Of all the things that collectors want this is the easiest one for an individual artist to recreate without an art gallery. Not only can you create exclusive experiences for your collectors, but you can do it in a way that is better than an art gallery. After all, who's in a better position to offer exclusive access to an artist's work or an artist's time than the artist herself?
So there you have it: What I think true collectors want when evaluating artists and artworks to collect:
1. Credibility of the artist as established by some third party or brand they trust.
2. Curation of artists and artworks: meaning someone else, a trusted and knowledgeable party, sorts through the noise and shows collectors relevant artists that are "worthy" of attention, interest and time of the collector.
3. Spillover effects - this is a major way collectors discover new artists. They follow an artist they know and, in doing so, discover an artist they didn't know of. You can reach far more collectors through spillover effects than through search.
4. Exclusivity - they want first choice of new promising artists and first choice of artworks by artists they follow.
Can these four things be recreated online without traditional art galleries? I think so, but I'm not sure. It might be that the galleries themselves evolve to disrupt themselves. Or it might be something completely new. Whatever happens, I don't think that recreating these elements online has (yet) been successfully done at scale. In future articles, I'll explore some additional ways I think you might possibly be able, to some degree, recreate these things without an art gallery in your own marketing efforts.
In the meantime, I've shared with you what I think collectors want, what do you think?
Until next time, please remember that Fortune Favors the Bold Brush.
