Reality Bites
The art world, long thought to be immune, is now having to acknowledge urgent realities of pandemics, the climate crisis, wars, energy and food shortages, mass migration, inflation and crime. This month, guest writer Riah Pryor reports on how the legal system struggles to find a consistent way to punish art crimes, with sentences varying dramatically worldwide
Private sector picks up the pieces as UK government cuts art education funding
While university arts departments are being dismantled, dealers and auction houses provide learning programmes
Does the punishment fit the crime? Art fraudsters face erratic sentencing
Recent high-profile cases, such as those of Daniel Elie Bouaziz and Angela Gulbenkian, demonstrate that lengths of sentences vary widely, with little consistency in judges’ reasoning
'The prestigious places are the worst': low pay still dogs the art industry, despite optimistic salary survey
The art market salary report offers insights into salaried employment but the impact of low wages—and having children—in a time of rapid inflation are missing
Wealthy American art collectors capitalise on tax-efficient gift scheme
Donor Advised Funds allow individuals to claim tax relief while they are still alive through making gifts of art and other assets—without obligation to pay out money to charity straight away
Artists paid less than £3 an hour for public art commissions, report finds
The Structurally F–cked survey looked at artists' pay and conditions, and found a "culture of low fees, unpaid labour, and systemic exploitation"
Does the West really care about human rights and art washing?
As the art world continues to do business in authoritarian regions, some question its claim to being a force for universal good
The donating game: How artists like Tracey Emin are driving philanthropy in the art world
The British artist is among those who have donated millions of pounds’ worth of art to charities—perhaps we could all take a leaf out of her book?
Are charity art auctions, not donations, the new model for offsetting taxes?
Paul Allen’s estate has pledged proceeds of its $1.6bn Christie’s sale to unnamed philanthropic causes, while FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried vaguely promised to give away his fortune
The elephant in the booth: the environmental toll of art fairs
With a host of identikit international fairs showing works already viewed online and often already sold, is there a point to generating all those air miles?
Can art actually help improve Saudi Arabia's abject human rights record?
Culture is being used by Saudi Arabia to project an image of a state that “enriches lives, celebrates national identity and builds understanding between people”
Five years after #MeToo, what has changed for female artists?
Recently, some major galleries have signed high-profile women, many of whom launched artistic careers long before the industry cared
Pakistani artists raise money for its devastating floods—and question which causes garner art world support
Osman Yousefzada and nine others sold specially created prints, but Pakistan’s worst natural disaster in living memory has yet to galvanise the industry
All hot air on climate action? Auction houses pledge to cut CO2 while organising global tours for star lots
In our new series Reality Bites, we assess whether the art market's key players are addressing the urgent issues affecting the wider world