Abstract
This article examines the dual role of arts districts as places situated simultaneously in the urban land and art markets. It highlights the need for research into arts districts to take this dual role into account, as well as the impact that the two markets can have on these places. While the impact of the art market on land values in arts districts has been studied in some cases of art-led gentrification, there has been limited consideration in geographical and urban studies of arts districts concerning how the changing organization and structure of the art world and art market have affected these places, especially during the last decade. Through a case study of 798 Arts District in Beijing, China, this article demonstrates that both land value and the art market situation need to be taken into account when explaining changes to and/or the spatial stickiness of an art scene, and that an artist community’s investment in the value of an arts district as a generator of symbolic capital in the art market could be one driver of land value. The article concludes by advocating that more attention be given to the dual market role of arts districts, as well as a stronger engagement with the knowledge produced by art scholars in geographical and urban studies of arts districts.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1028-1045 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | International Journal of Urban and Regional Research |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 31 Jan 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- arts districts
- rent
- art market
- artists
- speculation
- Beijing
- China
Access to Document
- Zhang_Placing_arts_districts_International_Journal_of_Urban_and_Regional_Research_2018
Checked for eligibility 09/10/2018 "This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Zhang (2018). Placing arts districts in markets: a case study of 798 arts districts in Beijing, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, which has been published in final form at [Link to final article using the DOI]. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions."