Artist Connections: Collectors
Who are they?
Collectors mainly look through the lens of spending power and purchase motivation. Those who are classified within the spending power group are usually in the elite market of art collecting, which is mostly dominated by second hand art pieces that have significant and cultural weight, and that go beyond the 6 figure price. This article on Artsy outlines four different types of art collectors that would fall into the aforementioned elite space.
The above doesn’t relate to the majority of people, including artpreneurs reading this article. However, there are huge numbers of art collectors who purchase art with a lower price tag of six figures and less and these are the people that artpreneurs should be aware of. Again, you can expect that collectors in this space will be looking to collect because of their interest in the artist, wanting a piece to add to a space, or will look at it as an investment.
Takeaway: Know who you’re dealing with. Some art collectors who are focused on investment might want a quick and easy transaction, while a more aesthetic focused art collector would like to connect with you on a personal level first.
Motivations of an Art Collector
The most important thing to know about collectors for an artpreneur is the motivation of the collector. Artsy published a report in 2019 that decorating a home, inspiration to self, and intentionally building a collection are the top 3 reasons collectors purchase art. See below to view the full list.
Source: Artsy
Other reasons that people become collectors is to join a community, express their personality, to support the arts, to tell stories and to pass on a legacy. Collectors can also be broken into 2 other groups, interest in the artist or interest in the painting. Tha means they’ll either be interested in an artists life and journey, or interested in the story that lies behind the piece of art.
Takeaway: Like any other relationship in life, you’ll tune into the person you’re connecting with. Through conversation, and through sharing content online as well, art collectors that align with your work and their motivation as an art collector will be drawn to you. It isn’t necessary to be targeting someone specifically based on their motivations, but it’s important to be aware of what their motivations are.
Purchase habits of Art Collectors
Artsy has released a report called Art Collectors Insights, which you can access here. With inflation running high at the time of this article being published (2022), this doesn’t seem to have affected most collectors yet, with over 51% saying that inflation hasn’t affected their purchasing in the past 12 months.
The one thing I would highlight from the report for artpreneurs is the online purchasing behavior. Most artpreneurs are optimizing their online activity to allow for easy discovery and purchasing of their art pieces, and they should keep focusing on that as 56% of all art collectors spent more than half of their art budget online in the last year according to Artsy. More specifically, 90% of Next-Generation collectors, who are more likely to purchase from artpreneurs, purchased art online in the past 12 months. To add to that, Instagram is one of the top 3 methods for collectors to discover and purchase art online according to the Art Basel/UBS Art Market Report in 2022.
Takeaway: Be considerate and intentional with your online presence and purchase process. This means being active on social media, specifically Instagram as your main channel, have your website up to date, and have an option for people to easily make a purchase. Making a purchase easier includes having all the relevant details of a painting online e.g. description, measurements, medium, the price, etc., and contact details.
How to attract collectors
There is no one way to do everything, and the same applies here. As you can see from the types and motivations of collectors, there are all kinds of art collectors. The best way for you connect with collectors is through visibility. This could be attending events where you know art collectors will be present, so more than likely art gallery openings, exhibitions, etc. Being featured in the likes of magazines provides good visibility and credibility as well. And of course, be present online. Have a good designed website with all of your details and art work.
Takeaway: Be visible to collectors, whether it be in person or online. Networking is always key to creating connections with people.
Looking to optimise your online presence in order to attract collectors? Sign up for an Advisory Session to review your website and social media platforms today!
