We’ve been on the ground in Doha, Qatar where the temperature is certainly more manageable than it is in June, as it will be in February when the art world turns its eye(s) to the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar.

Ignore the region of the Gulf at your own risk. Qatar started playing the long game quite a while ago, and their vision goes beyond art into fashion, design and sports—to be a cultural hub for all points of the world. And why not, seeing as almost all corners of the globe are perhaps less than 14 hours away by plane.

Since its inception in 2005, Qatar Museums has overseen the development of a significant number of well executed museums and festivals, including some of our highlights: the Museum of Islamic Art, the National Museum of Qatar and the Qatar National Library, designed by I.M Pei, Jean Nouvel and Rem Koolhaas respectively. From what we’ve seen, their significant investments have paid off—the proof is in the quality of the collections, architecture, public art and infrastructure, all of which will stand the test of time. In China, by comparison, 170 private museums were built but many of them are no longer operating—here the National Museum, for example, is celebrating their 50th anniversary.

And, an easy prediction perhaps, when the Art Mill Museum opens in the next 5-10 years, it will probably have the world's greatest collection of 19th century masters, modern and contemporary art. "Trust Us."

The number of art institutions worldwide that have struck long-term partnerships with the Chanel Culture Fund. Launched by the French fashion house in 2021, the initiative currently boasts multi-year alliances with cultural nonprofits ranging from the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago to the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Power Station of Art in Shanghai.

Chanel’s approach deviates from the typical model of high-end corporate patronage among Europe’s elite luxury brands. Rather than establish an art foundation centered on building an impressive collection housed in an equally impressive building (see: the Fondation Louis Vuitton and Fondation Cartier in Paris, along with the Fondazione Prada in Milan), Chanel has chosen to support a global network of pre-existing art museums whose management remains autonomous from the firm.

Although the brand’s patronage path is unorthodox, it is being charted by art industry veterans. Since March 2020, Chanel’s president of arts, culture, and heritage has been Yana Peel, a former chief executive of London’s renowned Serpentine Gallery. This past February, the brand also hired Irene Kim away from Art Basel, where she had been the global head of VIP relations, to lead its US arts and culture division.

With government funding of the arts declining in high-income countries around the world, private individuals and corporations are poised to play increasingly large roles in filling the void (or not). While other luxury brands seem content to replace—or at least compete with—public institutions by creating their own from scratch, Chanel’s decentralized network of targeted giving offers an alternative. But whether the latter is enough to sustain the museums on the receiving end may depend on if other major corporations follow Peel and company’s lead.

—Tim Schneider / The Gray Market

In response to last week’s role reversal, we ASKed you who you think will stand the test of time in 50 years in terms of art, not the art market. Well, we had an interesting group “nominations” (which surprisingly left out two in their twilight years: Jasper Johns and Gerhard Richter) including some highlights:

Marina Abramović; George Condo; Marlene Dumas; Peter Doig; Keith Haring; Peter Hujar; Anselm Kiefer; William Kentridge; Nicolas Party; Walid Raad; Jenny Saville; Kara Walker; and Anna Weyant.

And our top pick: Ai Weiwei.

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The Baer Faxt Live from London 2025 was broadcast live on October 17th, 2025 and is sponsored by London's Mount St. Restaurant. For more information, visit mountstrestaurant.com

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