Anita Archer
University of Melbourne, Culture & Communication, Faculty Member
- Communication, Art History, Modernism (Art History), Art and Art History, Modern and Contemporary Art History and Theory, Contemporary Asian Art, Art and Globalization, Post-Colonialism, Chinese art history, and 25 moreChinese and Southeast Asian Art History and Archaeology, Contemporary art history and institutional history of museums, Auctions, Auction Theory, Fine art, art market, art auction, Contemporary Asian art, Chinese contemporary art, Cultural Studies, New Media, Contemporary Art, Art Theory, Writing in Visual Art, Art writing, Artistic Research, Artists’ Books, Curation, Art ‘beyond the gallery’, Culture, Gender, Interdisciplinarity, Visual Studies, Art Market, Art Economics and Markets, History of Art Markets, and Contemporary Art Marketingedit
- Dr Anita Archer is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Contemporary Culture (ERCC) Re... moreDr Anita Archer is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Contemporary Culture (ERCC) Research Unit at the University of Melbourne. She is an art historian whose research interest is global contemporary art markets, including the evolving role of multinational auction houses and the networked activities of art world intermediaries including curators, collectors, dealers and critics. Anita's PhD thesis examined the emerging market for Chinese Contemporary Art in the West and her recent focus is the role of Singapore as an art market hub for Southeast Asia. Anita's research interest stems from her training at Sotheby's in London and her extensive work experience in the global art field as an international auctioneer and independent art consultant specialising in Asian contemporary art.edit
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
On 31 October 2004, Sotheby’s conducted an auction in Hong Kong under a new category entitled ‘Contemporary Chinese Art’. This was not the first time that either of the multinational auction houses had included contemporary Chinese art in... more
On 31 October 2004, Sotheby’s conducted an auction in Hong Kong under a new category entitled ‘Contemporary Chinese Art’. This was not the first time that either of the multinational auction houses had included contemporary Chinese art in their auction offerings; however, in the decade leading up to this auction, contemporary Chinese art was primarily included in the broader sale category titled Modern and Contemporary Chinese Painting s. By late 2004, Henry Howard-Sneyd, Sotheby’s Managing Director, China, Southeast Asia and Australasia, was cognisant of a significant shift in international market interest in Chinese art of a style comparable to contemporary international art. In fact, Christie’s had offered a substantial number of artworks in this style at an auction in London in October 1998 titled Asian Avant Garde . However, Christie’s auction, which included Japanese, Korean and Chinese contemporary art, was poorly attended and a financial failure. Consequently, Christie’s aba...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
For the last two decades, the international auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s have been at the forefront of global art market expansion. Their world-wide footprints have enabled auction house specialists to engage with emerging... more
For the last two decades, the international auction houses Sotheby’s and Christie’s have been at the forefront of global art market expansion. Their world-wide footprints have enabled auction house specialists to engage with emerging artists and aspiring collectors, most notably in the developing economies of the Global South. By establishing their sales infrastructure in new locales ahead of the traditional mechanisms of primary market commercial galleries, the international auction houses have played a foundational role in the notional construction of new genres of art. However, branding alone is not sufficient to establish these new markets; the auction houses require a network of willing supporters to facilitate and drive marketplace supply and demand, be that trans-locational art market intermediaries, local governments, and/or regional auction businesses. This paper examines emerging art auction markets in three Global South case studies. It elucidates the strategic mechanisms...
Research Interests:
For the last two decades, the international auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's have been at the forefront of global art market expansion. Their worldwide footprints have enabled auction house specialists to engage with emerging... more
For the last two decades, the international auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's have been at the forefront of global art market expansion. Their worldwide footprints have enabled auction house specialists to engage with emerging artists and aspiring collectors, most notably in the developing economies of the Global South. By establishing their sales infrastructure in new locales ahead of the traditional mechanisms of primary market commercial galleries, the international auction houses have played a foundational role in the notional construction of new genres of art. However, branding alone is not sufficient to establish these new markets; the auction houses require a network of willing supporters to facilitate and drive marketplace supply and demand, be that trans-locational art market intermediaries, local governments, and/or regional auction businesses. This paper examines emerging art auction markets in three Global South case studies. It elucidates the strategic mechanisms and networks of international and regional art auction houses in the development of specific genres of contemporary art: Hong Kong and 'Chinese contemporary art', Singapore and 'Southeast Asian art', and Australia and 'Aboriginal art'. Through examination and comparison of these three markets, this paper draws on research conducted over the past decade to reveal an integral role played by art auctions in the expansion of broader contemporary art world infrastructure in the Global South.