Inequity in the art market: The rationales for commercial art galleries to specialise Towards inclusive curation in commercial art galleries

Female and foreign artists are underrepresented in various facets of the art world, even though the art market projects a liberal and progressive image. The gallerist is the gatekeeper for artistic talent to flourish and pursue a professional career. However, cultural diversity is often addressed in non-commercial intermediaries, whilst research on equity in the art market has been geared towards art fairs and the auction market. This qualitative study examines the role of commercial art gallerists in fostering cultural diversity in contemporary art. The data set comprises ten semi-structured interviews among art galleries and curated online art platforms in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Three themes are developed: (1) equity in the art market, (2) responsibility and appropriate measures, and (3) bias decision-making to overcome risk and uncertainty. The findings suggest that the artistic program and curation process of gallerists does not lead to cultural diversity. The selection of gallery artists is made based on the gallerists' taste and preferences to overcome the high uncertainties related to the quality of artworks and the investment into human capital with associated risks. This leads to specialisation and rational bias-decision making even though novelty is of great importance to gain a competitive advantage. The reflection of personal taste within the gallery program makes the curator vulnerable to critiques and observations that do not correspond with their self-perception. The gallerist becomes less reflective on their program and is unquestioning its potential contribution to inequality within the art market. There are no bad intentions; thus, practical solutions are provided to foster inclusive curation in commercial art galleries based on four types of attitudes towards cultural diversity.