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would allow us to move forward and I believe this   days of exhibition. André Millan (Galeria Millan),   the comparison is ridiculous. The sales that were
          was demonstrated by the fact that since July   in turn, summarizes: “Amazingly, at least here in   the result of something online were derisory in
          8, when we launched the first exhibition, until   Brazil, these pandemic times surprised everyone   my billing.”
          today, BiEnalsur has been growing, adding up to   and, generally speaking, sales were very good,    Although digital programming does not have
          the following, adding projects, articulating with   the market reacted surprisingly well.”  the same power as physics, as Roesler points out,
          each other and generating an art community that   Some of the reasons for this result, already   it is much cheaper. This seems to be one of the
          contributes today to the development of a critical   seen in the first year of the pandemic, sounded   key factors for the success of 2020. If on the one
          culture in contemporary times”,  says Diana.  really unexpected: the longer time spent at home   hand sales were lower, it was the ability to reduce
           Naturally, this fraying ends up causing a feeling   and the decrease with other types of expenses,   operating costs that allowed some gallerists to
          of disorientation, which can be captured for   such as travel and restaurants, encouraged   maintain profitability. The return of face-to-face
          example in comments and requests for explanation   people to buy more works of art for their private   has an impact in this direction, especially with
          that accumulate in the social networks of the event.   environments; the migration of business to the   the increase in the price of the dolar and the euro.
          But, on the other hand, it brings, according to   virtual environment brought a share of younger   “Participating in a physical fair, for example, is
          Diana, a somewhat liberating flexibility, giving a   buyers, less accustomed to the environments of   very expensive. It is still more expensive today
          malleability and a great capacity for adaptation.   galleries and fairs and well inserted in the online   because logistics costs have more than doubled,”
          “BiEnalsur is an associative project, adapted,   world; in addition, the creation of projects of   Roesler said.
          that is flexible and works with the logics of each   partnerships between galleries, previously rare,    In the years before the pandemic, fairs
          place. It is not a boastful or imperative project that   and an experiment with new sales formats brought   accounted for nearly 50% of sales of galleries
          goes to each place colonizing, but the opposite:   results. This is all considering, of course, that   around the world, according to the report by Art
          it arrives at each place with the humility of the   “the elite are the ones who buy art and are the   Basel and uBs. In 2020, this number dropped
          foreigner, sits down to talk about the possibility   ones who suffered the least from the pandemic”,   to 13% due to cancelled events. Several gallery
          of working together and from sharing an agenda   as highlighted by the evaluator and art market   owners in Brazil and around the world point out
          of interests and issues to be carried out together”,   consultant Tamara Perlman at the end of 2020.  that this decrease in fairs dependence may have
          ponders the artistic director and creator of the   What we saw, therefore, was even the opening   come to stay. According to a report in The Art
          event. “We are aware not only of the processes   of new galleries - Hoa, Projeto Vênus and Index   Newspaper, in 2019 alone there were 178 art fairs
          that in a unique way make each of the artists, but   last year; Marli Matsumoto, Arte 132 and Bailune   parallel to biennials or triennials and to exhibitions
          we understand that these processes are somehow   Biancheri this year, among others - and branches   of museums and galleries. “It’s a predatory system.
          processes of society, they are collective processes,   of established houses such as Jaqueline Martins,   There is no house that can afford all this investment
          they are processes that are also done in plurality   dan Galeria and A Gentil Carioca. But if it were two   financially,” says André Millan. “When you stop
          and diversity”, he adds.          positive years, there are also notable differences   for a while, you realize you didn’t do any fair [in
                                            between the performance of houses and the   2020] and keep selling well, then you wonder: do
          market BalancE sHEEt 2021 [paGEs 16 to 21]  behavior of buyers in the two periods.  I really need to do all this?” asks Roesler.
