YCL started as a social group in 2019 designed to introduce new collectors and enthusiasts to the movers and shakers of the art world through thoughtfully curated events and experiences. We’ve done dinners inside galleries, after hours in artists’ studios, salons with founders, art fair excursions internationally, and so much more. And from all of these 80+ moments of gathering and conversation we’ve realized the power of generating community. We fundamentally know that where we, as a large enough group, decide to spend our collective time, energy, and money can shape the future of the art market in support of its next leadership of artists, gallerists, writers, curators, orgs, and more.

So what started as events with brilliant collaborators to bring you face to face with great art and the people behind it, has now been catalogued into a beta Members’ Portal of interwoven wiki-like databases that show the ecosystem at play: the core nexus of the portal is fueled by featuring the work of our collaborators, and then draws connections to their associated network including other artists & producers, galleries & institutions, exhibitions & projects, press & criticism, related materials like press releases, individual profiles, editorial by members, checklists & pricelists, and of course, available art. We’ve been amazed that in mapping these connections we have started to prove just how integrated and valuable the social capital of the art industry is, where it’s lacking, and how to bring more power to you.

The next frontier for us as a company is to figure out how to put real capital behind the indescribable value of these connections. While the necessity of art and culture is inarguably greater than the often inflated commercial aspects of the industry, those paving the future of contemporary art require sustainable financial success. Currently the most efficient way to do this is hands down to buy art, and our members are doing more and more of that with every passing year, but we’re also interested in your help to expand the definitions of traditional patronage as we integrate increased tech and web3 capabilities into our business model.