Art Basel takes place this month with nearly 290 galleries from all over the world, and despite an uncertain economic outlook in both the art market and the wider global order, director Maike Cruse says she\u2019s approaching the fair with eyes on the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very confident in the art market\u2019s resilience. The mood with galleries and collectors seems very optimistic,\u201d says Cruse, who joined Art Basel in 2023. She points to The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2025 which found that while global art sales were down by 12% last year, the middle and low segments of the market saw an uptick in transactions, and galleries reported a number of new, younger collectors. When polled, dealers reported that 44% of their buyers were new to their businesses last year, and the share of sales to first-time clients grew to 38%, up five percentage points year-on-year.<\/p>\n
One way Art Basel is appealing to the new collectors is with a fair section to match. Premiere, announced earlier this year, is dedicated to ultra-contemporary work made within the past five years, with ten galleries participating with up to three artists each. That section alone features two first-time Art Basel participants, along with 18 other new exhibitors across the fair\u2019s other sectors.<\/p>\n
New European Union tax breaks on some art purchases could also help boost sales at the fair for some dealers. While Art Basel is an event that takes place in Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, around half of the fair\u2019s exhibitors run a business based within the bloc. A new EU directive that came into effect in January 2025 aims to align the complicated value-added tax systems of member states, and allows them to reduce the rate in some cases. Germany, for instance, has slashed VAT on art sales from 19% to 7%, although not all countries have implemented such dramatic tax breaks and some have maintained their rates. Art Basel declined to comment on how the new EU directive could affect sales at the far.<\/p>\n
Threat of tariffs<\/p>\n
Still, the global art market is shaky, as the threat of tariffs from US President Donald Trump against most of the country\u2019s trading partners sparks fears of a recession in the nation with the strongest collector base. So far, art is exempt from the tariffs and Art Basel will take place before a 90-day \u201ctariff pause\u201d is due to end for EU trading with the US. The fair has still confirmed attendance with important American collectors: \u201cSo far, if it has any effects, they\u2019re more indirect than direct,\u201d Cruse says.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the challenges the art market is currently facing is certainly uncertainties around all these questions, because nobody really knows what the final effects will be,\u201d Cruse adds. \u201cIn Basel, the galleries put their best foot forward and present the most ambitious works, and we make sure to deliver really first-class events.\u201d<\/p>\n