What brought the Democratization of the World of Art?

It wasn’t so long ago that the world of art was only open to only a small portion of individuals around the world. In 2023, we can fairly say that this crowd has enlarged itself quite expansively over the last decade. This is due in part to technology, but also by the arrival of a new generation on the market, which sees life in a whole different way. Here is why art was able to reach a new public in the latter years.

The Internet

Before, in order to buy a painting or any other type of artwork, you would have had to walk into an art gallery. They were (and still are) usually located in the wealthiest neighbourhoods, which was in itself a first barrier. But if you did walk in, you may not have been greeted the same way according to your social status. Today, you can sit on your favourite chair at home or at your office and take a close look at thousands of artworks for sale, simply by visiting an online art gally such as Singulart. They also made it much easier for buyers to find what they are looking for by creating a large variety of categories, enabling a person to find precisely what he is looking for, right away.

Social media have also helped democratize the world of art, in its own way. Of course, an internet user may find himself in front of advertising paid by art galleries. But what has really changed is that everyone now see works of arts from around the world, as their friends or those who they follow post some of the most famous artworks on their social media account. There is no better seller in the world of art than the work of art itself, which explains why a part of the population is showing a stronger interest nowadays.

The Arrival of a New Generation

In theory, there are two recent generations that are taking over the world of art, which are the Millennials and Gen Z. However, recent surveys and studies have shown that the Millennials are currently the largest purchasing generation for art, while Gen Z is a distant third, even though it starting to make its mark in the art world as well. Generation X is still holding the number two spots in art purchasing today.

It is no surprise that these young adults are more prone to buy art. Their parents were the one who were first provided with the possibility to understand art and to appreciate its full worth; not just on a financial level. Culture is at the top of the new generations values because their parent thought them how important it was. That is why they are more likely to invest in high-quality artwork today. Of course, Millennials also tend to be tech-savvy, so they are more likely to discover and engage with art online, as we mentioned in the previous paragraphs. As for Gen Z, it is the first generation to grow up entirely in a digital world, which says it all.