Buying art

I was talking to @lately from The Art City Project, which aims to turn the city’s public spaces into canvases for artists.

We found that among some of our friends, no one buys art for their walls anymore like they used to. Art is a great many things; different things for different people. Mostly, art is about showing what you like and investing in and supporting the artists you like.

Perhaps a younger audience just doesn’t care about art on their walls because they live in a world of transience: simpler homes, moving apartments every few years, living in Airbnbs and leading a life that is about renting & sharing your goods more than it is about ownership. It could also be because it’s never been top of mind for a young audience: that perhaps as you get older, you tend to buy a home and set down roots and buy nicer furniture and nice art for your walls too. There’s more permanence in life than you’re afforded when you’re young.

Younger people have just found another to show what they like: by wearing it. Art on shirts and art on shoes and hats. The most perfect example of this is Supreme. As in the art world, they’ve captured the idea of openings and limited runs and price points. And just as in the art world, there’s a collector’s market worth millions.

What happens when you create a platform to turn your clothing into a canvas for artists? Open it up to more artists; open it up to more people. Make artwork (and thereby, its creators) accessible to more people.

You get to show and wear the art you like. And you get to support the artists you like.