For the last couple of years, Philippe Ravanas, full-time faculty member of the AEMMDept, has been hired as an arts management consultant by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) to explore the export potential of the visual arts as a means of helping developing countries with economic development and poverty reduction through employment creation. “It was an honor for both me and the department to be chosen to work on this project,” states Ravanas. “It is an acknowledgement of our expertise in arts management.”

     The International Trade Center (ITC), which originally contacted Ravanas to work on the project, spearheaded this venture. The ITC’s role is to help developing countries access international markets. They have traditionally concentrated in obvious markets, such as agriculture, but became interested in the craft sector five years ago. As an extension of their work with the craft industries, ITC wanted to know if they could help a selection of countries in the developing world export visual arts, such as painting, sculpture, and photography.

     “Knowledge and creativity are fast becoming powerful engines driving economic growth,” states Ravanas. “For developing countries this means an opportunity to establish new economic and trading relations, allowing them to make use of their rich supply of creativity and cultural assets to generate employment and reduce poverty.”

     Through his research, Ravanas published a publicized strategic report, which presented his conclusions that the visual arts sector could indeed be an important catalyst for developing countries’ export growth. In the report, Ravanas states that the visual arts sector presents more export opportunities for developing countries than other sectors of the creative industries due to its economic model. By exposing the talent and craftsmanship of a country’s workforce and building the visual identity of the country, exporting the visual arts can draw business development to the country in other areas as well. It can also increase the country’s degree of self-sufficiency while requiring less capital investment than other creative industry sectors.

      The study also identified three areas of challenges that developing countries will experience, including a lack of specific art marketing and exporting skills, a lack of adequate intellectual property protection and management, and a lack of accurate trade and statistical data.  The International Trade Center’s technical cooperation will address these concerns.

      The study initially focused on a core group of developing countries with a promising visual arts sector, including Kenya, Senegal, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Guatemala, and Haiti.  These countries are already involved, to some degree, in exporting the visual arts. Use of the Internet to streamline supply chains and creating contacts with people living in developed countries who originated from developing countries are seen as crucial components to opening up the markets to developing countries.

      The second phase of the project involves enlisting the interest of major distribution chains in the US explore the possibility of importing and distributing affordable, authentic, and original contemporary paintings and drawings from developing countries. Kenya and Vietnam were chosen as the countries of focus for the second phase because they have the most infrastructure in place and have the greatest chance of success. Currently on the final stages of phase two, Ravanas will present a final proposal by yearend.