Hong Kong art dealers, decimated by months of protests and Covid-19, turn to the Internet to find buyers

Art dealers and galleries employ digital tools to boost sagging fortunes of the once vibrant art market. Hong Kong’s auction market saw double-digit declines in value for a second consecutive year in 2019, after sales reached a record high in 2017, according to the Art Market 2020 report. — SCMP

Hong Kong’s art dealers experimenting with digital marketing say the move is starting to pay dividends, even as the Covid-19 pandemic and last year’s social unrest continue to plague the local market.

Macey and Sons, an auctioneer and valuer, has seen an uplift in business after it started using virtual marketing in December. “We do a lot of FaceTime with clients,” said founder Jonathan Macey. “You can sit in your house and the gallery comes to you.”