The Private Sector in Iran Does not Play a Pivotal Role in the Prosperity of the Art Economy

According to the public relations and the website of Khatam University, the Faculty of Architecture of Khatam University held two specialized meetings under the same title on Wednesday, December 23, 2023, with the presence of a group of experts in the field of art and economics in Imam Reza Hall (AS) of Khatam University.

The first meeting was held under the title "Creative Industries and Economy" and the speaker was Morteza Kazemi; The former deputy of art affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the second meeting was also held under the title "Art in the digital age (the role of technology and innovation in the economy of art)" and the speaker was Dr. Ehsan Ronagh, a university lecturer.

Dr. Ehsan Ronagh at the "Art in the Digital Age (Role of Technology and Innovation in the Economy of Art)" meeting first stated that culture does not have a specific definition but includes a set of factors in the field of philosophy, science, art and religion in society and said: “The Art market and in fact trading in the field of art goes back to ancient Greece and when painting was recognized as a profession and art. In the 16th century, experts in the field of art economics entered this field and the first art academy was built.”

He added: “In 1955, two economists named Bemol and Boen wrote a book called ‘Economy bottlenecks’ in which they proposed the theory of cost disease, meaning that there is a cost disease in art. It means that the cost of production in art is higher than its output. Later, with the advent of the Internet, the issue of the security of the creative economy was raised; That there should be a cost for creating creativity, and over time, this field developed and the disciplines of art economics were born.”

Ronagh added: “These studies in Iran date back to 1960, but after the war, attention was gradually paid to this field and treatises were written in the field of art economics and carpet economics. In general, it can be said that people with higher education and income have a better relationship with artistic concepts.”

Referring to the characteristics of galleries, art fairs, and auctions, this university lecturer also addressed the differences between them and said: “Art fairs are used to introduce artists, while auctions are more about trades and art businesses. Moreover, galleries are the artists’ representative and can certainly help them in their products’ sales and marketing.”

He also discussed about other solutions for the prosperity of the art economy and said: “Private companies can play an important role in the prosperity of the art economy, but in Iran they are less involved in the discussion of supporting artists because the world markets do not know art well.”

Ronagh also listed some important events in the field of art with the introduction of new technologies, the most important of which are: digital painting and design, 3D printing, virtual reality and augmented reality, blockchain and irreplaceable tokens, projection (video mapping), Interactive layouts, software programming and design development, light art, bio art and artificial intelligence.