Who are the new generation of art collectors?
90% of new generation art collectors don't believe the art world is welcoming or inclusive
Avant Arte's mission is to make discovering and owning art radically more accessible to a new generation — the majority of whom don't feel that the art world is for them.
Our inaugural Collector Report aims to shed light on this new generation — who they are, where they are and what drives them — and highlight their potential to have a transformative impact on the arts.
Collector Report · March 2024
Introduction
Starting life as a simple online blog, Avant Arte has grown organically into a global community of over 3.3 million young enthusiasts and collectors. We know this new generation intimately and have always believed in the growing power they have to positively impact the wider art world. However, with limited sources of real insight available, it has been easy to typecast this new generation in lazy ways: as lacking the means to support artists and museums in meaningful ways, too distracted to pay attention to anything other than social media, and uninterested in serious arts institutions.
Our collector report aims to debunk these assumptions by surfacing the understanding we've built from our own community:
- There's a new generation collecting art and the community is growing — with half of those surveyed starting collections within the last 5 years and 40% spending more than €10,000 every year on art, there is impressive new energy entering a market that is often characterised alongside classical music and theatre as stagnating while its core audience ages.
- The new generation care about our arts institutions — 61% of our community go to a museum or gallery at least once a month, with 74% defining these 'traditional' spaces as one of their main sources of inspiration — a level of engagement that challenges the defeatism of some of our cultural commentary today.
- And, they want to support the arts — a staggering 40% of our community were keen to do more to support museums financially and, of them, 75% were unsure about how they could.
Despite the huge challenges we face today, with a cultural funding climate that continues to worsen, the findings of this report give cause to be optimistic about this new generation and its potential to support artists and museums with an evermore powerful voice within the wider art world.
Who Are They?
A New Generation
Top Collector Geographies
Who Are They?
Almost half of our new generation collectors are under 40
While collecting art is often portrayed as a pursuit of older people, we have a new generation who confound the stereotype. Across our collector community, 46% are aged 18-39, and 80% are younger than 50. Our broader online audience skews younger with 62% of followers under 35 on Instagram and 88% under 35 on TikTok.
How old are you?
Who Are They?
Half started collecting less than 5 years ago
There is significant concern expressed in cultural commentary around how the art market relies on a highly concentrated, ageing group of extremely wealthy collectors, with not enough new energy to sustain a healthy environment for artists. This analysis demonstrates what we knew from building our own collector community – that there is huge growth and enthusiasm from collectors at the start of their journey. Indeed, across our top 10 countries, nearly a quarter have only been collecting for 2 years or less.
Would you describe yourself as an "art collector"?
A New Generation
Their attitudes, wants and needs
A New Generation
4 in 10 new-gen collectors spend more than €10k a year on art
While 14% have an annual budget of less than €1k, 39% of our community spend more than €10k a year on art and almost 60% spend over €5k. This is particularly high among collectors in East Asia, with 45% of Taiwanese collectors spending over €10k annually, 50% in Hong Kong, and 59% in South Korea, reflecting the boom in these markets in recent years.
The budgets of our community are diverse, ranging from modest through to more expansive. We know that a large proportion of them are at the earlier stages in their collecting journey and have seen countless times how budgets grow exponentially with experience, knowledge and trust.
What's your average art budget per year?
A New Generation
Art for the home trumps investment
Motivations for collecting art vary from collector to collector but 71% of those surveyed said that they wanted art to decorate their homes. This compares to 41% for whom financial investment is a major consideration when collecting.
When it comes to the community's motivations for buying art, the top four factors are:
- Buying from an artist they admire (88%)
- Emotional connection to the art (82%)
- Buying art at a reasonable price (72%)
- Good customer service (70%)
What are your main reasons for buying artwork?
A New Generation
90% of the new generation of art collectors don't believe that the art world is welcoming or inclusive
When asked how they feel about the art world, the community was mixed.
While most describe it positively as inspiring, thought-provoking, enriching, and innovative, they still have their concerns with the art world:
- 1 in 3 believe the art world is elitist
- 1 in 4 describe it as pretentious
- 1 in 5 believe it is intimidating
The issue is even more pronounced for women, the gender split reveals that women collectors are:
- 42% more likely to describe the art world as elitist
- 39% more likely to refer to is as intimidating
- 13% more likely to believe it's pretentious
- 17% less likely to believe the art world is welcoming
Which of the following words would you use to describe the art world?
What do the new generation think about art museums and galleries?
In 2022, Avant Arte established our programme to support art institutions that enable public access to art — a core tenet of our mission to make art more accessible. We want to provide meaningful funds for important institutions like LACMA, Dia Art Foundation, The Design Museum and National Portrait Gallery, as the institutional world battles an unprecedented funding crisis, and in order to introduce their vital work to this new generation.
While many still find the art world alienating, we found that arts institutions still play a vital role for this new generation and that they are keen to help museums financially in surprisingly high numbers.
Museums still reign supreme. The new generation wants to help support them financially, but it is unsure how.
The Role of Institutions
Art institutions remain number one when it comes to educating art lovers
Art institutions continue to be essential for the new generation. Even in the digital age, visiting galleries and museums in person plays a leading role. When we asked our new-gen collectors how they keep up-to-date with the art world, there were two clear front-runners: galleries/museums, and Instagram.
How do you keep up-to-date with the Art World?
The Role of Institutions
61% of new-gen collectors visit galleries and museums once a month
Our community visits galleries and museums frequently. 61% attend at least once a month – with 22% visiting every couple of weeks, and 13% visiting on a weekly basis. Only 7% visit as little as once a year or less.
How often do you visit art galleries, museums, or art-related events?
The Role of Institutions
2 in 3 believe it's important to support art institutions financially and 40% would personally like to do more to financially support art institutions
Museums are clearly valued by the new generation and the importance of supporting them financially is evident but many aren't aware of how they can best support. Of those who would like to do more to financially support arts institutions:
- 68% don't know how to support them
- 75% would like help in understanding how to help
A new generation of patrons
This new generation of collectors is a powerful, growing global force which confounds many of the assumptions and type-casting that they have been subject to due to a lack of insight and understanding. They are culturally engaged and keen to do more to support artists and museums in a challenging environment that they are fully conscious of. With the vast majority believing that the art world isn't a welcoming place for them, we have urgent work to do to harness the potential of this new generation of collectors.