The first 'Strathclyde Dialogues' session of the 2013-14 academic year took place on November 24 at Strathclyde Business School UAE's Abu Dhabi centre on the CERT/HCT campus. The Dialogues session, hosted by Dr Katerina Nicolopoulou, was titled 'The Business of Art'; attendees included Strathclyde MBA students, alumni, and community members with shared interests in the commercialisation of art.
The session was preceded by a speed networking activity co-ordinated by the Strathclyde UAE Alumni Association's Abu Dhabi Chapter to foster Strathclyde community connections and warm up speakers and audience members alike for the interactive Strathclyde Dialogues.
Following on the heels of Abu Dhabi Art 2013, the Dialogue panel for 'The Business of Art' was composed of speakers from a range of art sectors and backgrounds who volunteered to share their unique perspectives and engage with the audience and one another to help improve understandings of what happens when business meets art and art becomes business.
Mrs Meagan Kelly Horsman, Business Development Director at Meem Gallery, began the Dialogues by drawing on her vast experience in commercial art sales for galleries, auctions, and art fairs in both the UK and UAE to speak about the business side of the art world. Focusing on how auction houses, galleries, and other sectors support one another, she offered astute insights as to four primary models through which art is sold, shared information on approaches to pricing dilemmas, and provided a thoughtful overview of how art can – for a select few artists and artistic entities – be financially lucrative.
Mrs Kate Toledo, an artist and designer who previously served as exhibitions director for Dubai International Art Center, spoke about her unique entrepreneurial experience of transforming art into commercial products. She spoke about the intertwined creative and business processes in her artistic journey.
Mrs Margitta Branson, a fashion designer with her own label (White Noise) and a visual artist, shared images of the best sold paintings in auctions worldwide, presenting on why buyers make purchases. This analysis spanned a wide spectrum of art ranging from mainstream Ikea prints to multimillion dollar collectors' items, and from the beautiful to the unique, prestigious, or financially valuable. Rationale for extremely pricey expenditures are complex, she explained, but can be divided into three main categories: private appreciation, public display, and mere investments.
Mr Ioannis Potamousis, esteemed concert pianist and head of keyboard studies at Brighton College Abu Dhabi, shared insights from personal experience on ways to succeed as a performer, teacher, and organiser. Ioannis revealed that success in these roles extends far beyond the strength of the primary artistic or musical activity. He noted that one must often operate with a full business model and take into account varied functional management responsibilities such as marketing, finance, logistics, customer service, and technology.
The event concluded with a question and answer session that included lively discussion amongst the panel of speakers and the audience. The Strathclyde Dialogues series is currently in its fourth year; the Dialogues aim to bring together panels of experts who exchange views to promote understanding and knowledge-sharing in various fields of global interest that have particular application to the UAE.