The women and men on Observer’s 2023 Business of Art Power List have their fingers on the pulse of the art market, and they’re unflinchingly optimistic. In the face of market contraction, ongoing uncertainty about the role of major cultural institutions and everything else that’s happening in the art world, these power players find inspiration in everything from art’s philanthropic potential and growing reach to the rapidly changing narratives around what art is and who it’s for. In short, they’re the people wielding outsized influence on art’s present and its future.