Event Watch: Business Management In The Art World (Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Hong Kong)

Short Courses By Major Auction Houses Have Attracted Massive Interest Among New Chinese Collectors

Over the past two years, auction houses operating in Hong Kong have capitalized on growing demand for arts education among visiting mainland Chinese collectors as well as locals, causing something of a cottage industry to spring up and thrive. As Jing Daily noted last October, in preparation for last year’s spring auctions, Christie’s began offering short courses in Hong Kong in Mandarin for the first time ever, and this past summer, inquiries from visiting mainland Chinese enticed Hong Kong’s Peninsula Hotel to add its own educational short course as well, toting well-to-do aspiring art connoisseurs around the city in a customized MINI Clubman to visit, and learn about, the local art scene.

Coming around the time of this year’s spring auctions, from April 23-27 Sotheby’s will again offer a specialized short course aimed at Hong Kong and mainland Chinese collectors — whether established or aspiring — and art insiders. Offered by the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, the five-day course, “Management in the Art World,” addresses major issues within the art trade, including strategy, marketing, financial management and operations, governance and leadership. Designed to be taught in a “hands-on” manner, the course gives attendees a chance to learn via lectures, case studies, practical sessions and gallery visits. Each of the five days follows a set theme, starting off with “Managing a Business,” followed by “Strategy,” “Marketing,” “Financial Management,” and “Operations, Legal and Governance.”

Rather than being a basic-level primer, the course is meant to give participants a real competitive edge in the art market — whether that’s in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, or internationally. Designed for a wide swath of the regional artist, collector, gallerist, and curator demographic, the course should find a receptive audience in what has become one of the world’s most active and rapidly developing auction and, gradually, art markets.

“Business Management in the Art World” at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Hong Kong
April 23 – 27, 2012
Fee: HK$20,079 (US$2,588), HK$18,071 (US$2,329) if booked by 2 April 2012
Contact: Lyn Calzia, l.calzia@sothebysinstitute.com
Tel: +44 (0)20 7462 3253

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