What makes digital art worth collecting?

A major hurdle faced by many artists breaking into the world of NFTs is the question: What do I own when I buy an NFT?

Collectors want to know why they should buy digital art. What do they get out of it? Trying to explain the value of digital art to people who aren’t Web3 natives is no easy feat.

Throughout the entirety of history, the art market has existed largely unchanged. Artists create physical artworks that collectors buy and walk away with in hand. There’s a simple and straightforward transition of ownership, visualized by the literal movement of a physical object.

So what happens when there is no physical object? With NFTs, ownership is transferred but there’s no physical object to represent such a transfer. It’s not an easy or comfortable concept for most people to grasp. It might even feel like a scam.

For literally thousands of years, the art market has functioned in this way — so it’s no surprise that art enthusiasts and traditional collectors need some more time to adapt to this new reality.

How can we help speed up the process?

Perhaps the easiest way to get collectors to embrace this new form of artist patronage is to emphasize the role of visual artists as the culture bearers of society. Take musicians, for example. We buy their albums, stream their songs, attend concerts, and buy T-shirts with their faces and band names plastered across the front. There’s not really an equivalent for visual artists.

Purchasing NFTs is a new way to invest in the artists that you love, whose art moves you, whose stories resound with you. NFTs have opened the door for us to create a more sustainable financial model for artists. If we truly love and appreciate art for its cultural contributions, the least we can do is make sure that our artists are supported. The easiest way to do that is to invest in them holistically — by buying their physical and digital artworks.