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Crafts CouncilStories

How millennial collectors are discovering craft


BySujata Burman

24 February 2022

Social media and digital art fairs are ushering in a new generation of craft aficionados


Sujata Burman

24 February 2022

  • Collect 2022
  • Crafts Council exhibition
  • Craft collecting

Kuniko Maeda, A-Un paper sculpture, exhibited with Ruup & Form

In 2020, art and design fairs around the globe had to rethink their models. Showcases took a remixed approach with a digital presence, and in turn ushered in a new set of collectors.

This cohort are discovering art, design and craft through grids on their screens as well as within the four walls of a gallery. While forced to stay inside, they’ve been contemplating the concept of ‘home’ more, and missing human connection and tactility when contemplating their surroundings. Last year, Collect had a solely digital presence, but for 2022 it has gone hybrid (25-27 February 2022, previews 23-24 February)) in response to this changing ecosystem of audiences .

Human touch and conscious making

Material experimentation and making techniques are constantly evolving, and innovation in these areas is fuelling interest in today’s collectors. Varuna Kollanethu from UK gallery Ruup & Form has a considered curatorial eye for her collections, and having only established in 2019, she understands that the transforming audiences are conscious collectors who are excited by new materials.

‘At Ruup & Form we work with makers actively engaging in conversations around sustainability, in their materials, methods and process,’ she says. Kollanethu is interested in bridging the different industries of art, design and craft with her collections.

These makers are thinking beyond what has existed before them: like Japanese artist Kuniko Maeda, for example, who weaves traditional and digital techniques for making, often using leather and paper. Kollanethu is also connecting audiences by expanding on the maker journey for Ruup & Form’s Collect display, which will delve into the memories of these artists.


Sandra Davolio, Pink Coral, 2021, exhibed at J Lohmann Gallery. Photography: Ole Akho

Joern Lohmann, director of New York-based J. Lohmann Gallery, says a personal touch is the draw for millennial buyers, who are searching for ‘an interesting and meaningful story behind the artwork’. While digital exhibits reach a wide audience, human connection and relationships keep collectors returning to live fairs.

Meeting artists and learning about the narratives behind what they do is key. Claire Pearce, who founded contemporary gallery Thrown in 2018, sees this as integral to the craft industry more broadly. ‘There is an excitement in what we can create with our hands and what it means to experience those pieces – a very human experience.’


  • Tom Kemp, Large Vessel, 2019, exhibited with Thrown

  • Fausto Salvi, Corallo Estinto, exhibited at Pik'd gallery

Digital influence

When curating for a diverse roster of collectors, Randa Missir of Beirut-based Pik’d thinks about the location. Pik’d hosts a mix of local and international artists, both of which she has brought to Collect: ‘For a fair like this taking place in a gloomy-weathered city in February, I chose colourful ceramic pieces to brighten up the interiors of my collectors.’

A scroll through the Instagram account of Pik’d and you notice this palette from the bright otherworldly shapes by Toni Losey to sun-hued patterned ceramics by Souraya Haddad – teasers for her following of buyers who are searching for something unique.

Access to social media has opened the door to artists’s moodboard, and these personal stories behind the pieces are what collectors can connect with. Over the past year, gallerist Lloyd Choi has been spending most of her time in her hometown in South Korea, immersing herself in the new wave of makers who are challenging traditional techniques. One of the artists she has brought to Collect is Kwak Hye-Young, and via her Instagram account, you can see clips of her process of recording rain – creating a visual experience of the familiar sound.


  • Kwak Hye-young, Seeing the Sound of Rain 037, 2019, exhibited with Lloyd Choi Gallery. Photo by Moon Ray Studio

Pearce describes this as ‘a dive into the artist's world.’ For Thrown’s inaugural Collect showcase, she has brought to the fore names like Bisila Noha and her clay works that are inspired by her heritage and personal experiences. She believes that social media has torn down walls in the industry: ‘Galleries can find their audience amongst such a wide scope of people from all over the globe – it’s very freeing for the art world.’

Collecting for the home

How we experience our homes has affected the collector market too, gallerists say. This extended period inside means ‘the new buyer is anyone interested in making their space around them spectacular, many of them working from home, or having made their money from online platforms,’ Kollanethu says. This shift may be influencing the type of pieces collectors veer towards. Lohmann explains collectors ‘would like to live in an environment with works of art around that makes them happy. Being home has a different weight than it had just a view years ago.’


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