Art Gallery of Považie in Žilina (source: SME)
About a third of Slovaks are interested in visual arts. Artworks are bought foremost for the purpose of decoration and recreation.
So much stems from a Nielsen Admosphere Slovakia survey on 500 respondents from an active internet population above the age of 15 on the Slovak National Panel. Over one-fourth of those polled said they planned to buy a piece of artwork within a year.
Over two-thirds of respondents are almost (49 percent) or completely (20 percent) uninterested in art. A greater interest in art is more prevalent among women (of them, 37 percent are interested in art as opposed to 26 percent in men) and younger age groups.
Interest in visual arts rises with education; 37 percent of university-educated respondents stated that they are interested in art. People with only a primary or high school education without a diploma interested in art represented only 25 percent of their cohort.
Mostly younger respondents, aged 15 to 34, are interested in purchasing artwork.
The most sought-after artworks are paintings and usable designer objects, which are on the wishlists of about 11 percent of respondents, while 7 percent of respondents plan on buying a craftsperson's work or a drawing.
47 percent of the respondents that intend to buy art within the next 12 months stated that they prefer brick and mortar shops. 42 percent stated that they would prefer buying online, and 32 percent stated that they would prefer buying directly from the artist. 18 percent stated that they would buy from a gallery and 9 percent preferred auctions.
Respondents stated decoration as their motivation for buying art. More than half of all respondents also stated that they purchase art for their own enjoyment.
A third of respondents buy art as a gift and 13 percent buy it for collecting. 11 percent of respondents who were predominantly men stated that they buy art as an investment.
More than half of all respondents who are planning to buy art stated that they don’t intend to spend more than €100. Only 28 percent plan to spend over €100.
