RIP Art World Magazine – artmarketblog.com

RIP Art World Magazine – artmarketblog.com

Is Art World Magazine the latest casualty of the financial crisis after just over two years on the racks?. According to the rumour mill it is. An email circulated by the magazine’s editorial team did not, however, provide a specific reason for the disappearance of the fine art world equivalent of Vogue magazine. According to the email, “Due to personal family reasons Steve Bush – the publisher and owner of B5 Media – is stepping back from the business and the next issue of Art World is on indefinite hold while we explore future options.” Part of the reason for the magazine’s closure may be the demise of his marriage but it would quite plausible that the financial crisis is at least partly to blame. With two separate editions, one published in the UK and the other in Australia, the closure of the magazine will have an impact on many people who will likely be out a job.

Magazines such as Art World Magazine are luxuries that are not justifiable at a time when so many people are having to tighten their belts. I would be surprised if other art world magazines aren’t forced to close as those that are still in business continue to experience a fall in ad revenue and a fall in readership. Many of the most popular art magazines have already begun slimming down. To be honest, I am not particularly a big fan of Art World Magazine, but I am a fan of Australian Aboriginal Art Magazine (http://www.aboriginalartmagazine.com/) ,which is published by the same company. I will be sad to see the only widely available magazine dedicated to Aboriginal art go because of the positive impact it had on the market for Aboriginal art.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next six months to the other art world publications. There are more than enough different publications to go around so there are definitely a few that are dispensable. Your thoughts??

**Nicholas Forrest is an art market analyst, art critic and journalist based in Sydney, Australia. He is the founder of http://www.artmarketblog.com, writes the art column for the magazine Antiques and Collectibles for Pleasure and Profit and contributes to many other publications.