Before the athletes ever arrive in London, the Arts Council is collecting artwork from around Britain to showcase British culture at the London 2012 Olympics. The show is dubbed "the most ambitious and wide-ranging art prize in the UK" and will feature 12 winning commissions from every region of the country. These pieces range from feature films to 30 ft tall crocheted lions and a "spinning column of cloud and light." Each of the 12 chosen groups will share £5.4m and create their masterpieces between 2010 and 2011 to be ready for the Olympics in 2012. Join discussion...

In London, little known artists with small budgets are setting up galleries to show their art. Since property values are low, artists can get great venues for their artwork at little to no cost. Many places are donated or sponsored and if you just ask the right person you might even get the place for free. Join discussion...

In the British Museum in London, there will be a new art exhibit on Islamic art. The art will be contempory and colorful, something that this museum is not known for. There will be four sections to the exhibit containing pieces from over 80 of todays Islamic artists represented. Join discussion...

Major auction houses in London have estimated sales at less than a quarter of the sales of last February. In response to this, auction houses are being more careful about which pieces they take on for sale, only choosing quality works that are correctly priced. They are also taking on less works, so as not to be left with a surplus. Join discussion...

On February 11, 2009, at Christie's Post-War and COntemporary Art Evening Sale, 31 works of art that have been created in the past 60 years or so will be auctioned off. This is important because many of these famous works of art have been in the hands of private collectors for many years, so this is the first time they have been up for auction in a very long time. Works by such authors as Francis Bacon, Jeff Koons, Alberto Burri, and many others will be auctioned off at this highly anticipated event. The most popular piece in the auction is entitled. "Man in Blue VI". It was created by Francis Bacon in 1954. Bacon in internationally known for his paintings of popes. It is expected that this piece of art will auction off for approximately £4,000,000 to £6,000,000. Another popular work of art that is going to be auctioned off is called the "Combustione plastica". It was created by Alberto Burri in 1956. It is made out of plastic, and was helped designed and created with the assistance of fire. It will be auctioned for approximately £800,000 to £1,200,000. Finally, another popular piece that will be auctioned is called "Monkeys (Ladder)" and was created by Jeff Koons in 2003. It was created using oil on canvas and is around 9 feet tall. For the first time, this artwork will be auctioned off. It is expected to be auctioned for approximately £1.4 million to £2 million. Clearly, many popular selections of art will be auctioned off at this event. Many pieces are so special because they are rarely auctioned, and therefore are also very valuable. Others, collectors are trying to procure, because as like this last painting, some have never been seen before. Clearly this will be a big event for many art investors around the world. Join discussion...

The decrease in the price of artwork is making people cautious about selling their art because they want to take more time to see where prices are going in the future. It is difficult for auction houses to obtain artwork for this reason. Sotheby's auction last year made 72 million pounds. This year, the auction is being held on the fifth of February. The presale low estimate of 16.55 million pounds is less than a quarter of what was made last year at this auction. Selling percentages and prices have been decreasing since the last quarter of 2008 due to the current economic crisis. It looks like things are looking downhill for art dealers at the moment. Join discussion...

In London, England, the National Portrait Gallery is looking into buying a special sculpture by Marc Quinn. His sculpture is a frozen replication of himself covered in his very own blood. His used 10 pints of his own blood per sculpture and makes a new one every 5 years. It takes over a year for him to collect the amount of blood he needs. This work of art is known as "iconic" and is worth a lot of money. Join discussion...

"Russian Art Show Hangs in the Balance" is about the cancellation of the Royal Academy of Art's exhibition of French and Russian art that was suppose to open in January in London. It was halted by the Russian government, which owns most of the work, on claims that the British had not done enough legally to ensure that the work would be return after the show. The British hold to the position that they did everything that they needed too, and claim that the Russians are simply trying to pull art and culture into the political struggle between the two countries. Britain and Russia's political relations have been strained ever since a former KGB agent was poisoned in London last year. This is just the most recent disagreement. Join discussion...

On Wednesday, a Russian art auction was held by Christie's International in London that ended up being the highest grossing of its kind ever. The auction raised $81 million, after Sotheby's raised $80 million on Monday and Tuesday of this week. A collector and dealer from Ukraine that attended the auction stated that the price of Russian art has gone up about 750% in the past ten years, and there's potential for prices to go even higher. The most expensive piece of the day sold for $18.5 million. Many pieces sold for much more than was estimated, and many artists broke their former auction record. Almost all of the artwork came from European and American collections, and about 90% of the buyers were Russian. Join discussion...

On November 29 Christie’s, located in London, beat the record for the highest grossing Russian art auction. It raised 39.1 million pounds or about 81 million dollars beating the previous record, 31 million pounds, held by Sotheby’s art auction. Seven of the four hundred and thirteen lots at the auction were sold for more than a million pounds. The enamel Faberge Egg, made of gold and enamel, sold for 8.98 million pounds including commission. The piece "Portrait of Alexander Tikhonov" by Yuri Annenkov sold for 2.26 million pounds. Other pieces sold include “The Romantic Pursuit” by Somov, “Lilacs in a Vase” by Natalia Gorchakov , and Boris Grigoriev's “The Harlot of Marseille.” According to Sergei Tabalov the price of Russian art has increased 750 percent in the last ten years. Join discussion...