Symposium "In the Belly of the Beast? Insights into the contemporary art market"

18 January 2019
11:30 am - 18:00 pm
HFBK Hamburg, Hörsaal (R 229), Lerchenfeld 2, 22081 Hamburg
Free entrance

Organized by Prof. Dr. Astrid Mania

Spectacular auction results always make big news, far beyond the realms of the art world. But we rarely hear about the everyday business of the smaller, supposedly less glamorous players who make up for the art market’s bigger part. How do they survive and operate? And is the contemporary art market restricted to places where art is bought and sold? Or aren’t we all involved, whether producing, selling, writing, and critiquing art, whether learning or teaching how to make art?

Thе symposium "In the Belly of the Beast? Insights into the art market" is meant to offer fundamental insights into some of the contemporary art market’s structures and hopefully inspire further debate, critique and discourse. Four experts from different sectors of the art world will share their knowledge and experience. Vesselina Sarieva, director of Sariev Contemporary, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and a driving force behind the creation and development of a contemporary art scene in the country, will talk about her work both as a dealer and mediator of contemporary art. Christian Kaspar Schwarm, strategist, collector, and founder of Independent Collectors, Berlin, will discuss the pleasures of owning, living and conversing with contemporary art. Marie-Kathrin Krimphoff, Senior Art Consultant, Bergos Berenberg AG, Zurich, will offer a deeper understanding of an investor’s perspective on contemporary art; and Anna-Catharina Gebbers, curator at the Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, will speak about the relationship between private collections and public institutions.

More info and full program of the symposium here

Photo: Rada Boukova, Low Resolution, 2009; Credits: Sariev Contemporary and Rada Boukova, Courtesy: Banu и Hakan Çarmıklı collection, Istanbul