contemporary art market 13 2.3 Emerging art markets 16 2.3.1 Local contexts and activation mechanisms 16 2.3.2. Case of Azerbaijan 19 3 Methodology 23 3.1 Qualitative Research Method 23 3.2 Sampling 25 3.3 Data Analysis 26 3.4 Limitations and Further research 27 4 Results 28 4.1 Azerbaijan Art Market Model 28 4.1.1 Past and Present 28 4.1.2 Limited Infrastructure 30 4.2 Key Players and Influence of the West 33 4.2.1 Contemporary art organization (Institutional side) 34 4.2.2 Contemporary art galleries (Market side) 39 4.3 Global Presence 43 5 Conclusion 48 References 1 Introduction 1.1 Research background For centuries within the Western art system the term international art indicated art from other Western countries (Van Hest, 2012). The visual arts were perceived mainly as Western experience, moreover it was valorized based on the practices shared and developed inside this geographical (Western) circle (Becker, 1982). The situation changed only in 1980 with the appearance of multiculturalism and new actors from peripheral locations. Today reception of the artists from the BRICS1 countries on the global art events significantly increased (Van Hest, 2012; Velthuis & Baia Curioni 2015). Contemporary art markets have started to develop in various parts of the world, like China, Vietnam, Russia, India, to name a few (Robertson, 2011; Komarova & Velthuis, 2018). Scholars group them under the category of “emerging art markets” and explore the similar trends in their emergence (Robertson, 2011). Furthermore, as a result of economic and ideological dominance present-day China`s national art market is showing its power even beyond the borders. However, most of the emerging art markets still depend on the Western experts (Robertson, 2018). According to Velthuis and Baia Curioni (2015), there are two circumstances that stimulate the emergence of an art market: socio-economic transformations at the macro level that activate the market (e.g. political changes or significant economic growth, that make it possible for the middle, and higher class to buy art), and the adoption of isomorphic organizational models, such as commercial art galleries, auction houses and art fairs (Velthuis and Baia Curioni 2015). Nevertheless, in some countries like Brazil, the development of contemporary art scene started from institutional side of the market, such as contemporary or modern art museums (Brandellero, 2015). Along the similar lines, the evolution of an art market is a complicated process. Despite the existence of the isomorphic model (Velthuis, 2005), the influence of the local contexts such as continuation of the traditional practices or historical data makes the adaptation different, or as it was identified by Azerbaijani art critic Teymur Daimi (2001) with deformations. Moreover, even formerly similar art organizations, as 1 BRICS, the acronym indicates emerging art markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 4 official art organizations in China and Russia, today have different models and direction of development based on local contexts (Kharchenkova et al., 2015). Still the main reasons of the transparency of the artistic and cultural barriers are cultural globalization and Internet (Van Hest, 2012; Khaire, 2015). Furthermore, art events, such as art fairs and biennials are considered important for the development of the contemporary art market and its internationalization (Van Hest, 2012). Within the framework of cultural globalization, today there are four integral theories that can be employed in the examination of emerging contemporary art market: central- periphery theory, network theory, reception theory and cultural policy theory (Crane, 2002; Van Hest, 2012). 1.2 Research objectives and Research question BRICS countries as a central point of study of the emerging art markets, were under a spotlight for relatively long time. However, the development of the global art market should be expanded also to other peripheral locations. In case of Azerbaijan, a small post-soviet country that is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the development of the contemporary art market has some similarities and differences with the Western model. Side by side with the development of the institutional side of the market, that legitimizes the contemporary art (Van Hest, 2012), the market side represented by commercial contemporary art galleries is expanding, as well as global presence of the Azerbaijani artists (ArtFacts.Net)2. In the past decade contemporary art scene in Azerbaijan had essential boost. Which is observed in the emergence of contemporary art organizations (YARAT, Heydar Aliyev Center), and numbers of commercial galleries such as Gazelli Art House, Yay Gallery, Q Gallery, Art Villa, Artwin Gallery, to name a few. Moreover, the amount of various artist run spaces and art platforms is increasing every year. In line with the existing researches related to the influence of the local contexts on the local art scene, and dominance of the western (isomorphic) art market model on peripheral locations the following research question will be explored: How do the local contexts and processes of cultural globalization influence the emergence of the art market in Azerbaijan? 2 https://artfacts.net/country/azerbaijan/72 5 In regards to the previous researches the influence of the local contexts can be examined as the infrastructure of the market, co-existence with the old institutions, and education system (Kharchenkova et al., 2015). Within the framework of the cultural globalization this research aims to distinguish the dominance of the western (isomorphic) model in the young market (Velthuis, 2005) and the reception of the Azerbaijani (peripheral) artists by the central art scenes (Van Hest, 2012). This exploratory study has three main objectives: to evaluate the structure of the Azerbaijani art market and its local contexts, to explore the similarities and differences with the western art market model, and to illustrate the presence of Azerbaijani artists on the global art market. All three main objectives will be examined within the cultural globalization theories (Crane, 2002). This research contributes to the theory about the structure and model of the emerging art markets in the post-soviet (CIS)3 countries, and illustrates the role of cultural globalization in the international position of the Azerbaijani art and artists. The subsequent parts of the thesis are structured in the following way: In order to highlight the similarities and difference between the local and western model, chapter 2 will illustrate the definition and structure of the western contemporary art market, and examine in details the main actors of both institutional and commercial sides of the market, in addition will give an introduction to the Azerbaijani framework. Chapter 3 will present the methodology: more precisely, how the qualitative research method was conducted, its sample and data analysis. The final chapter 4 will display the results of the research, and will be organized in the following order: “The Art Market in Azerbaijan”, “Key Actors and the Western Influence” and “The Global Presence”. 3 CIS, acronym refers to Commonwealth