The Global Art World

Book excerpt: This is the second publication from the ongoing research series, Global Art and the Museum (GAM), which was initiated in 2001 by German art historian Hans Belting and artist, writer and curator Peter Weibel at the ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany. The last 20 years have seen a rapid globalization of the art world, resulting in geographic decentralization and a shift away from a primarily Western perspective. GAM's aim is to analyze the effect of these changes on the art market, museums and art criticism. This volume comprises a collection of essays by experts--such as Claude Ardouin, Keeper of the African Section of London's British Museum, Koeki Claessens, Director of Central Africa's Royal Museum and Eugene Tan, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore--who presented at the 2007 conference.