How do I know if the economy is turning around for art sales?

Look for patterns and signals from multiple sources. When artists who participate in regular shows and circuits start reporting strong sales again after a slow period, that’s a significant indicator. For example, hearing from someone that they ‘had the best show in three years’ and ‘folks bought everything like the old days’ - when you see multiple posts like this after months of not seeing them, it suggests things are improving. Winter turning into spring doesn’t offer nearly the art selling opportunities that summer does, so you’d expect to see upticks during summer selling season. While one data point alone isn’t significant, multiple positive reports from artists across different channels and selling methods can indicate the market is turning. That said, don’t wait for perfect economic conditions - you need to be marketing regardless.

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Asked by an artist wondering about economic conditions · Answered by Patrick Shanahan · art-marketing-podcast · 2025-06-19