What will be the future of art? Well, no one knows. All we know is that the art world has been flipped on its head. In the past couple of months, we have seen AI-generated images overwhelming the web, NFTs are selling for millions of dollars, and museums and galleries are keeping their doors closed. While we don’t know what art will be like in 100 years, in this post we are going to look at what is predicted for the art industry in 2024 and the years ahead…
What will be the future of art?
We are living in moving and uncertain times. As an artist, you’ve probably asked yourself more than once what the future of art will be like.
The emergence of more and more artificial image generators throughout 2023 has caused a lot of mayhem in the art industry. Now, basically everyone can ‘create art’.
All you need to do is type in a couple of words and then artificial intelligence will spit out an image that corresponds to the text prompts the user entered. In fact, the method is so very simple that many artists question the ethics of AI art and doubt that AI art can be considered real art.
But regardless of what you think of AI art, there are many more things flipping the art world on its head: NFTs are conquering the market, museums and galleries are closing, and ultra-contemporary art is making rocket sales at established auction houses. This is just to name a few examples.
While no one knows what art will be like in 100 years, we know what is predicted for the future of art in 2024 and the years ahead.
In today’s post, we are going to look at 10 predictions for the future of art – some good, some not so good, some really awesome. (ᴖ‿ᴖ)
But see for yourself and let me know your opinion about what’s going on in the industry. Let’s get into it!
10 Incredible predictions for the future of art in 2024
Prediction #1: Art is dead, dude.
We’ve been hearing that quite a few times these days, right? It’s a statement made by Jason Allen who won first place in the 2022 Colorado State Fine Arts Competition.
Why would the winning artist declare that “art is dead, dude”? To understand that quote you need to know that Allen is not an actual artist but a promptor. He didn’t paint, draw or sculpt his piece. Instead, he used artificial intelligence to make the piece for him.
Is that the future of fine arts?
Well, though many of you might currently feel that AI art is a threat to artists, traditional painting and other forms of contemporary art are thriving and they are here to stay – read on to learn more!
Prediction #2: AI is taking over the art industry.
When releasing their improved version of an artificial text-to-image generator, the company behind DALL-E predicted that their tool might take over the art industry.
In fact, OpenAI issued a warning that DALL-E “may increase the efficiency of performing some tasks like photo editing or production of stock photography, which could displace jobs of designers, photographers, models, editors, and artists.”
So, is this the future of the art industry? Is it really that gloomy?
While we already know what artists think of AI art, it remains to be seen if AI is really to take over the art industry in the coming years!
Are you worried about your creative future with all the machine-made imagery swallowing up the market?
Worry not, AI art is not better than human art, and you don’t have to stand back and watch all your hard work get lost in the flood of artificial mass production. You can do something about it. Start now and learn how to promote your art when AI is the end of artists (supposedly)!
Prediction #3: The fine arts and crafts industry keeps growing.
Will artists be in demand in the future?
When reading all of the above, one should think that artists will have a hard time finding jobs. However, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that the overall employment in the craft and fine arts industry is to grow by 6 percent from 2021 to 2031.
That means there will be around 5,900 new job openings for craft and fine artists each year, over the decade. Likewise, the global art market is projected to grow from USD 455.37 billion in 2022 to USD 795.63 billion in 2026.
On that note, the future of artists looks pretty rosy!
Prediction #4: More and more kids are wanting to learn art.
While teachers might find it hard to get their students motivated for math or physics, the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) is noting an increasing interest in art and design classes across middle and high schools in the United States and Canada.
Will the parents support their children in pursuing their creative dreams? Who knows! The myth of the starving artist is still in the heads of many people. That’s why parents might try to stop their offspring from following their calling to be an artist – with the best of intentions.
However, nowadays, there are so many ways to make money with art skills that no creative needs to go hungry anymore!
Prediction #5: Museums and art galleries are keeping their doors closed.
As a result of global lockdown, plenty of museums and art galleries had to close their doors between 2020 and 2022. That being so, galleries around the world reported an average loss of 72% of their annual revenue.
