The art market grew slightly last year compared to 2021, in a foggy economic context with the return of war in Europe , and amounted to $ 67.8 billion, according to the annual report issued by "Art Basel / UBS " on Tuesday.

Global artwork sales increased by 3% in 2022 compared to 2021, and exceeded the pre-pandemic level in 2019, causing market turbulence as severe as the rest of the global economy.

The report notes that "2022 can be described as a year of difference."

Market growth was driven mainly by sales of luxury products, while sales declined in mainland China and Hong Kong due to strict policies to combat the spread of the Covid epidemic.

On the other hand, the report confirms that "the American market has recovered strongly, to rank first again" in the global art market.

Despite the prevailing ambiguity, "collectors remained attached to the market," according to the study, which notes that "this cautious growth in the face of deep ambiguity attests to the strength of the post-pandemic arts market and gives justifications to be convinced of its resilience."

Noah Horovitz, managing director of the Art Basel Foundation, which organizes one of the world's largest contemporary art fairs and also established its headquarters in Paris last year, notes that the numbers are improving in terms of digital art, despite the sharp decline in cryptocurrencies that were boosting the results of this segment.

He notes that "the popularity of digital art, film and video has increased exponentially, from 1% of sales in 2021 to 5% last year."

Horowitz says that digital art powered by sales of NFT technology (digital certificates of authenticity online that saw a boom about two years ago) "is largely responsible for this change and shows how the market continues to evolve and adapt".

In 2022, wealthy collectors are spending more than they did before the pandemic, and are looking positively at 2023, "with aggressive spending plans".

According to this survey, 77% of these wealthy people expected the market to grow. Most of them expressed the intention to purchase the artworks in 2023.