How to Start an Art Collecting Group (and Why You Should)
What happens when art collecting becomes a shared pursuit? This conversation explores the rise of art collecting groups in Aotearoa, from friends pooling funds to buy their first works together, to established syndicates that are reshaping how art is discovered, supported, and enjoyed. Art collecting doesn’t have to be solitary, elite, or out of reach. In fact, some of the most interesting and impactful collections today are being built by groups with shared values, modest means, and a strong sense of connection. In this session, Phillida Perry (Kunst Art Group), Christine Fernyhough (Prospect Art Group – New Zealand’s first Art Group), and collector Anna Dickie (Artichoke Art Group) share first-hand insights into how collecting groups begin, how they function in practice, and why they matter.
Together, they discuss how art groups demystify the art world, lower barriers to entry, and make collecting more social, collaborative, and meaningful. The conversation also explores the wider ecosystem- how galleries benefit from working with groups, how artists thrive through early collective support, and why shared collecting can be a powerful way to build long-term engagement with art.
Moderated by Ben Plumbly (Art + Object), the session also offers valuable perspective on what happens later in a work’s life. Ben will share insights from the secondary market, including how works acquired by groups are viewed when they come to sale, what contributes to long-term value and provenance, and how thoughtful early collecting decisions can strengthen outcomes over time.
Whether you’re art-curious, new to collecting, or looking for a way to build culture and community with friends, this session will leave you inspired to collect with purpose and together.
Ben Plumbly | Moderator
Phillida Perry | Speaker
Anna Dickie| Speaker
Christine Fernyhough | Speaker
Ben Plumbly is a founding and co-Director of Art+Object and has been the head of the art department since its inception in 2007. He has a first-class honours degree majoring in art history from Otago University and is New Zealand’s most experienced fine art auctioneer. Ben has managed the sale of the most prestigious art collections in New Zealand in recent years including: The Les and Milly Paris Collection, The Tim and Sherrah Francis Collection, The Frank and Lynn Corner Collection, The Ron Sang Collection, The Collection of Adrian Burr and Peter Tatham and many more. He has hammered down numerous record prices including the record-breaking Tim and Sherrah Francis collection which at the time resulted in the highest ever art auction total of $15.07 million dollars and the highest ever price realised for a New Zealand artist at auction.
Phillida Perry (Daughter Films) is a Tauranga Moana–based creative producer working across factual and scripted content. Her award-winning shorts Good Kunst (Misty Flicks, 2025 – Best Documentary & Best Director) and Breaking the Mould (Doc Edge, 2024) explore art, creative practice and female empowerment. Her producing credits Ms. INFORMATION (NZIFF, 2023) and Siouxsie & the Virus (Loading Docs, 2021) examine Aotearoa’s Covid-19 experience through the lens of pink-haired microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles. Phillida’s current slate includes a ten-year observational documentary following the second iteration of The Kunst Art Collective and feature adaptation of Tracey Slaughter’s novella The Longest Drink in Town. She is also co-writing Unrecipied with Louise Thompson, a genre-blurring book celebrating food, story, art and occasion.
Anna Dickie co-founded the art group Artichoke in 2010, with seven other art enthusiasts based in London, building a collection of works by Aotearoa-born artists including Francis Upritchard, Shane Cotton, and Kelcy Taratoa. Her involvement sparked a transition from law into the arts. She went on to spend over a decade as content and editorial director at Ocula, growing it into a global art platform and interviewing leading figures such as Haegue Yang, Anthony Gormley, and Richard Armstrong. Anna holds a Master of Letters with Distinction in History of Art and Art-World Practice from Christie’s Education, London.
Christine Fernyhough is a philanthropist, sheep farmer, collector, and author whose many passions converge around a deep love of New Zealand and its people. Co-founder of Books in Homes with Alan Duff in 1994, she has dedicated decades to education and community, recognised with an ONZM and later a CNZM for her contributions. In 2004 she purchased Castle Hill Station in the Canterbury Alps, later sharing the story in her best-selling memoir The Road to Castle Hill. Her collecting life found expression through the Museum of the Everyday, established in 2015, and the 2019 publication Mid-Century Living: The Butterfly House Collection.
Let’s Talk Art presented by Aon, brings together 30 artists, curators, designers, and collectors for 10 compelling talks over three days.
Entry to Let’s Talk Art is on a first come, first serve basis. There is no RSVP.
A valid ticket to the Aotearoa Art Fair 2026 is required for entry to this talk. Buy tickets online.