BBC's The Big Deal Game Show Criticized for Commodifying Contemporary Art as Galleries Face 'Crisis'
The Big Deal, a six-part reality game show hosted by Steph McGovern, debuted with seven pairs of amateur contestants vying to become "successful art dealers." Created by Stellify Media, the show adopts a Bargain Hunt-inspired format with knockout rounds, leading to a grand prize of £50,000 in "brilliant British art." Contestants auction works from recent art graduates in London and promote Berlin-based artists online. Critics suggest the program highlights a "crisis of commodification" within the art sector. With Frieze London and Art Basel Paris approaching in October, dealers are navigating geopolitical and financial challenges. The Art Business Conference in London will showcase tech innovations aimed at transforming the market. The article also mentions the deaths of art legends Yayoi Kusama and David Hockney.
Key facts
- The Big Deal is a six-part BBC game show hosted by Steph McGovern, produced by Stellify Media.
- Seven pairs of contestants compete to become art dealers, with a £50,000 prize of British art.
- Contestants sell works by recent art college graduates in London, decorate luxury homes, sell prints in Margate, and market Berlin-based artists online.
- Cordelia de Freitas, director of Aqua Art Fair Miami, oversees the competition with McGovern.
- Marc Spiegler's June New York Times opinion piece was titled 'Art Galleries Art Not OK'.
- Yayoi Kusama died in August; her works generated $162m in auction sales in 2022.
- David Hockney died in June; his 1972 painting Portrait of an Artist sold for $90.3m at Christie's in 2018.
- Lauren Leek published an August Substack titled 'Temperature Zero for Culture: Why Everything Is Starting to Look the Same'.
Entities
Artists
- Steph McGovern
- Cordelia de Freitas
- John Berger
- David Sylvester
- Francis Bacon
- Inigo Philbrick
- Marc Spiegler
- Josh Baer
- Amy Cappellazzo
- Yayoi Kusama
- David Hockney
- Marlene Dumas
- Lauren Leek
- 44flavours
Institutions
- BBC
- Stellify Media
- Aqua Art Fair
- Frieze London
- Art Basel Paris
- Art Basel
- The New York Times
- Artprice
- Christie's
- Frieze magazine
- Art Business Conference
- Baer Faxt
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Margate
- Berlin
- Germany
- Miami
- United States
- Switzerland
- New York
- Paris
- France