We all love art, we all want to collect art, but the way these budgets be smh. First of all let’s get this straight. If you’re a part of the Cash Conglomerate, you can afford anything dawg. Where there is a will, there is a way. Never take “No” for an answer when it comes to an investment opportunity. Today we become Art collectors, but we’re not just buying art because it’s pretty, we’re doing this sh*t to have dope art and to get rich. Yes, we’re broke, but watch this finesse.
Why Is Art important? How does it's value affect me?
Art is important because it is a visual storyteller of history. Without the cave paintings we wouldn't know how the earliest humans communicated and lived. Without lit ass hieroglyphics, it would be more difficult for us to understand how brilliant the Ancient Egyptians were. Art provides a different perspective than our history books, sometimes it's even more accurate.
The current Art market as a whole is valued at over $75 Billion dollars and is poised to increase within the next few decades. Art is a big player in this world and can create wealth for any collector. Having art in a home can increase the value of the home when appraised for it. There's huge buyers, sellers, and agents, so the world is literally your oyster. Just play the game right.
It’s rules to this game. Like every investment buying art is a risk, you win some and you lose some. The cool thing about art is that if you’re not able to sell a piece at least you have a beautiful piece of work in your home. So let’s go through the steps:
Pick a focus
Remember, what makes art important is that it tells the story of a time. The best way to be an effective art collector is to figure out the type of story you want to tell. Find a time, and type of art you love and do the education. Be as specific as you can. For example “Black sculptures from (LA, New York, Chicago) during the great migration". Learn about the culture from that time, visit the places mentioned, visit their museums, learn about the sculptors, and try to locate their families and whatever artifacts you can find. By learning about a specific time in history and collecting the artifacts of that time, you become an expert in that particular time, and can do a better job in increasing the value of your own collection (the gems for this will come later). Think of your collection of art like a product that you’re going to sell. It literally is that, and it’s up to you to sell it properly and to control the value of your collection. The key to getting rich in the art game is to find a particular space and buy as much art as you can in it, by doing this you can control the value of all of the pieces available.
Pick your poison:
There are a few ways to build a collection:
Buy unrecognized art.
Basquiat's street name before he became famous.
Buy art from artists who people don’t know well but is great art at a very affordable price. Usually you can score these pieces for under $200. If your collection is sold properly, and the artist becomes recognized, the come up can be crazy. In short this move is "diamond in the rough". In today’s world building value with unrecognized art is much easier because of social media. If you see an artist has drive, invest in them and make your flip. Make sure every piece you buy is numbered. The more limited the better.
Buy recognized art.
The Basquiat's This is for the ballers, or the folks who are well connected in the art world, and are able to get in the auction game. This ain’t for us, but if your parents go it, go for it. The returns on this side are very very high, also its much easier to build a name for yourself then reinvest in unrecognized art and become a promoter of it. This requires the same diligence. Find a period of time you want to become an expert in and become the primary buyer in this space. Make sure every piece you have is numbered.
The keys to increasing the value of your collection:
Lend out your collection to galleries and museums:
If people don’t know your art, and don’t see your art, how will they know that it’s lit and is worth anything? With scores of new galleries opening, and social media it’s much easier to get your art out there and show people how important your collection is. Beware: Pieces get damaged. Get your art insured. One out of every 10 pieces gets damaged moving from one place to another. But this is an effective way to getting your art collection recognized.
If you don’t have the connects to galleries and museums:
Use your home:
Curate your collection, and call the homies over. Host an open house, serve wine, crackers, cheese, blast a bunch of Lil Wayne, and get lit. This is the cheapest way you can possibly get your collection recognized. Also invite journalists so they can publish pictures of your collection in their publications and bring notoriety over. Create an Instagram page and showcase your collection.
The Culture LP is a network of artists that host curated art events around the country. They also help people find dope & affordable art for their collections. The folks over at that organization are really easy to get in contact with and are extremely helpful. They also host this monthly event at Kinfolk called NVRSLEEP: (Click the photo to RSVP its Free, drinks be like $3 dollars each. Its lit)
Come party with them, mix and mingle with cool art folks, get some advice on building your collection, and stunt a little bit with that tax money.
The Art Print Game:
Naturel's Picasso Stevie
There’s art on canvas and art on prints. Usually because of the effort involved with printing art, it costs significantly less to buy prints. The value on prints usually appreciate about 15% to 20% per year. Although you won’t get the bang for your buck up front, but if you build a substantial print collection you can make quite a penny in the long term. Now with prints, you don’t need to necessarily have a focus, but it’s good to find an artist or group of artists that have a very limited print collection. Buy as much as you can afford, showcase those pieces and move them bad boys.
Many big name artists release their prints for under $500.
A few websites to work with in when it comes to buying art:
Since 2010 1XRun has been a great source of buying art in general, but their prints department is the dopest i’ve ever seen. I’ve purchased quite a number of piece from there and have enjoyed every single one.
Instagram:
If you see an artist you like… Slide in their DM’s and talk prices. Artists are people, they love you, but don’t forget to respect their craft. Don’t jump in the DM’s low balling folks.
Vango Art:
Vango is an app that allows you to buy art specifically from emerging artists. This is a great tool when researching your art focus and seeing the value of art pieces in that space.
Some notable artists:
Don’t forget, when buying art you need to buy with intent. Know why you’re buying it, know how it adds value to your collection, and know how you’re going to sell it. Become knowledgeable in your focus area and get your money. Also most importantly, enjoy this process. Art is primarily for enjoyment, it’s just even more fun when you’re making hella money.
Hope ya’ll enjoyed this and start collecting. Until next time.
Keep Stackin’ that paper ya’ll,
CJB