Pushing the boundaries of international cultural policy: an analysis of the art fair subsidy for Austrian galleries

Abstract

The article traces the policy cycle of the Austrian Government’s subsidy for commercial galleries’ participation in international art fairs. It shows how the instrument entered the cultural policy domain after the withdrawal of trade-policy support and lobbying from the gallery association, which shaped policy design and resource allocation. The Government recast galleries as cultural ambassadors and fairs as sites for image rejuvenation, while instrumentally reframing the subsidy as a support for emerging artists and galleries. Nevertheless, it continued to benefit established galleries’ participation in elite art fairs, concentrated in the Global North.