TikTok as a New Player in the Contemporary Arts Market: A Study with Special Consideration of Feminist Artists and a New Generation of Art Collectors
Department of Art History, University of Bonn, 53113 Bonn, Germany
Academic Editor: Elena Sidorova
Arts 2021, 10(3), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10030052
Received: 16 June 2021
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Revised: 8 July 2021
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Accepted: 13 July 2021
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Published: 30 July 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Art Market in the Aftermath of COVID-19)
How do social-media platforms such as TikTok function as a neutralising factor in the gatekeeping process in times of COVID-19 restrictions? How does TikTok change the experience culture in arts, and how does this impact how artists frame their working process alongside primary gatekeepers? During the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok attracted many artists, who used the platform to take their practice, and thereby their self-marketing, into their own hands. At the same time, a new generation of collectors use TikTok to discover art under popular hashtag #feministartists. When artists label their work with #feministartists, they insert themselves into the gatekeeping process, and use opportunities and restrictions bounded to that specific hashtag. The study examines this process of professional self-positioning by using interviews with contemporary artists, curators, and observations on TikTok, artist talks, and secondary interviews with artists on online platforms. The findings suggest a variation in how one trades in or trades on “feminist artist”, accessing resources, and gaining exposure. A focus on “feminist artists” is restrictive for consolidating artists’ efforts to pursue specific professional, social, political, and economic agendas through art.
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Keywords:
TikTok; feminism; female artists; gatekeeper; contemporary art; social media; Millennials; Gen Z; art market; COVID
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MDPI and ACS Style
Gerlieb, A. TikTok as a New Player in the Contemporary Arts Market: A Study with Special Consideration of Feminist Artists and a New Generation of Art Collectors. Arts 2021, 10, 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10030052
AMA Style
Gerlieb A. TikTok as a New Player in the Contemporary Arts Market: A Study with Special Consideration of Feminist Artists and a New Generation of Art Collectors. Arts. 2021; 10(3):52. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10030052
Chicago/Turabian StyleGerlieb, Anne. 2021. "TikTok as a New Player in the Contemporary Arts Market: A Study with Special Consideration of Feminist Artists and a New Generation of Art Collectors" Arts 10, no. 3: 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts10030052
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