How to start collecting art in Detroit
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A Detroit Artists Market event. Photo: Courtesy of Detroit Artists Market
Collecting art for your home can feel intimidating and expensive. But local experts say it doesn't have to be and that Detroit is a great place to start.
Why it matters: Art fuels the soul and body, enriches our living spaces and can help support the local creative economy.
What they're saying: "There is art collecting to be had at every level, no matter what your budget is," says Misha McGlown, director of Detroit's Irwin House Global Art Center and Gallery.
Here are experts' tips for beginner art collecting:
🧠 Absorb, don't rush: "If someone feels intimidated by collecting art, the most important thing to do is start by spending time with art," Miah Davis Gardner, Detroit Artists Market executive director, tells Axios.
- Start by attending (often free) events and visiting galleries. Meet local artists and follow them on social media.
- Taste develops naturally through exposure, Davis Gardner adds. Patterns in your interests flesh out over time.
📍 Learn the landscape: Art Detroit Now is an oft-cited resource with a weekly art event email blast and interactive gallery map. Sacred Spaces showcases local Black-owned art galleries.
🤓 Education: Detroit Artists Market hosts free collector education events, with the next one on June 6.
- The Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club meets Mondays at 5pm at Marygrove Conservancy, gathering art lovers, artists and collectors.
💵 Cost is a spectrum: Art can cost anything from a few dollars to thousands of dollars, depending on the stage of the artist's career, the intricacy of the piece, the venue and other factors. Buying from and following emerging artists also means you can follow their careers as they grow.
- Plus, buying prints of paintings rather than originals, or artists' sketches rather than their complete artworks, can be an affordable way to support local artists, Davis Gardner notes.
- Summer art fairs are a good entry point to learn pricing.
- Larger pieces can also often be purchased in installments.
🤗 Buy art that calls to you: Both Davis Gardner and McGlown say to focus on pieces that make you feel something. Note what you're still thinking about after you've left a gallery.
- Plus, consider which art you'd like to come home and have a conversation with every day, McGlown says.
The bottom line: If you don't have a specific spot in your home in mind, don't necessarily let that deter you, she adds.
- "When you get [the piece of art] home, it will tell you where it wants to go. ... This might potentially mean moving things around, but I think art is meant to move around."