The Contemporary Art Landscape in the Prospect of Founding the Guggenheim Museum – The Report of the Study on the Contemporary Art Galleries [2006]

The research made from the point of view of a possible foundation of a Guggenheim museum in Bucharest, carried out at the request of the Ministry of Culture and Cults, was meant to obtain an overall image of the Romanian contemporary art landscape.

The study focused on four dimensions: identification of the main actors in the field of contemporary art, the description of the contemporary art market, its evolution and a test of the Guggenheim “product” among the experts in the field.

Following the research, we noted that the relation between galleries and artists is poorly-standardised, there are a small number of art magazines, and the public is not familiar with contemporary art.

From the point of view of the market, the latter is still forming, the collectors are few and there are no measures for the regulation of artworks’ prices. However, a change was noticed in the collectors’ profile and in the level of demand and a growth of the contemporary art market is estimated. The possible foundation of the Guggenheim museum is regarded by experts as a positive phenomenon, and the art galleries state that they are open to cooperation.