Australian Art World comes of age

All smiles are Editor, Claire Amrstrong and Editor in Chief Steve Bush of Art World Magazine, here snapped by Vogue Australia at their Launch party at the Oxford Art Factory, Darlinghurst on 5th February 2008. Its the latest symbol that Australia’s Art Market has come of Age. The second new magazine in almost as many months, the previous being, Artist Profile Magazine (it does have a website...where I ask is Art Worlds???) This new bi-monthly glossy is dedicated to the contemporary art scene, but not just to the local market but more places Australia in the international art scene by how it relates to it. There are wonderful articles like Germaine Greers look at Louise Bourgois's long standing art carrer. The magazine spans the market, a look at 10 artists per issue, general gallery news and meaty feature articles.

In this time of information being at your fingrtips and the validity of hardcopy magazines being questioned, it is hard to justify putting a new hardcopy only magazine on the market. At the first issue I have found that I have read information that I've not been able to find anywhere else, so I would have to congratulate the editors and contributers on their research. I am curious at why the magazine doesn't have an online presence, is this a deliberate act and strategy to overcome the trend towards electronic information only? Will it survive in only this format in years to come?

I've named this post 'coming of age' which I call because we now have a range of Contemporary Art Auction Houses that deal in the secondary Art market, so there is a place for investors to sell and buy which didn't exist 10 years ago. We have so many more galleries opening all over the country, the Brisbane scene has completely exploded in the last three years or so enhanced by the opening of GOMA and the determination of the older stalwart, Philip Bacon. We have magazines like Australian Art Market Report, Artist Profile, Art Almanac, Australian Art Collector, Australian Art Review, Artlink, Eyeline and now Art World. Each offers a different angle and also because of the variety overcomes perhaps some of the previous bias that existed in the publications. To counteract the big end of town, we also see the young artists around the country showing in artist run spaces, and also a range of emerging artists prizes. NONE of this existed when I came out of art school. So its real progress in twenty years. I wait with enthusiasm as to what is next!