2026 BEYOND TRENDS: ARTISTS, STRATEGY AND CULTURAL LONGEVITY
As 2026 takes shape, the art world feels less preoccupied with disruption and more attuned to direction. Rather than chasing what’s next, artists, collectors, institutions and audiences are beginning to ask a more grounded question: what kind of art - and what kind of engagement - do we want to live with?
Courtesy of Ola Korbańska
Art engagement and art consumption itself has evolved drastically over the years. Audiences are engaging more deeply, yet also more selectively - exhibitions, publications and events that offer context through storytelling, conversation or shared experience are resonating more than those that rely on spectacle alone. The direction of major international exhibitions reinforces this shift - Venice Biennale 2026, for example, titled In Minor Keys, suggests reflective themes coming into focus: social and conceptual depth, dialogues on memory and materiality and the role of art in shaping collective futures. Rather than singular aesthetics, these exhibitions point to an expanded understanding of artistic practice and an art world less interested in answers than in asking better questions.
Art collecting as well is increasingly shaped by meaning rather than momentum alone. While the market remains active, the motivations behind acquisition are shifting - collectors are looking beyond decoration and trend validation, toward practices that reflect values, context and long-term relevance. There is growing interest in artists with clearly articulated worlds, works connected to research, narrative, or cultural positioning and fewer, more intentional acquisitions rather than constant accumulation. Collecting in 2026 is becoming less about ownership alone and more about participation - in an artist’s trajectory, in dialogue and in a broader cultural ecosystem overall.
Courtesy of Marieta Tedenacová
Digital platforms remain essential, yet they are no longer the endpoint. While digital habits remain embedded in how we work, communicate and engage with culture, there is a renewed hunger for presence: physical encounters with art, through exhibitions, salons, studio visits or curated gatherings, are regaining importance as spaces of meaning-making. Art is no longer just seen online but it is experienced, discussed and carried forward in shared, embodied moments that reconnect audiences with the rhythms and textures of life beyond the screen. Within this landscape, we enter 2026 with a spirit of expansion - of scope, of connection and of depth.
The focus shifts on our activities as well, towards creating meaningful intersections: between artists and collectors, between creative practices and cultural institutions, between ideas and lived experiences. This takes shape not only through representation, but through events, curated encounters and an actively cultivated network that values dialogue as much as visibility.
Beyond trends, what comes into focus is connection - between people, practices, and perspectives, and it is within these connections that cultural longevity is formed.
