after hard hits last year during the pandemic art galleries are rebounding according to a report released thursday by art basel and ubs based on surveys of 700 international dealers as well as highnetworth collectors of the dealers who participated in the review 51 reported increases in sales in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year overall sales in this sector are up 10 from 2020 the upward trend points to “the resilience of the market” and is cause for “cautious optimism” according to cultural economist clare mcandrew author of the report “it’s not all plain sailing yet” she says size made a difference for sales rebounding the review revealed the largest dealers—those with us10 million in annual sales—saw the most improvement with a rise in sales of 21 the smallest galleries those with sales of 250000 conversely fell by 1 geography also made a difference in business boosts asian dealers were up 18 on average dealers in europe faced declines on average of 7 beyond sales the report looked at industry employment in the first six months of 2021 25 of dealers added to their staffs while 13 cut their ranks “that’s a very positive thing” said mcandrew adding that some of the biggest fears for the dealer sector have centered on employment “there are fluctuations and a bit of volatility in employment but it seems to be more people are hiring them than laying off staff” she says even amid an ongoing global pandemic wealthy collectors remained strongly committed to investing in art a survey of 500 highnetworth collectors in the us the uk hong kong germany and switzerland showed the median expenditure on art increased by 42 on average to us242000 in the first six months of 2021 the boost was motored by millennial collectors whose average spending of us378000 was three times the level of their gen x and boomer peers spending by female collectors in the first half of 2021 rose by about 33 to us410000—double the level of their male counterparts the midyear report found that dealers and galleries were the most commonly used sales channels with 82 of the hightnetworth collectors surveyed having purchased via this route in the first half of 2021 online channels remained significant accounting for 33 of dealer sales a 200 rise from 2019 at the same time the interest in digital art rose just over half of us collectors surveyed said they were interested in purchasing digital artworks over the next year a positive outlook looms for the industry the report showed over 80 of collectors surveyed in the us were optimistic about the global art market’s performance in the next six months “we share the collectors’ optimism for the art market” says john mathews group managing director head of private wealth management  uhnw ubs global wealth management “consumers have significantly higher savings because of their restricted mobility and limited potential to spend during covid19” he says “and are enjoying the return to experiences we all treasure”