Ex-Art Basel Director Marc Spiegler Launches Online Academy

Conversation Marc Spiegler Stephanie Bailey

Even for insiders, the art market can be challenging to navigate. No one knows this better than Marc Spiegler, the former global director of Art Basel.

‘The market now is transforming very quickly,’ Spiegler tells Ocula. ‘Things get even more complex when we add elements like social media, art advisors, digital platforms, and artists’ agents. Our goal is to offer an opportunity for anyone looking to enter the sector and give them rapid access to the knowledge necessary for navigating the contemporary art world.’

Art Market Minds – The Academy kicks off on 4 February with a lecture titled ‘The Global Art World Ecosystem’, which focuses on the historical interaction of auction houses, galleries, collectors, and museums through the lens of Art Basel’s evolution. The four-part programme goes on to cover the players that make up the art world ecosystem, the data that drives it, and its relevance in the ‘real world’.

‘What you’ll be learning is not theoretical, it’s highly practical,’ Spiegler tells Ocula. ‘What does it mean to have an art world where an artist like Alvaro Barrington has four galleries in London at the same time? Or what should we expect when one hundred trillion dollars shifts to the millennials, a generation notorious for being less interested in owning objects than their parents are? It’s really about how things work.’

Spiegler is no stranger to arts education. He comes from a family of professors and high school teachers, and for ten years has been a visiting professor at Bocconi University in Milan. Prior to working at Art Basel, Spiegler launched Artworldsalon, which he described as a moderated digital discussion forum ‘focused on the fast-paced transformations taking place in the global art world.’

The second planned course from Art Market Minds – The Academy is a Cultural Catalyst Programme designed for people to propose and fine-tune ideas for a new initiative in the art world. Capped at 12 projects, the individuals or groups accepted will work with Spiegler on market positioning, strategy, and business analysis. Simultaneously, the financial team from Art Nova—the parent company of Art Market Minds—will work with each project to advise on financials. At the end of the ten-week course, each projects will be presented to a group of potential investors. The best will be chosen to present at an Art Business Conference.

‘Through The Academy you will learn how all the key players fit together and where the art world is heading, and prepare yourself to make new things happen,’ Spiegler says.

Registrations for The Academy are now open here. —[O]

Main image: Marc Spiegler. Courtesy Art Basel.