ZURICH: The global art market experienced another uptick in 2018, helped by an increase in the spending power of millennials, a report published by UBS and Art Basel said on Friday.
A survey of wealthy individuals conducted by UBS and art economist Clare McAndrew for the report found millennials were buying art more actively and frequently taking to the Internet to do so. It found that more of them were willing to shell out big money on art than their older peers.
They also provided a boost for female artists.
“For a generation that might never own a car, their appetite for buying art is encouraging,” UBS Group Chief Marketing Officer Johan Jervøe told Reuters.
“It may be a reflection of the unique and often experiential qualities of art and collectibles as long-term assets.”
Overall sales in the art market grew 7 percent to $67.4 billion in 2018, according to UBS and Art Basel’s third annual art market report.
People between 22 and 37 years of age made up nearly half of the wealthy art buyers who regularly spent $1 million or more on an artwork over the past two years, the survey found, despite representing just over a third of the high-net-worth individuals surveyed.
The results of the survey, which was conducted in Britain, Germany, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, offered a silver lining for the art world as geopolitical and economic worries have weighed on overall sentiment.
As millennials grow into greater wealth, and benefit from a generational shift in wealth inherited from aging parents, their wealth could reach $24 trillion by 2020, according to Deloitte.
Millennials’ spending habits could provide significant potential for both online sales and art’s squeezed middle, Jervøe said, benefiting the industry’s overall health.
This younger generation of collectors with over $1 million in household assets to spend or invest helped buoy the digital art marketplace to $6 billion sales last year.
And a majority of them also took to photo-sharing social media platform Instagram to source and buy art.
Between 2016 and 2018, 93 percent of the millennials made purchases online, spending $106,930 on average, while the slightly older Generation X — between 38 and 52 years of age -spent around half a million dollars on an average web purchase, but did so with less frequency.
Wealthy millennials boosting the art market
Wealthy millennials boosting the art market
- People between 22 and 37 years of age made up nearly half of the wealthy art buyers who regularly spent $1 million or more on an artwork over the past two years
- Millennials’ spending habits could provide significant potential for both online sales and art’s squeezed middle
At Jazan festival, Suad Al-Asiri paints memory, land and leadership
- Local artist channels personal hardship into works that reflect Jazan’s identity, heritage
- Jazan: A Nation and a Prince, places region at the heart of a composition featuring Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz and Prince Nasser bin Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Jalawi
RIYADH: At the Ahad Al-Masarihah pavilion at Jazan Festival 2026, Suad Al-Asiri’s paintings blend memory, place and personal history, offering visual narratives shaped by beauty and hardship.
A novelist and visual artist, Al-Asiri has long used art as a storytelling tool. After a near-fatal car accident in March 2024, her work took on a new urgency. Bedridden for 11 months, cut off from the public world for more than a year, she describes that period as one of the most painful in her life — yet also transformative.
“First of all, praise be to God for granting me life, as the accident was extremely severe,” she said. “By God’s grace, I was given a new life. All my thinking after the accident was about becoming an inspiration to others — about enduring pain and obstacles, and still leaving an impact.”
Her return to public life came in 2025, when she participated in National Day celebrations with the ministry of interior. By the time she arrived at Jazan Festival, she was ready to channel that experience into her art.
The centerpiece of her display, “Jazan: A Nation and a Prince,” places the region at the heart of a composition featuring Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz and Prince Nasser bin Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Jalawi, governor and deputy governor of Jazan respectively.
Visitors linger over the details: the painting incorporates coffee beans, sesame and khudair — materials drawn from local products.
“I wanted people to recognize these products immediately,” she said. “They are part of Jazan’s daily life, and using them makes the work more tangible, more connected to everyday experience.”
The painting sparks conversation. Visitors discuss leadership, identity, and the intimate relationship between people and their environment.
Beyond the central piece, Al-Asiri presents individual portraits of the two princes, expanding the dialogue into a broader exploration of heritage and memory.
Her journey into art is tied to her life as a storyteller. Early experiments with charcoal and pencil evolved into abstract art, drawn by its expressive freedom.
From there, she explored realism, surrealism, and eventually modern art, particularly pop art, which has earned her wide recognition in artistic circles. Her novels and media work complement her visual practice, earning her the title “the comprehensive artist” from the governor.
Yet what stands out most in this exhibition is how Al-Asiri’s personal resilience flows through each piece. Her experience of surviving a devastating accident, enduring months of immobility, and returning to the public eye informs every brushstroke.
Visitors sense not just her artistic skill, but her determination to turn life’s hardships into inspiration for others.
Walking through the pavilion, one can see it in the way she blends heritage symbols, southern landscapes, and scenes of daily life.
Each painting becomes both a document and a dialogue — a celebration of Jazan’s culture, a reflection on identity, and a testament to the power of human perseverance.
At Jazan Festival 2026, Suad Al-Asiri’s art is a quiet, persistent inspiration for anyone who pauses long enough to listen.
