Zilkens' News Blog

Zilkens' News Blog 29 2023

So now the 501st of them all! Stefan Kobel has compiled a lot of information on the art market. From Frieze to Volta, the arc stretches and in between a few thought-provoking things on market movements.

Somewhere, art and culture are being left behind, although their representatives like to be ahead of their time, gender without need and appropriate all kinds of food, at the same time try out the traffic turnaround with themselves and are the incarnation of sustainability itself. In any case, investments that achieve social or ecological effects in addition to their financial impact have decreased by 11% in the sector since 2017, whereas this type of impact investment has increased by 44% in the housing industry. Meanwhile, museums, opera houses and concert halls are falling into disrepair because this form of education is not given high priority. Instead, they tinker with a plethora of coercive measures in the parliaments and bring one or the other to a standstill. In 2022, 1,773 laws with 50,738 individual standards and 2,795 legal ordinances with 42,590 individual standards were in force in Germany. Compared to 2010, this is an increase of 8% in laws and almost 17% in individual standards. We are thus far from reducing bureaucracy, and our current parliament has already passed 163 new laws in the first two years, with significantly fewer sitting days. But that's what the committees are for ... - The associated singular (which is called waste in German as "Ausschuss" has at least adouble meaning) is a burden on productivity and competitiveness in companies.

It is to become even more difficult for young academics - this is pointed out, among others, by the Association for Art History in its statement on the draft bill on the reform of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz. The speakers (who may have rarely been to university and stayed away from the orchid subjects but not from their attractive representatives) think that 4 years is enough for a scientific qualification, e.g. in art history. Quantity before quality - and that's how it looks in many areas in Germany now. Innovation is no longer a German virtue - but the incubation of more and more restrictions on freedom, even in legal form, is.

In a study, Swiss Re looked at the development of the insurance industry in the coming years. - Trend: environmental risks are rising - prices too - Europe is weakening and the future lies in the Asian region (excluding China).

Art in public spaces is exposed to particular dangers: for example, Michelangelo Pistoletto's Venus made of rags, which was set on fire by a homeless person in Milan. What remained was the steel construction. Fire is often an insured risk in the case of art, even outdoors. One thinks more of lightning than arson.

In October, the Munich Highlights will once again take place in the Munich Residenz. We decided to be there once again. For a one-hour discussion on the topic: "Art insurance - do we need it or can we forget it?" we are still looking for a cabaret talent or an equally talented moderator to lead us through the topic. Dieter Nuhr unfortunately doesn't have time, but perhaps we can find someone who can make the dry topic a little more fluid. Please send your suggestions to zilkens[at]zilkens.com

We wish you a pleasant week despite the signs of hard times

Stephan Zilkens and the team of Zilkens Fine Art Insurance Broker GmbH in Solothurn and Cologne