Changing Perspectives – How Regional Artists are Finding International Buyers

The 2026 global contemporary art market remains highly concentrated, with 72% of auction sales still taking place in the U.S., China, and the U.K. As a result, artists outside these primary centres have historically had limited access to international auction markets.

In an auction context, “regional artists” refers not to local scenes, but to broader geographies such as Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. And these regions have traditionally had fewer direct routes into the established Western art market system. This includes access to support networks, major galleries, leading art schools, and international art fairs.

Democratization

Over the past two to three decades, however, this dynamic has shifted. The expansion of digital platforms and the increasing internationalization of open calls and art fairs that are open to both artists and galleries, such as The Other Art Fair (TOAF)  have significantly expanded access. Online marketplaces such as Saatchi Art and auction aggregators like Invaluable have enabled artists and galleries to reach collectors far beyond their immediate geography.

Not only is this a positive shift for newer artists, but blue chip galleries and auction houses have also followed suit, making use of this improved access. Art fairs such as Frieze and the European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) now operate across a range of regions allowing regional galleries to showcase their artists on an international stage. While TEFAF has included contemporary galleries since 1991, the traction of Contemporary and Modern works has increased of late.

Gabriel Orozco, Turbo Bubbles, 2005. Sold for $762,000 via Sotheby’s (November 2025).

Online auction platforms such as Invaluable have enabled auction houses to further broaden access for collectors. The shift to digital, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, can also take credit for this broader market for regional artists. While the Art Basel & UBS Art Market Report 2026 notes the lack of stability of online sales for dealers, it does highlight that investment in platforms over the past five years has extended their geographical reach to international buyers.

Market Shifts

Several market trends demonstrate how shift towards regional artists are finding international buyers outside of their local markets.

Latin America on the Global Stage

Latin American art is having “a moment”, with several exhibitions in London galleries across 2026 including Beatriz Gonzalez at the Barbican, and Julio Le Parc and Ana Mendieta both showing at the Tate Modern.

This is mirrored across auction sales with Sotheby’s leading the way in this market. Since 2020, Sotheby’s has been a leading force in this segment, achieving several record prices, which they attribute to a “cross-category integration strategy.” The inclusion of some heavy hitters such as Frida Kahlo and Leonora Carrington in fine art sales likely contributed to the house’s success, but Sotheby’s also attributes their success to a digital global reach further reinforced by global bidder base.

Gabriel Orozco’s market illustrates how medium and scale influence demand. His sculptural works perform steadily, while larger paintings that translate this dynamism into two dimensions have achieved significantly higher prices, including Turbo Bubbles, which reached $762,000.

Similarly, Beatriz Milhazes has maintained strong international demand since the mid-1990s, supported by consistent inclusion in biennials, institutional exhibitions, and major auction sales in New York and London.

Middle Eastern and North African Success in Europe

The increasing presence of Middle Eastern and North African artists in the European market has been another notable trend. Christie’s have had a base in Dubai since 2005 and report bidders in the Middle Eastern Art Auctions from over 15 countries.

Etel Adnan, despite painting since the 1950s, gained broader international recognition relatively late in her career, following inclusion in dOCUMENTA 13 in 2012. Her first solo exhibition in a U.K. gallery took place at London’s Serpentine Gallery in 2016, just five years before her death.

Early markets concentrated in regional sales and it is only partly through this increased exposure in galleries that sales shifted in the market. There has been a consistent run of auction sales of Adnan’s work since 2015. The provenance of many of the earlier works on sale is limited, coming from either the artist directly, the artist’s family, or works gifted by the artist to friends that had been kept for some years.

African Art Finds Global Contemporary Sales

There has been a particularly positive shift in “African Art” towards global contemporary sales following years of what has been described as a ‘crippling’ lack of infrastructure for artists across the continent.

El Anatsui, Tagomizor, 2005. Sold for $1,524,000 via Christie’s (November 2025).

Changing perceptions have been led by an investment in galleries and fairs across Africa in the late 2010s. The opening of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in 2017 marked a turning point, positioning contemporary African art more prominently on the global stage. Christie’s supports Zeitz’s Global Council, which seeks to platform African art on a global scale.

Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary African Art auctions in London run alongside Frieze London which has been pivotal in growing demand on the global stage. In 2024 Sotheby’s incorporated African art into its international Modern & Contemporary Art sales, noting a positive shift in sales becoming one of the fastest growing segments and they are actively looking for pieces by several notable names.

Of particular note is the work of Njideka Akunyili Crosby who has demonstrated exceptional sales in recent years, reaching as high as 10.3 million HKD in one landmark sale of 2021 for a circa 2010 “Untitled” collage piece.

El Anatsui, the Ghanaian artist currently based in Nigeria, while not reaching the scale of Akunyili Crosby has had steady international sales at auction since the late 2000s. With a strong performance when offered in New York. The piece “Tagomizor” sold for $1,524,000 in late ‘25.

Regional artists across a range of markets are finding a new international reach for their sales through a global shift towards a more democratic art world. This is brought through both changes in attitude and new tools enabled by digitisation. Adopting new approaches to sales isn’t just benefitting the artists themselves but has been central to the growth of regional sales for larger auction houses and galleries alike. For collectors, this shift presents earlier access to artists and markets that have historically been underrepresented, but are now gaining both institutional and commercial traction.

Lucy Pickford

Lucy Pickford is an artist, curator and consultant working with cultural institutions, organisations, and charities across the arts, housing and homelessness fields. She has an MA in Art History and BA in Landscape Architecture and Planning, and her independent practice covers projects and initiatives thinking with and about people, landscapes and cities. Publications that she has written for include StirWorld and the Landscape Journal, bringing together her passion for good design and art in all areas of life.

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