Millennials are now the fastest-growing constituency of collectors, and at the top end of the market, they buy more art and spend more on it than any other demographic. And millennials’ consumption of artworks nearly doubles that of Gen X and is close to four times that of the HNW Baby Boomers.

Truly engaging millennial collectors require galleries to rethink ideas of transparency, flexibility, diversity, and to drop old fashioned art formats such as the white cube exhibition style, with its snobbish and exclusivist formats of Private Views fuelled by canapes and champagne. And of course, this expectation for transparency leads millennials to buy massively online, as art prices at online art galleries and marketplaces are clearly stated, including shipping fees and any extra cost involve in each transaction ready to be analysed in the shopping cart.

At Arrière-Garde we want to contribute to this revolution, and we are looking for radical ways to embrace the new generations of art lovers and their desire for change in the geriatric art system. Let’s revolutionise it together!

Gen-Z is increasingly becoming not only interested in art but also turning into active art collectors. Gen-Z consumers are more likely to be motivated by how the brands they purchase relate to their personal identity and community, as well as causes they care about. And they transfer this pattern to their art purchasing activity.

Gen-Z stands out particularly for the fact that they feel the need of relating to the artist they buy art from, and to intentionally support them as they support their own friends. At Arrière-Garde we embrace the open mindedness, generosity and altruism of Gen-Z…and we love this generation for that!

Millennials and Gen Z intensely use computers, mobile devices and social media for sourcing and purchasing art, dismissing the need of experiencing the work of art in person before buying it, particularly in the case of less expensive work.

Young art collectors tend to despise the old-fashioned side of the art market, and its insistence on formal live events, pretentious Private Views, exclusivist mentality and exclusionary stance toward those who are not obviously wealthy. They like price transparency, immediacy, and truly enjoy collecting and acquiring work by browsing online and through a few taps on the screen.