Portrait of the new generation of contemporary art collectors

This research focuses on a new generation of art collectors, on their motivations and on the different ways of accessing the contemporary art market. This explorative and interpretative paper aims at trying to understand the complex population of art collectors and see if their behaviour in the market, the ways they access art is different than the previous generations of collectors. It is framed on the contemporary art market, and solely on the primary market. The data collected comes from a series of 14 interviews with collectors, galleries, advisors, platforms and other professionals and experts of the art market to have a multidimensional and international perspective and combine different points of view on the topic. The findings suggest that the population of collectors is highly educated and in many cases comes from a family of collectors, implying that they are continuing a family tradition albeit modernizing it. Globalization and digitalization have greatly impacted the market and democratized access to art and collecting, reducing information asymmetry and empowering collectors. The multiplication of association and clubs of collectors combined with the rising role of the Internet and social media have brought many new opportunities but also a new set of risks linked to an excess of supply and information. The conclusions of the research have highlighted some patterns and trends that could be the basis for future research.