The New Power Buyers of the Art World? Gen Z Women

The future of art collecting is with women. The 2025 Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting was released and gathered insights from 3,100 high-net-worth (HNW) collectors across 10 global markets, 76% of whom identified as Gen Z or Millennials, and analyzed the current global collecting habits.

The report found that among HNW collectors, Gen Z and Millennial women are outspending their male counterparts, whereas male Gen X and boomer collectors are outspending their women counterparts. This is giving us the real numbers behind the future of art collecting, with young women leading the way.

It's not just a generational shift, but an overall market feminization, with women emerging as some of the most powerful players in today's art economy. On average, HNW women spent 46% more than men on fine art and antiques, with Gen Z and Millennial women outspending men across almost every category. Additionally, 55% of women surveyed reported buying works from emerging and unknown artists "frequently or often," compared to 44% of male respondents. Alongside supporting the new vanguard, these women are also showing a greater interest in photography and digital art over traditional mediums like painting.

The report also found that women were generally less risk-averse in their collecting. "Contrary to the common stereotype of women as more risk-averse than men, the findings reveal that in the context of collecting, women are equally aware of potential risks yet often more willing to embrace them in practice—purchasing across a broader range of nontraditional mediums and actively supporting emerging and unknown artists," shared Clare McAndrew, the author of the report.

Women's collections also came closer to gender parity, with 49% of the pieces in their collections by female artists, compared to just 40% of pieces in men's collections. Gen Z collectors proved themselves a new class of "omnivore collectors," as described by Art Basel, dedicating an average of 26% of their wealth to art, the highest share of any age demographic. They're among the most active buyers, not just in fine art, but also in luxury goods, spending almost five times more than their generational counterparts on items like sneakers and handbags.

While recent coverage has underscored the volatility and uncertainty shaping today's art market, this shift signals a reshaping of the cultural capital landscape and provides a new optimism across the industry. The report also reveals that collecting is not driven purely by asset value, and instead it's about reflecting identity, cultural expression and pleasure.

Remember that one Sex and the City episode with the "power lesbian" art collectors? This is taking that somewhat dated message and giving it a real-life, contemporary update.

In other news, check out these nude selfies transformed into paintings.

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