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Arts & Communication Transnational mobility and art market centers

diverges from a mechanistic view of mobility driven solely analyses to the “human face” of global mobility. Smith
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by organizational strategies or profit maximization. 42,43 and Favell argued that globalization has been extensively
and emphasizes the subjective dimension of mobility. It studied using broad structural frameworks but insufficient
also explores how power structures influence mobility and attention had been paid to the lived experiences of
examines how powerful actors such as urban governments individuals navigating these global networks. Smith
and economic elites shape mobility through their strategies and Favell advocated for microlevel, phenomenological
to position their cities as magnets for the art market. research that captured the everyday realities of skilled,
The author has conducted extensive fieldwork in educated, and professional individuals who functioned
Istanbul, Doha, Singapore, and Hong Kong since 2012 pivotally in global mobility. Their approach emphasized
to explore how a city emerges as a center in the global grounded ethnographic work to better understand the
art market. This endeavor entailed long-term stays in human dimensions behind global flows, particularly
Istanbul (from 2012 to 2014) and Singapore (from 2019 in corporate environments and business networks.
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to 2021) and involved a series of field trips to Hong Kong Congruently with this perspective, Liao’s exploration
(2016), Doha (2018 and 2022), and Singapore (2018 and of the mobile professional lives of migrants revealed
2022). Semistructured interviews were employed as the how individuals navigated the demands of international
primary data collection method during the fieldwork, and mobility, leveraging their education, credentials, and
the author engaged with wide-ranging actors enacting cosmopolitan lifestyles to reconfigure their professional
critical roles in the development of these emerging art trajectories.
markets, including gallerists, art fair managers, collectors, This present study probes how individual decisions
artists, and local government officials. The interview and subjective experiences shape mobility in the global art
questions were designed to encompass several key areas: market. These dynamics unfold against the backdrop of
the personal backgrounds of the respondents, the local broader structural changes such as the growing influence
and transnational networks they had developed, and the of financial actors and the proliferation of art events that
strategies they employed for their organizations and cities. have reconfigured the global art landscape, for instance,
The interviews focused on understanding the functions biennials and fairs. Analyses often focus on organizational
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of the interviewed individuals vis-a-vis stimulating the strategies at the expense of human agency; however,
emergence of their respective art markets. this investigation attends to the lived experiences of art
The significance of hypermobility as a factor instigating professionals and inquiries how personal motivations and
their professional trajectories and contributions to local art aspirations propel mobility decisions which, in turn, shape
scenes emerged organically during the process of the study. the evolving contours of the global art market.
The author did not initially establish a hypothesis about This study identifies three key strategies of highly mobile
the impact of mobility but this feature became increasingly individuals: foot-voting, local scene-making, and hub-
evident during the data analyses. Many interlocutors had city-making. Then, it links these ascertained approaches to
followed career paths that entailed moving and settling in
discrete cities across the globe, often multiple times. Their transformations they can induce in the art scenes in which
transnational mobility constituted a key resource for their they operate.
work, according to them their unique ability to navigate 1. Foot-voting. Art professionals choosing to relocate
and influence both local and global art markets. to a city do more than merely increase the local art
market pool; they send a signal proportional to their
This study evaluates some emblematic profiles from personal reputation that enhances the city’s value.
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these cities to explore how hypermobile art professionals For instance, the decision of a prominent dealer such
have contributed to the emergence of Istanbul, Doha, as Larry Gagosian to open a branch in a city can
Singapore, and Hong Kong as centers in the global art incentivize others to follow. Such decisions can stem
market. The frequent relocations and extensive networks of from personal reasons corresponding to traditional
these personalities have enabled them to introduce diverse push and pull factors that may not directly relate to the
influences and practices to these cities, facilitating their art market. However, they can also be propelled by an
emergence as significant nodes of the global art world. analysis of the city’s art market trends. In addition,
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2. A theory of human mobility, art markets, the decision of a reputable art market player to exhibit,
organize an event, or hold a sale in a city also helps to
and cities. send a goodwill-based signal and can spur the city’s
This study extends Smith and Favell’s argument that the growth as an art hub. Often, art professionals choose
focus of mobility studies should shift from macrolevel to settle in a city because of prior experience they

Volume 3 Issue 3 (2025) 3 doi: 10.36922/ac.3734