The Swiss art market, high-end though it may be, is not impervious to the anticipated policy ruptures out of Washington, DC. Meanwhile, the Venice Biennale is likely to regain its relevance, and new Swiss films promise luxury, eccentricities and Highsmith thrills. At the most recent edition of Art Basel Miami, which took place in December, the mood being reported was one of “uncomfortable optimism” regarding the upcoming administration of US president-elect Donald Trump. Having been stuck for a long time at the losing end of the so-called “culture wars”, many art professionals are not in the mood to cheer. Trump Republicans have repeatedly called artists, along with academics and journalists, “the enemy”. How this rhetoric will translate into action is anyone’s guess, but a similar situation in our recent past may suggest one possible outcome. During the administration of George W. Bush (2001-2008), a first wave of American “digital nomads” went into self-exile and flooded several ...
