The Benefits of Collecting Art

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The Benefits of Collecting Art

Vanessa Selk • February 26, 2023

Three reasons why everyone should acquire art

There are way too many benefits related to art, which have been widely studied, shared and written about. I will for my part focus on three main reasons everyone should purchase or own art (if you have not already done so) and consider doing it through our conscious and mindful approach.

1. Art promotes Health and Mindfulness

There is scientific evidence (from biological, cognitive and neurological science) that visual arts promote health and wellness. Whether passively just by being surrounded by it, or actively by studying a piece of art or creating it, arts engage our mind in stimulating ways and tap into our emotions to make us feel good. In fact, displaying art in your home and office can reduce stress hormones (cortisol) and encourage positive hormones (endorphins and dopamine). By accessing and engaging different parts of the brain, arts create conditions for mindfulness through conscious shifting of mental states. Art can therefore be used to create a unique cognitive change leading to a new state of mind called “flow”, which is a state of optimal engagement that generates feelings of pleasure and reward. This is why arts, used as an effective tool for mindfulness, have been a widely used practice in schools and in mental health institutions. French gallerist Leila Mordoch indirectly pointed out these benefits in a 2009 publication titled “Is Art an Antidepressant?”.

Now imagine being immerged in your home or office by all these art pieces acting as mindful and antidepressant brain stimulations: wouldn’t it feel like Alice in Artland, falling in a huge cup of happiness unleashing your creativity?

2. Art is a risk-averse investment

Investing in art is a great way to diversify your portfolio, add value to your real estate and reduce risks level of your financial assets. With a low correlation to stocks, art is a historically performing asset that brings more stability in times of uncertainty and financial crisis. Art can appreciate in value over time, and depending on the type of artwork you choose, it can give you a unique asset with distinctive, intangible value. Art can also be viewed as a form of currency, as it has utility and is transferable. As an artist’s popularity grows, so will their work’s value, resulting in a potential return on investment. Finally, owning an artwork you enjoy can bring you a greater sense of satisfaction than merely investing in stocks and bonds. Investing in art allows you to combine design and wellness with security against inflation and hedges against currency devaluation.

And guess what: investing in art is not exclusive to millionaires who have the knowledge about and the access to the art market. Investing in art is accessible to all. Many famous collectors, like Dorothy and Herbert Vogel in the 1960s, started with very little means, as highlights another contemporary collector Erling Kagge in his book “A Poor Collector’s Guide to Buying Great Art”. So, what if the next famous collector of this 2020s were you?

3. You can write History by becoming an Art Patron

History is remembered by the culture and art a society has produced and bequeathed to future generations. We remember Antique Greece through the writings and statues that were left behind. In the same way, acquiring art is a way to preserve the culture of a community and prepare its legacy. Buy building a collection of contemporary art, you not only contribute to writing the visual history of that community, but you also support a community of artists in the present, who will often appreciate the patronage. Your relationship to the artists may grow over the years, and your social network will expand. It will open new horizons, both professionally and personally. Other artists, collectors and art professionals will hear about your collection and your name may be remembered as someone who generously supported a certain artists community and who contributed to their growth.

So, ready to see your name printed in future art history books? ;)

If one or all of the benefits above resonate with you, let's connect and discuss Art that Empowers You.

Note for fun: To test the art knowledge of an AI, one of the paragraphs above was partly written with the contribution of the AI Chatgpt. Guess which part?

ABOUT YOU

Tell us who you are

If you are an art lover but never dared to acquire an artwork except some artifacts from your last vacation, because pricing and the cold gallery world intimidated you, we can help you deconstruct those barriers to access the art market with more confidence and within your means. Book a free consultation today to learn about your art profile.
If you are lucky enough to own an art collection, but feel that maybe you haven’t paid enough attention in the past to certain communities or causes, and your collection might be a bit “vanilla” or lack a structured and mindful purpose, be assured that it is not too late to make a difference. Book a free consultation today to assess your collection.
If you are an artist in quest for a more impactful international career, book an empowering consultation here.
If you are an interior design/architect professional in search for the meaningful missing art piece to enhance your thoughtful design, let's discuss our collaboration here.

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ABOUT US

Our Story is Your Story

TOUKAN Collector’s blog is a newly launched blog by Vanessa Selk, Founder of TOUKAN-ARTHOUSE, for socially conscious and mindful collectors and art aficionados who want to learn more about navigating the art world more mindfully.

TOUKAN-ARTHOUSE is an alternative art advisory & art programming platform that aims at diversifying art collections at both ends of the spectrum: within collections, by encouraging acquisitions of artists of underrepresented communities such as Caribbean, LatinX, Afro-descendant or Indigenous communities; and on the collector’s side, by making art more accessible to all profiles and backgrounds and diversifying the collector base.

Vanessa Selk is a French Guyanese-German Political Art Advisor focusing on underrepresented cultural communities. She is a former Diplomat working for the French government on African conflict situations in Paris, and on Human Rights, Cultural Rights and Indigenous Peoples' rights at the United Nations in New York. She then became the Head of the Cultural Office for Florida and the Caribbean of the French Embassy in Miami (today Villa Albertine), where she developed a Caribbean contemporary art program through exhibitions, performances, theater, film and music. As an independent cultural practitioner, she founded the TOUT-MONDE Art FOUNDATION in 2019, a public charity dedicated to support Caribbean artists, before launching TOUKAN-ARTHOUSE.

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Collecting Art in times of Disaster: is it ethical?

By Vanessa Selk • September 23, 2023

Lazy Abstract : When disasters devastate whole regions and populations, like the historic earthquake hitting Central Morocco two weeks ago, one can feel awkward, inappropriate or even unethical when wandering through art fairs in a safe place, discussing ridiculous prices with clients or listening to some privileged collectors talk in front of an abstract artwork. In this case, the art world can seem so far from the reality of the majority of people. This is when I developed what I call my professional “conch-reflexe”, to disappear and take a step back from an industry that takes itself far too seriously considering real tragedies are actually impacting people’s lives. But still, we need Beauty in times of horror, and there is a way out from that moment of unethicality: it is when you decide to act. Many actors of the art industry, whether artists, curators, online art platforms, galleries or fairs, have tried to act during times of disasters, crisis or even war. In the case of Morocco today, you can make a difference now by supporting an artist-led initiative, Artists for Morocco, which sells photographic prints to support humanitarian NGO’s in the field, and become a socially conscious and mindful Collector through very affordable and meaningful art.