Avant Arte CEO Mazdak Sanii: The Next Generation of Art Collectors

Download Avant Arte's New Generation Report: https://avantarte.com/insights/articles/new-generation-survey-2026 This year’s findings show that younger collectors are becoming an increasingly active economic and philanthropic force, spending meaningfully on artworks, visiting museums frequently, and demonstrating a growing appetite to financially support institutions.Mazdak Sanii didn't grow up in the art world. He grew up practicing French horn six hours a day, writing his dissertation on Derrida, and eventually co-founding Boiler Room - the live music platform that brought intimate underground gigs to millions of global viewers. So how did he end up as the CEO of Avant Arte, one of the most consequential platforms in contemporary art today?In this episode, Mazdak walks us through the eight-year journey of building a platform that has now worked with 250 artists on 750 projects — from Anish Kapoor's first silkscreen print to Tschabalala Self's first public sculpture in London. We talk about the merger with fine art print studio Make-Ready, the mission to bring first-time buyers into the art market (40% of their LACMA x Ed Ruscha buyers had never collected before), and what it actually means to be a "creative marketplace" rather than a gallery, a tech startup, or a hype machine.This is a conversation about access without dilution, culture without gatekeeping, and why the most interesting thing happening in the art world right now might be the thing you haven't heard of yet.Explore Avant Arte's collaborations: https://avantarte.com/Thanks for listening to this episode of the Seen podcast.Liked what you heard? Get early access to these episodes and a ton of other great art content by becoming a member of Seen at seen.art.If you want to connect with us between episodes, follow us on Instagram, @watchseenart.About Behind The SeenThe Behind The Seen Series brings on art world professionals of all sorts to give you insight into what the art world is really like. Curious what it’s like being a gallerist, an art critic or a curator? Then this series is for you.