---
title: The event that sold a $40m steel spider wants to broaden its appeal
description: Top art fair Art Basel is primed for growth.
---

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# [The event that sold a $40m steel spider wants to broaden its appeal](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/the-event-that-sold-a-40m-steel-spider-wants-to-broaden-its-appeal)

 Written by [Ben Berkley](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/ben-berkley) | Jun 13, 2023 11:06:51 PM

The art fair to end all art fairs, Art Basel, kicked off yesterday in — where else? — Basel, Switzerland.

Feel like Art Basel just happened? You’re not wrong — the organizers also host art mega-events in the fall (Paris), winter (Miami), and spring (Hong Kong).

#### **That’s great, but why should nonbillionaires care?**

Art Basel is known for top-dollar sales (see: aforementioned [$40m spider](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/louise-bourgeois-spider-sale-art-basel-hauser-wirth-1234631849/)) and it’s hard to get excited about shopping for a Rothko without the required millions in your wallet.

But the event is readying for an evolution. [Per](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/12/arts/design/noah-horowitz-art-basel.html) *The New York Times*, freshly installed chief exec Noah Horowitz envisions Art Basel’s future as more “experience” than art fair.

- Horowitz views Art Basel as a growing brand — one that could host, in essence, cultural world fairs that convene the art, fashion, film, music, and design communities.
- Lead investor James Murdoch (yes, of *that* Murdoch family) cited Formula 1, which takes over global cities for 23 races per year, as a model for Art Basel to follow.

#### **Can they pull it off?**

Art Basel has a strong head start — pre-pandemic, its flagship Basel event drew 93k attendees from 80+ countries — but its larger ambitions require more than branding; the global economy also must hold strong.

Inflation fears have already [driven down](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/arts/design/art-auction-week-five-takeaways.html) art sale prices. In 2022, an Andy Warhol painting sold for $195m during New York’s auction week. In 2023, only one Warhol sold — for a measly $2m. Bummer.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/the-event-that-sold-a-40m-steel-spider-wants-to-broaden-its-appeal)

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