Acquire contemporary art on the global market today: strategies in small , medium and national American museums for collecting

Over the years, prices for contemporary artworks have risen to the detriment of many local, medium-sized and regional American art museums. It or specific approaches to combat it were explored by few scholars. This survey aims to address this divide by evaluating the successful acquisition of museums in a variety of museums in detail. I am investigating closely in order to support this discussion the hierarchical structures of the art world and its sub-set, the art market, and how different actors, including collectors, dealers and museum curators, negotiate this environment. 

In spite of their economic challenges, many museums are embarking on innovative approaches to succeed in the world market. I take an ethnographic approach to study in order to identify and analyze these approaches. At three American art fairs, participant observations were made to better understand the position of key market participants. In addition, half-structured interviews with gallery dealers, museum curators and directors of museums exposed the challenges and solutions involved in the buying process and resulted in the study of six main strategies which currently exist in museums throughout the US.

An review of these approaches demonstrated that contemporary art collecting on a market that has overwhelmed acquisition budgets is creatively and entrepreneur-ally important.