Art Patronage: From Objects to “Clout”
Experts see a new form of art patronage emerging that changes from the ownership of objects to funding public facing art projects that generate visibility and deepen social influence (clout). Although the art is public, the patron receives status via exclusive access for their personal circle, such as private viewings or events.
It’s a trend predicted by cultural strategist Marc Spiegler who connects this to broader luxury experiences that are popular among the “new wealthy”. At the same time, he sees this development mainly in the West, whereas in Asia patrons still focus on building physical art collections that are showcased in private museums.
The Return of Arts and Crafts
At a time when AI slop is flooding the internet, contemporary crafts receive a renewed appreciation. Textiles especially have their institutional moment, for example with the latest exhibition by installation and textile artist Chiaharu Shiora at the Hayward Gallery running until May 3. Or at Museo Reina Sofía (Madrid) & MACBA (Barcelona) with “Weaving the Sculpture: Aurèlia Muñoz and Ruth Asawa”, a retrospective connecting Catalan textile pioneer Aurèlia Muñoz with Ruth Asawa’s sculptural wire works, running 5 November 2026 to 29 March 2027. Besides textiles, also ceramic and glass art celebrate a comeback, for example at The Met with The Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics, tracing over 13,000 years of Japanese ceramic art, on view until August 8, 2027.
Regionalization of the Art World
Artist and writer Joshua Citarella predicts the end of globalisation as a unified "world society" for art. He foresees a return to regionalization of art markets like China, Russia and the West. He calls this the “great firewall of culture” shaped by geopolitical tensions and increasing art censorship that hinder the free spread of ideas. It’s an observation further fueled by a general art fair fatigue among galleries that carefully choose in which markets they participate. In general there seems to be a focus on local community-building around a small but high-quality collector base. According to Spiegler, successful galleries are staying small, focusing on deep emotional and geographical ties to their artists and a core group of about 15 loyal collectors.