An art work by Colombian artist Fernando Botero is on show during the second Art Basel in Hong Kong, south China, May 16, 2014. (Xinhua/Li Peng)

Noah Horowitz, CEO of Art Basel, said that he sees continued spending on art and antiques by high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) despite a challenging market, bolstered by a strong appetite from Chinese buyers and an increased expenditure on emerging and female artists.

"Chinese art remains fundamentally popular," said the CEO of the world's leading art fair in a virtual interview with Xinhua, discussing "The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2024," a report published on Thursday.

"It's such a large market with so much happening, in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and elsewhere that I think that there's continued interest. We see that most visibly in our Hong Kong fair and we can expect that to continue," said Horowitz.

The report was authored by cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew of Arts Economics and conducted in collaboration with Swiss banking giant UBS.

The survey examines the spending, event attendance, motivations for collecting of HNWIs and their interactions with artists, galleries and institutions. It reveals insights into the behaviors of HNWIs across 14 markets worldwide in 2023 and the first half of 2024.

Horowitz described the 2024 survey as the largest of its kind to date, which gathered responses from over 3,660 HNWIs in Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Chinese mainland, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Britain and the United States.

Visitors look at exhibits during Art Basel Hong Kong 2018 at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in south China's Hong Kong, March 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Peng)

"China is a large, diversified economy with many active artists and galleries, and it contributes a huge amount to the global art trade," he said.

"The broader Asian story is really compelling. We're seeing a lot of clients from throughout the Asian region, attending our shows, leaning in and remaining very active. It's a super important market for us, and we can expect to see that vibrancy continue," he added.

HNWIs from the Chinese mainland had the highest expenditure on art and antiques in 2023, as well as in the first half of 2024 with a median of 97,000 U.S. dollars, more than double that of any other region surveyed, the report showed, indicating that the strong return to spending has been sustained despite worries of a slowdown in the market, Horowitz said.

Horowitz also underscored a significant appetite to buy living artists' work and increased expenditure on emerging as well as female artists.

"I think it's a reminder that at the highest level of the wealth spectrum, there's still considerable spending on art and luxury goods," he told Xinhua.

Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Switzerland, Art Basel today stages the world's premier art shows for modern and contemporary art. It has four locations: Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong and Paris.

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