                                                                                 For Thiago Gomide and Thais Darzé (Paulo
          FAR FROM THE CRISIS               the role of the online anD the    Darzé Galeria), the pause resulting from the
                                            aCCeleration (DeCeleration)       pandemic allowed the gallery owners - usually
          Amid extremely troubled context with the   of faCe-to-faCe          immersed in intense routines of events - to think
          pandemic, professionals in the Brazilian   If in 2020 online became the center of the   about how much the operational cost and the
          art market report a year of positive sales   negotiations, doubling the number of sales   process of stress, tiredness and expectation revert
          results, benefited both by the expansion of   executed in it - as presented by the annual   financially and institutionally. The Brazilian result
          the virtual and by the recent resumption of   report of Art Basel and uBs - with the beginning   seems to talk to foreign forecasts, which indicate
          face-to-face                      of vaccination and the reduction in the number   a decrease in travel and participation in fairs by
                                            of new cases of Covid-19 in Brazil and worldwide,   the galleries. Márcio Botner, partner of A Gentil
          By Giulia Garcia and marcos Grinspum fErraz  2021 had part of this scenario changed. Face-to-  Carioca, on the other hand, believes that the
                                            face activities were gradually resumed throughout   trend is a resumption very close to what existed
          in 2020, almost a Year after the beginning of   the year, galleries and museums reopened their   before. “Of course, it gives a feeling that maybe
          the CoviD-19 panDemiC, arte!brasileiros spoke   exhibitions and national and international art fairs   you can’t be that fast, that maybe it would be
          with a number of gallery owners, auctioneers and   adopted a hybrid format.  better in some other way, but I still find the face-
          market experts to take stock of what the period    In the case of auctions, “the online is enshrined   to-face contact fundamental,” says the Carioca.
          for the sector had been like, particularly in Brazil.   as a solid alternative of operation”, as Aloísio   Despite the disagreements, the opinion does
          The finding, surprising at the time, was that after   Cravo assures. The auctioneer points out that   not completely depart from the attitude of the
          an initial hit with the enactment of quarantine, the   his two events this year took place virtually and   other gallery owners, who argue that even with the
          reheating of business was rapid and consistent, in   had good results, even doubling the values of the   decrease in dependence on fairs, it is not possible
          contrast even to other regions of the globe such   pieces. There is also a profusion of small auctions   to completely detach, either by the possibilities of
          as Europe and North America. At the end of 2021,   through virtual channels, with lower price levels,   bonding and socialization created, by the results
          after another year of pandemic, we interviewed   as Tamara Perlman says.  in long-term sales or by the expansion to other
          again a series of professionals in the area to find    However, this does not seem to be the general   markets.
          out about the results of a period that, despite the   scenario for the arts. The hybrid model stands    The results of the two largest national events
          restrictions, also involved a series of flexibilities.   as a path of no return, the online does not seem   in 2021 show, in fact, that interest in fairs remains
          The conclusion, practically unanimous among   willing to retreat, but may not persist in the way   high. Over the five days of the event, sp-Arte -
          the approximately 15 interviewees, is that the   expected. “I think this year, the virtual was more   which this year exchanged the Biennial Pavilion
          year was even better than the previous one, even   a process of approximation, less selling. It has   (25,000 m2) for the arca shed (9,000 m2) - received
          amid a scene - sanitary, political, economic and   not lost importance, but the sale has returned   about 18,500 people, exhausting virtually all tickets
          social - so troubled in the country.  to be more face-to-face,” says Murilo Castro,   available, and had 40,000 accesses in its virtual
           “2021 was much better than 2020 and better also   from Belo Horizonte. Vilma Eid and Alexandre   version. For Gomide & Co., the fair presented one
          compared to the year before the pandemic,” says   Roesler, a partner at Galeria Nara Roesler, echoes   of the best results of the year. Verve Galeria sold
          Luisa Strina, one of the country’s most important   and highlights viewing rooms as a complement,   95% of the first collection exhibited and Portas
          gallery owners. Auctioneer Aloísio Cravo, who had   more than a business front. The director of ArtRio,   Vilaseca sold all selected works even before
          a more oscillating performance at the beginning of   Brenda Valansi, was able to verify this in this year’s   the end of the event. ArtRio, in turn, had 14,500
          the quarantine, follows the same line: “The auctions   edition of the fair in Rio de Janeiro: “The virtual   people in the physical version and, shortly after
          of 2021 had revenues comparable to those of 2014   platform ends up being widely used as research,   the edition, announced its expansion in a new
          or 2015, before entering a very bad sequence with   for those who then want to see in the face-to-face   endeavor: ArtSampa, a fair in São Paulo territory
          all the political and economic instability in the   way, or sometimes the person sees physically and   with a date already scheduled for March 2022.
          country”. With the particularities that surround   finalizes the purchase online”. For the founder of    It should be noted, however, that both fairs - as
          each house, the statements of the gallery owners   Gomide & Co. (formerly Bergamin & Gomide),   well as international ones - took place in a more
          always follow in a similar sense. Vilma Eid, from   Thiago Gomide, the comparison between the   local way, with fewer exhibitors and foreign visitors,
          Galeria Estação, says that two of the expositions   results of face-to-face and virtual events is unfair:   due to the difficulties of transit between countries
          held in the house had all the works sold in the first   “I think the viewing rooms are here to stay, but   caused by the pandemic. Other audience changes
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