Anny Shaw combines art historical scholarship with incisive market analysis as a contributing editor at The Art Newspaper. Based in London, her work traverses:
“The most exciting developments are happening where commerce and critique intersect.”
Anny Shaw’s career embodies the intersection of academic rigor and journalistic curiosity. With a first-class BA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art and an MA in Contemporary Art Theory from Goldsmiths, she began her journey steeped in critical analysis. Her early contributions to The Guardian and Apollo magazine laid the groundwork for her current role as a contributing art market editor at The Art Newspaper, where she has shaped discourse on global art trends since 2010.
Published in May 2024, this analysis unpacks London’s gallery boom amid economic uncertainty. Shaw profiles emerging spaces like Brunette Coleman and Hot Wheels, contrasting their DIY ethos with blue-chip expansions. Her interviews with dealers such as Helen Neven reveal a community-driven resilience:
“Contrary to the competitiveness that the gallery industry is historically known for, there’s a lot of solidarity among us younger galleries.”
The piece balances data from the Art Basel/UBS Global Art Market Report with grassroots narratives, illustrating how mid-tier galleries are redefining cultural infrastructure.
This 2023 investigation critiques the sustainability of art fairs, a cornerstone of Shaw’s market coverage. She interviews fair directors and dealers, highlighting declining ROI for small galleries and the rise of hybrid models. A standout section dissects Frieze London’s pivot to online viewing rooms during the pandemic, questioning whether virtual access compromises curatorial intent. Shaw’s analysis is both prescriptive and observational, advocating for decentralized, smaller-scale events.
In this 2024 profile for Yahoo News Malaysia, Shaw delves into the career of the African-American artist Oliver Lee Jackson. By tracing his journey from 1960s St. Louis to recent exhibitions in Florence, she contextualizes his avoidance of overtly political labels despite his civil rights-era activism. The piece exemplifies her ability to bridge historical context with contemporary relevance, quoting Jackson:
“Artistic expression transcends the immediacy of protest.”
Shaw consistently highlights artists and galleries operating outside the blue-chip sphere. A pitch about a mid-career painter securing their first public museum retrospective, particularly if it involves archival research or challenges canonical narratives, aligns with her interest in underrecognized trajectories. For example, her coverage of British artist Rose Wylie’s late-career acclaim demonstrates this focus.
With the UK art market facing post-Brexit challenges, Shaw prioritizes stories that quantify trends. Proposals featuring exclusive sales data from regional hubs like Bristol or Glasgow, especially if tied to tax incentives or collector migration patterns, would resonate. Her 2023 analysis of Edinburgh’s art scene post-COVID relied heavily on auction house analytics provided by local dealers.
Shaw’s reporting on protest art and community installations makes her receptive to projects merging art with technology or activism. A pitch about a sculptor partnering with climate scientists to create site-specific installations, backed by municipal funding details, would mirror her coverage of Artangel’s participatory works.
While Shaw’s accolades aren’t explicitly listed in public databases, her influence is evident through recurring bylines in top-tier publications and invitations to speak at events like Talking Galleries’ symposiums. Her book Resist, published by Quarto’s White Lion imprint, has been cited in academic curricula for its intersectional approach to protest aesthetics.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Arts, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
