If this thing is a mirror, are you looking at 'it,' or is it looking at 'you?'
An artist can produce the greatest work in the history of the world, but it's only doing half the job if it's buried in a deep dark vault for all eternity.

While flicking through an art site, or any online gallery, it might seem like a passive experience, but in many cases, that is the sole point.
Some people create art and come to share or advertise. That's a big part of the community. But without a viewing audience, the experience is moot. People who came to look, through curiosity or interest are a circulating blood-flow of opinion and patronage - purely through numbers alone. If you return for more, an update or a new experience, you've just become that 'patron.'
You show the artist what you want to see, by how often you return, and whether or not you choose to interact. Remember, doing nothing is as significant as doing anything else.

If you want to get involved, you just took it to another level. Here's where you find the party that you heard in the elevator on the way up.
A lot of the brands on the site are selling their work to 'paying patrons' whose investment is keeping, not just the servers alive, but the culture of art that comes through this portal.
There are links to the financial side of the arrangement on the Transurban sites (Independent Economies and UK Retail,) and that's where you'll also find The Scene Foundation, whose exchange allows patrons to buy and sell, or just keep up to date with values.

Investing and collecting are separate disciplines, but no less important than just flicking through the site to see what artists in the 21st Century are bringing to the world. Remember, you can get involved just by checking up on Spiral Plot from time to time.
The rest is up to you.