Going out to succeed? The migrations of Spanish artists and contemporary art intermediaries in the European Union (1986-2018)

Artistic migration is not a new phenomenon, but the globalization of the art world has contributed to its acceleration. While travel is considered essential for the development of an artistic career, settling permanently in an international art center such as Berlin, London, or Paris is not an indispensable requirement. What, then, are the motivations of the Spanish artists and contemporary art intermediaries who have emigrated to a European capital in the last forty years? Why do some choose London and others Berlin or Paris as their destination? How do they integrate into the highly competitive art scenes of these cities? What relationship do they maintain with the Spanish art scene? What effect does migration to a European art center have on the possibility of accessing the global artistic elite?

This book presents the results of exhaustive research focused on the sociology of the arts and combined with the sociology of migration. Readers will find answers to these questions within an analysis of the historical, political, social, economic, and cultural background of the migrations of Spanish artists and contemporary art intermediaries to the European Union. Informed by numerous testimonies collected in different European cities, this publication will appeal to art lovers, professionals, students, and scholars, as well as any reader interested in the social transformations linked to globalization.