Covid-19, the Moment the Art World Was Forced to Go Digital

Three months since the beginning of lockdown, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for galleries across Europe. Monday June 15th marked the first day that London galleries could re-open their doors to the public, while galleries across continental Europe have been open since the end of May. New York galleries opened their doors on July 6th. Re-entering these spaces, we can now reflect on how commercial galleries survived without physical walls to show and sell artworks to collectors. While galleries were closed online viewing rooms became the only option to show art, and it will be interesting to see if these digital methods serve the same purpose now that physical exhibitions are possible again. As mass gatherings contribute to the spread of the virus, physical art fairs will not be a possibility until a safe solution is found. Galleries rely on taking part in at least one art fair a month to produce revenue, so the many cancellations of fairs at the start of lockdown were especially concerning. In 2019, fairs made up 47 % of sales for galleries with over $10 million annual turnover, and 30 % for galleries with under $500,000 annual turnover, according to…