Evan E. Lambert is a journalist, travel writer, essayist, and short fiction writer with bylines at Thought Catalog, Business Insider, Mic, 

, Queerty, BuzzFeed, Going, The Discoverer, and many more. You can check out his other work at 

When author Kyle Chayka explored 2010s minimalism in Longing for Less, a very different world existed. Today, a polycrisis-ridden and digitally saturated society finds people yearning for more. Whether you chalk it up to post-pandemic release or a general sense of impending doom, people are now looking for a new maximalism of feelings, dimensions, and possibilities to reinvigorate them and make their lives feel full.

While people are craving memorable, visceral, and immersive experiences, there's no longer a singular definition of what this might look like. Some are embracing maximalist hedonism through clubbing, extreme tourism, and different kinds of sensory overload, while others are tapping into more gentle, inward-looking, and contemplative experiences like listening bars and communal spas. It signals the emergence of the' Introvert Economy' of cosy, home-adjacent spaces and activities or seeking soothing and quasi-spiritual encounters through hobbies like birdwatching and forest bathing.

The desire for deeply captivating and emotionally engaging experiences extends beyond the physical world – social media, VR, AR, and even image-based interactions must now resonate to the same degree, creating truly memorable moments and environments.

In this consumer and cultural universe driven by exploration and immersion, the boundary between experiences and material goods continues to blur. We're less likely to see them as a dichotomy, as people are increasingly interested in experiential qualities of things and consuming commodified 'thing-like experiences'. This discovery-oriented mindset is opening up new avenues for fulfilment, gratification, and transformation.

Experience Hunters

Diverse representation is an expectation, but as individuals no longer allow themselves to be defined in singular terms, there's mounting pressure on brands to understand and sensitively reflect how the intersections between race, gender, class, and ability impact people's everyday lives.

Collective Equity

Nina Blumberg is a social media specialist and an art consultant with the New York City-based firm Samuels Creative. She is also the founder of 

, an Instagram account that documents the contemporary art world of NYC and beyond. She received a BA in Art History from the University of Virginia and an MA from the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Art Market: Principles and Practices graduate program.

Gemma Rolls-Bentley is a curator, writer, and creative consultant who has been at the forefront of contemporary art for nearly two decades. Curating exhibitions internationally, her curatorial practice amplifies the work of female and queer artists. Her debut book 

Queer Art: From Canvas to Club, and the Spaces Between,

 was published in spring 2024. Gemma is a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art and has taught at numerous institutions, including Goldsmiths and Glasgow School of Art.

Global

Japan

Luxury

TV, film, and social media video

Masterworks

ARTnews

Seminal

Interview with Gemma Rolls-Bentley conducted by the author

Interview with Nina Blumberg conducted by the author

Art Basel and UBS

Art Basel

Tokyo Art Beat

Varsity

Vogue Business

The New York Times

Retail Boss

Medium

Jing Daily Culture

MyArtBroker

Hindustan Times

Statista

Passport-Photo Online

Business.com

Yayoi Kusama is one of the world’s most successful living artists – partly because of her philosophies and partly because of her Instagram-friendly aesthetics. Her collaborations with luxury brands show how the powers of art and the opulent can work together to elevate each other.