UBS presents the third edition of Taipei Dangdai and offers insight into art collector behaviors in Taiwan

• UBS proudly presents the return of Taipei Dangdai, 20-22 May, showcasing 62 leading galleries
• UBS shares insights into behaviors of high-net-worth collectors in Taiwan, including their art expenditure, preferences for artists and galleries, and appetite for digital art

Taipei, 19 May 2022 – Presented by UBS, the highly anticipated third edition of Taipei Dangdai is open from Friday 20 May to Sunday 22 May 2022 at the Taipei World Trade Center. The fair is returning to Taipei after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19 restrictions, and it will enjoy participation from 62 leading galleries from the region and beyond, demonstrating the integration of Taipei into the global art market. UBS has been the principal sponsor of the fair since its inception in 2019, to support Taiwan’s dynamic art market and celebrate its integration into the global art industry.  

Dennis Chen, Head, UBS Taiwan, says, “Taipei Dangdai plays a key role in the changing landscape of the art market in Asia. UBS is proud to present this bespoke art fair and through this partnership give our clients access to important galleries and artworks being produced today in the region. Our high-net-worth collector survey showed that collectors in Taiwan are open-minded to discovering new and familiar artists alike, with a particular strong appetite for digital art. I look forward to attending the fair, getting inspired and meeting fellow art collectors again in real life.” 

Magnus Renfrew, Taipei Dangdai Co-Founder and Co-Director, says, “Evolving alongside the new shape of the global art world, this year’s fair opens up a number of fruitful new directions. The Asian art market is shifting, and Taiwan is playing a key role in what is to come.” 

To further the conversation in the art market, UBS publishes reports such as The Art Basel and UBS Global Market Report. Written by cultural economist Clare McAndrew, the report is available for free download on the UBS website https://www.ubs.com/art. It includes a survey amongst 2,300 high-net-worth (HNW) art collectors, conducted by Arts Economics and UBS Investor Watch in 2021 across ten markets, including Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, Singapore, France, Germany, Italy, UK, US and Brazil.  

The survey revealed the following insights into behaviors from 200 Taiwanese HNW art collectors: 

• Number of works: On average, the number of works held in the collections from the surveyed HNW collectors in Taiwan was 27.
• Art expenditure: In 2021, the surveyed collectors in Taiwan reported a median purchase volume of five works and a median expenditure for art of $151,000. The most common price ranges on purchasing artworks were: 32% under $50,000, 15% around $50,000-$100,000, 44% between $100,000-$1 million and 10% on over $1 million.
• Gallery preference by location: When asked about their gallery preference by region, 59% of the surveyed collectors in Taiwan responded local galleries and 15% said overseas galleries while 27% answered that they were indifferent.
• Gallery preference by familiarity:  41% of the sample reported that in 2021 they focused only on purchasing from galleries with which they had relationships, while 32% said they were doing this alongside being open to working with new galleries and 27% responded they were actively working only with new galleries.
• Gallery preference by artist career level: Collectors surveyed in Taiwan tended to work with a balanced range of galleries that represented artists at different levels. They reported that 32% of the galleries they purchased from in 2021 worked with emerging artists, 34% represented a mix of artists and 35% well-established.
• Artist preference: In comparison to the other nine markets, Taiwan had the lowest share (30%) of surveyed collectors buying only the work of artists familiar to them or whose work they had bought before, versus an average of 44% across all regions, with 64% of Taiwanese collectors purchasing both artists they knew as well as new artists they had discovered in 2021.
• Digital art: The growing interest in digital art was evident with 71% of collectors surveyed in Taiwan planning to buy digital art in 2022. This was the highest amongst the sample of HNW collectors; the market average stood at 56%.
• Outlook: Despite the continuing uncertainties in 2021 over the pandemic and its prolonged effects, when surveyed in December 2021, most HNW collectors surveyed in Taiwan (66%) were optimistic about the global art market’s performance over the next six months.