Why Do People Buy Art, Anyway?

I have been writing about how shame blocks marketing. It’s good to know what might stand in our way of selling our work. But it’s also good to remember people do buy art. The amount of art sold every year runs to the billions of dollars. People are clearly buying.

But why? Why do people buy art? 

I interviewed Kira Stewart of Art Consulting Services, and she had some answers. Her whole business is built on people needing, wanting and buying art.

Art for corporate or commercial settings

First in a corporate or commercial setting people buy art because no building is complete without it. Think about that. That’s a lot of empty wall and lobby space.

Next, in commercial settings, leaders know how their clients, patients and employees feel about being in a building depends heavily on the art hanging on the walls. Yes. Art directly influences how a patient feels when they’re sitting in a conference room waiting for a cancer diagnosis, or how a client feels as they’re sitting in the lobby of a law firm or an insurance company.

Art is an essential part of the way companies interact with their people.

Do you know how people feel when they buy your art?

I made a worksheet that lists all the reasons people buy art. If you’d like it, comment below, and I’ll send it to you.

Your work matters. Articulating the impact of what you do is one of the first steps in getting your work into the world. If you need help with this, let’s chat.

Need my support?

Helping you figure out what you’re really doing in your business for your people, and the best way to communicate it to them are my superpowers. If you need help, let’s chat.