Poland’s art auction market has seen a 90 percent increase in turnover in the first six months of this year, according to a report by Abbey House, one of Poland’s biggest fine-art auction houses.

Turnover for H1 2012 was zł.30.1 million, compared to zł.15.8 for the same period last year. Experts say the driving force behind the increase is the global economic slowdown.

“Art is the most popular alternative asset group, as investing in art is motivated by the need to secure capital from the crisis. The crisis has given impetus to the global art market, and Poland is beginning to reflect this trend,” said Maciej Gajewski, an art market analyst at Abbey House.

Riding on the wave of art market growth Poland’s first art investing magazine, Art&Business, has announced it plans to launch on Poland’s NewConnect market in Q3.
Chairman of the board of Art&Business, Jakub Kokoszka, told WBJ that growing interest in art investment would spur interest in an art investment guide.

“There are an increasing number of Poles interested in buying art, and in reading about the art market. Moreover Poles are starting to treat art as an important element of a particular lifestyle. Here is where we, as a magazine, see a great opportunity for growth,” Mr Kokoszka said.

Aside from raising capital for campaigns promoting the magazine, Mr Kokoszka said the reason to go public is to make the company more transparent, to allow for better market measurement, and also to encourage new investors who have never invested in art before to get involved with the art market.

The art market in Poland is however still quite underdeveloped compared to more established art markets like those in France, the US and the UK.

“Poland’s annual [art-market] turnover is less than one really outstanding piece of art sold in the US, for example,” Mr Kokoszka said.