The arduous art of empowering visual artists: why the Dutch digital sales platform Patty Morgan ultimately failed

Abstract

This article investigates Patty Morgan, a Dutch digital sales platform for emerging visual artists, founded in 2013 out of a dissatisfaction with capitalistic practices. The analysis is situated against the backdrop of the increasing financial struggles of small-scale galleries, which play a crucial role in promoting new artists, consequently threatening a loss of innovation. Patty Morgan’s goal was to generate cultural and economic value through scouting, promoting and mediating activities, all the while maintaining a fair, digital approach with supportive settings for artists. It can be seen as an atypical case of how idealistic entrepreneurs try to enable visual artists to capture more of the value they create. Using key elements of the Global Production Network approach, i.e. governance and embeddedness, this article investigates why Patty Morgan’s digital approach ultimately failed. Discussing the reasons behind Patty Morgan’s financial hardship helps grasp why scouting and promoting emerging artists is not financially rewarding within the current visual arts ecosystem, especially in relation to the Dutch sociocultural and institutional context. This article suggests that, for the purpose of safeguarding the visual arts industry, funding policy needs to be reconsidered and responsibility for demand needs to be further discussed.