Museums across the globe are facing unprecedented challenges. In the West, public funding is shrinking, politics is creeping into the galleries, and institutions are asking hard questions about how to stay relevant to their donors and their publics. In an era of increasing scrutiny and diminishing returns, even the most established museums are questioning what long-term sustainability means.
Meanwhile in China, the private museum boom that once symbolized cultural ambition and real-estate wealth is cracking, and some of these lavish new museums are having to close or scale back.
In short, museums are in crisis.
Senior editor Kate Brown recently worked with Margaret Carrigan, our news editor and host of the Art Market Minute, to edit a four-part series examining this issue from different angles.
Margaret joins her on the podcast to talk about the takeaways and the financial, political, and ethical pressures reshaping museums. We also discuss whether this breaking point could be the start of a new era of reinvention.
--------
37:18
--------
37:18
Art World Infamy: Inigo Philbrick – Golden Boy (Ep. 2)
Art World Infamy is a special series from the team behind The Art Angle, investigating the scandals and schemes that have rocked the art world. In the first chapter, told over four episodes, senior market reporter Eileen Kinsella unravels the rise and fall of dealer Inigo Philbrick.
Long before headlines exposed his $86 million fraud, Inigo Philbrick was just another ambitious intern at one of the most powerful galleries in the world.
Then a student at Goldsmiths College, Philbrick caught the attention of legendary dealer Jay Jopling and landed a coveted internship at White Cube—the gallery that defined 1990s London, and launched the YBAs (Young British Artists) including Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
In this second episode, we explore how Philbrick so quickly ingratiated himself into the upper echelons of the art world that, within just a few years, he was running his own eponymous gallery. With hindsight, were there early warning signs of what was to come that the art world failed to see?
--------
43:45
--------
43:45
Art World Infamy: Inigo Philbrick – Asset Class (Ep. 1)
Art World Infamy is a special series from the team behind The Art Angle, investigating the scandals and schemes that have rocked the art world. In the first chapter, told over four episodes, senior market reporter Eileen Kinsella unravels the rise and fall of dealer Inigo Philbrick.
What happens when you mix staggering sums of money with opaque financial deals in the high-stakes world of art?
Welcome to Art World Infamy, a new podcast mini-series about the scandals and larger-than-life figures that have gained industry notoriety. We begin with a four-part investigation into how Inigo Philbrick climbed to the top of the art world—and how it all unraveled.
Once hailed as a wunderkind dealer, Philbrick leveraged personal connections and the soaring contemporary art market to build what looked like an unstoppable career. But his fortunes hinged on deception, and once uncovered, the losses were staggering.
In this opening episode, we’ll trace the convoluted deals that propelled Philbrick to the top, and would eventually lead to a spectacular collapse that left collectors and investors out of tens of millions of dollars.
--------
24:25
--------
24:25
The Round-Up: Looted Art Exposed in House Listing, Jeff Koons Back With His Ex, and $13M For 'Conan' Cover Art
It’s September, and the art world is back to business. In this month’s episode of the Art Angle Round-Up, we’re diving into the stories making headlines from Buenos Aires to New York—and even into the fantastical worlds of Frank Frazetta.
We start with a remarkable development out of Argentina, where a couple has been charged with concealing looted art. Then, we turn to the gallery scene, where art superstar Jeff Koons is once again on the move, returning to Gagosian after ditching Pace. And finally, we celebrate a record-breaking sale in the fantasy art market: Frazetta’s iconic Conan the Barbarian painting Man Ape fetched $13.5 million, more than doubling his previous auction record.
Joining Kate Brown to unpack these stories is co-host Ben Davis, along with returning art market expert Eileen Kinsella.
--------
31:37
--------
31:37
A Turning Point for the Art Market?
We’re thrilled to be able to say that the latest edition of Artnet's Intelligence Report: The Mid-Year Report 2025, has been published. It's free for all—head to Artnet News to download it as a handsome PDF.
Within its covers, you'll find a bounty of information on the auction world and the art industry, which artists have been having a great year, how various countries' markets are performing, and a great deal more. Surprises abound from the Old Masters to the ultra-contemporary. You'll also find interviews with power players from the field, like the Guggenheim Museum's chief, Mariët Westermann, and the widely admired, now retired art dealer, Jack Hanley.
And then there is the cover story by our ace columnist, Katya Kazakina. It's titled The Storm Hits the Art Market: Who's Getting Swept Away? It looks at recent upheavals in the art industry with galleries closing left and right, and everyone spent their summer thinking about how to run an art business now. There are tales of crash-outs and heartening new models; there's something for everyone. Artnet Pro editor Andrew Russeth speaks with Katya about her reporting after she pounded the pavement at openings for exhibitions all over New York City.
A weekly podcast that brings the biggest stories in the art world down to earth. Go inside the newsroom of the art industry's most-read media outlet, Artnet News, for an in-depth view of what matters most in museums, the market, and much more.
UK