Another surprising statistic from the Survey of Global
Collecting 2025 was a higher-than-average share of buyers for digital
art in France (26%) and Japan (18%). In many ways, the preference for digital
art in these locales makes sense. ʻIn France, the state’s historic commitment
to contemporary creation – through institutions such as the Centre Pompidou and
dedicated media-art initiatives – has cultivated a collector base comfortable
with time-based and technology-driven work,ʼ says AOTMʼs Berman.
ʻSeparately, Japan is awash in technology-driven immersive environments, making
digital art familiar and attractive to collectors.ʼ But other countries are
also vying for the reputation of digital art stronghold. Berman adds Korea to
the list, as well as the US, and Sacks concurs, naming New York and Miami and
key cities. Doms advocates for Hamburg, with the UBS Digital Art Museum set to
open there in 2026, as well as Dubai and Doha.
Despite the NFT and crypto fields being male-dominated, the survey
showed that the share of digital art in womenʼs collections (15%) was higher
than in men’s (11%). ʻWomen have historically played an important role in new
forms of patronage and collecting new forms of art,ʼ says Berman, citing
Isabella Stewart Gardner, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Peggy Guggenheim, and the
late Agnes Gund. ʻIn my opinion, women tend to be more daring or risk-loving
when it comes to cultural investment – prioritizing aesthetic value over
financial speculation. They may also care less about how they are perceived by
their peers, making them more willing to take chances versus following the
crowd,ʼ explains Berman. On the other hand, Doms says the difference is
negligible: ʻI don’t believe in such statistics,ʼ she says, ʻespecially not in
the crypto market, where many IDs and wallets remain anonymous. The interest in
art has nothing to do with gender issues.ʼ Sacks adds that a gender difference
can be seen much more clearly in other related areas of the market. ʻI have
seen many more female artists in the new media realm emerging over the past
five years,ʼ he says.
