1. As the economy slows down, collectors turn to selling their work in private over public auction (which is more lucrative, but not a guaranteed sale).
2. The Turner Prize releases their shortlist of four artists for the UK’s contemporary art award, including artists Roger Hiorns, Lucy Skaer, Enrico David, and Richard Wright.
3. Sotheby's cuts 5% of it's dividend, including staff, this after a 15% cut in 2008. Bloomberg offers an answer for their financial woes: people aren't selling because they want to hang onto tangible assets.
4. As increasing numbers of museums around the country have declared deaccessions, layoffs, and exhibition closures, ArtInfo examines the financial state of US museums due to the current recession.
5. Christie's Dubai paintings sale had a 77% sell though rate, totalling $4.8 million which was within its estimate. Christie's lowered its estimates since the fall, when its October sale raised only $8.6 million, just half of the $15 - $18 million estimate.
6. Art collector Nicholas Berggruen has decided to open a museum in Berlin for his collection of Modern and contemporary art. He hopes that it will reside near the Kunsthalle that may be built by the Berlin Senate.
7. Christie's Prints and Multiples sale this week had a 90% sell through rate. The lower price point of multiples and prints has its advantages in this climate.
8. Damien Hirst will show his new paintings at the Wallace Collection, London, from October of this year.
9. David Zwirner was interviewed for the Wall Street Journal Magazine. He comments on which artists will having staying power in this down market, comparing Warhol's low value in the nineties to a possible dip in value of Hirst and Murakami.
10. The Art Newspaper looks at copyright issues involved in contemporary art – a topic which has received much attention in recent months.