But even now that there are no restrictions anymore, it seems like museums and galleries will never quite be the way we once knew them. Although some exhibitions are open again, many international shows and art events remain paused and postponed.
What will be the future of art shows and exhibition places? That will largely depend on consumer demand. Will people prefer to attend virtual events or will they want the good old museum to return?
Prediction #6: Established art auction houses are going online.
The pandemic has pushed everyone and everything online. For that reason, social media has been playing an increasingly important role for discovering art and artists on the web. Which is great, because it allows creators to directly connect with fans and collectors, without the need for a middleman.
Along the same lines, online art auctions have reached unprecedented popularity. Even established art auction houses like Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips shifted to the virtual world. They made $370 million in the first half of 2020 through online auction sales alone – which is more than five-times higher than the same period in 2019!
Even now in the post-Covid era, this trend doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. So, for all artists, this is a good time to learn to sell your art online!
Prediction #7: Immersive virtual art events are on the rise.
Just like auctions, art fairs and exhibitions have moved online as a result of the pandemic. Virtual fairs, viewing rooms and all kinds of immersive virtual art events have been booming like never before.
But even now that in-person events are back after the pandemic, over 50 percent of art organizations say they will continue hosting virtual exhibitions. Why? Because they are more cost-effective and time-saving!
Going forward, we are likely to see more art events that are taking place both in the real world and in the virtual world.
One example is Burning Man. The annual week-long art event that takes place in the Nevada desert first went online in 2021 when the on-site event had to be canceled. But even now that Burning Man is back in the desert, the ‘virtual burns’ keep going!
Prediction #8: NFT art is conquering the market at rocket speed.
NFT art has been among the hottest art market trends since 2022 – and it continues to be trending in 2024. More and more artists are starting to ‘mint’ their work, meaning they make it available for sale on the crypto market.
Related: How To Mint An NFT For Free On OpenSea (*Step-By-Step Tutorial*)
NFT stands for non-fungible token and describes a unique asset on the blockchain that cannot be copied or duplicated. That’s why some NFT artworks have sold for several million US dollars. Just think of Beeple’s ‘Everydays’ that sold for over US$69 million, or Pak’s ‘The Merge’ that sold for almost US$100 million!
NFT art continues to be an extremely lucrative side hustle. So, if you want to jump on the bandwagon, you can start creating NFTs using programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, or Affinity Photo. For a more specialized selection, take a look at the 9 best software to create NFT art.
Prediction #9: Collectors are hunting for (ultra-) contemporary art.
Believe it or not, contemporary art is worth nearly $2.7 billion in market turnover and accounts for a staggering 15% of the global art market.
In fact, the demand for contemporary art is increasing, particularly in the US. Contemporary and post-war art makes up more than half of sales in the industry.
At the same time, art tastes seem to be changing. Because one segment of the art market is growing faster than all the rest and that is ultra-contemporary art. This new art style has only been piquing the interest of art collectors since 2019, with British auction house Phillips being a primary driver of this trend.
Altogether, the top three auction houses (Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips) made $572.8 million from ultra-contemporary art alone in 2021 – which is 222 percent more than in 2020. By the way, those numbers include both traditional media and NFTs.
If you are not sure what exactly the term means, then you can learn here what ultra-contemporary art is.
Prediction #10: Art prints continue to remain in demand.
Saving the best for last, the good news is that art prints did not go out of fashion – despite everything else becoming more and more virtual.
Astonishingly, the demand for art prints has been steadily going up over the past two years. However, the explanation is pretty straightforward. As art lovers and collectors had to stay at home, unable to visit physical art galleries, they simply had prints of their favorite art shipped to their homes.
Although we have approached the end of the pandemic, art prints continue to remain in demand. So if you haven’t yet, it’s about time to check out the best places for artists to print their art!
Although the art industry seems to be moving more and more online in the future, art prints continue to remain in demand. That’s good news for all artists who make an income selling prints of their work. The above images are two prints from my Untitled photo series.
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