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Artsy is focussed on a specific niche in the art market that is not the high end (ie $100k ++ work), but more what they would call entry level $5k - $50k works.
by asharpe 13y ago
Artsy is focussed on a specific niche in the art market that is not the high end (ie $100k ++ work), but more what they would call entry level $5k - $50k works. Artsy (and some of it's competitors) help these entry level collectors to get a greater survey of what is happening and what is available in the art world. To date, this would have required travel to galleries around the world (mainly NYC for the past couple of decades) and/or travelling to one of the big Art Fairs (see Art Basel - a one week extravaganza where more than a billion dollars of sales is likely). If you have the time and access to those events, you will get a great survey in a couple of days.
Artsy simply brings that to your device/home/computer. They don't make sales, more make the introductions to galleries that are selling the work. It continues the overall art market movement away from bricks and mortar 'galleries' to online and art fairs.
The value add (pain point) that Artsy provides is the recommendation engine. This is unique (not sure how well it works from my experience on the site) and is crucial in a market that is always looking for the 'new' and 'exciting'.
The overall market is terrifying in that million dollar plus works are traded over .jpg form. That's why there is a significant cohort of art consultants that are paid to look a work in real life to provide the '3D' context.
- dblock 13y agoI am an engineer at Artsy, ask me anything about how things work.
- anigbrowl 13y agoIt's more of a business than engineering question, but I wonder what factors led Artsy to work within the gallery/show business framework rather than attempting to disrupt that.
- asharpe 13y agoThe Gallery/Show business provides two things: 1. Reputation/trust (especially for younger artists) 2. Reach to potential collectors The validation required to spend $5,000 vs $1,000 on a work is purely intangible, a reputable gallery and it's experts can make that difference. In terms of an artist selling to the market directly, you have to be a Damien Hirst, or similar, to have the brand in the market to support a direct sales infrastructure.
- dblock 13y agoThis has always been in Artsy DNA. We want to bring existing players online, not compete with them. Galleries are very valuable as they establish a primary market for a new artist.
- numlocked 13y agoSomewhat off-topic, but I found your talk "Build & Scaling a Test Driven Culture"[1] incredibly valuable as we built out the engineering team at our startup. It was a major influence on developing the pragmatic approach we've taken to automated testing at ePantry, and is required watching for our engineers. Thanks for creating it! [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvHf94hxzRc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvHf94hxzRc
- dblock 13y agoThanks for the kind words!
- barronlroth 13y agoAre you guys hiring summer engineer interns?
- orta 13y agoAs I replied on twitter, I think it's good form to also do so on here: send us an email at jobs@artsymail.com We get a bunch so it usually takes a bit of time to get through but they all get looked at by someone.