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Art Business Leaders Discuss Art in the Age of Disruption

Art Business Leaders Discuss Art in the Age of Disruption
IE held the first Make Art Work: Art in the Age of Disruption, with speakers from the art scene discussing current challenges the industry faces.

A dozen leaders from the Spanish art world participated  in the 1st edition of IE's Make Art Work: Art in the Age of Disruption, hosted by the IE Arts & Business Club in collaboration with Campus Life. The event explored the intersection between the art and the business worlds and how to attract young entrepreneurs to the sector.

IE President and Founder Diego del Alcazar Silvela welcomed the speakers and 110 guests, while highlighting the importance of the connection between humanities and business.

"It is always a great opportunity to be able to bring together art and business, or art and management and leadership, within the quest for a more capable, more sensitive and more inclusive people," Alcazar said. "This is our intention every year as part of our commitment to the Humanities, the quest for a more complete person, capable of appreciating the passion of literature and art. Those human sciences make us more human."

"Those human sciences make us more human."

The Make Art Work event, held in the Palacio de Santoña, boasted two panels addressing the shift from the more traditional dynamics of the art business to the globalized world and its technological revolutions.

Speakers included: Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation President Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, Coll & Cortes Founder Jorge Coll, Christie’s Director Beatriz Ordovas, Saisho’s Javier Iturralde de Bracamonte, Verisart’s Robert Norton, ARCOMadrid Director Carlos Urroz, Coca-Cola Foundation Director Juan José Litrán, Botin Foundation Executive Director Fátima Sanchez, Iberdrola Art Collection Manager Rafael Orbegozo, Thyssen-Bornemisza Foundation Managing Director Evelio Acevedo and CurArte Foundation President and IE International Advisory Board member Giuseppe Tringali.

“The Weight of Tradition vs. New Business Models” debate focused on the challenges faced by the creative world in a fast-paced era, along with the crucial role that innovation plays in reinventing the business of art.

Panelists agreed that embracing technology is a current challenge for the industry, with Christie’s Ordovas underscoring the auction house’s introduction of an online platform in 2015.

“We did this because we felt we were missing buyers who only operated online. About 41 percent of new clients has come through this platform,” Ordovas said.

Discussion ranged from blockchain technology to the circuitous route of arriving at a career in art via law, medicine and other professions. Students from IE Business School asked for guidelines on how to get started on a career in the art world.

The second panel, “Expanding the Vision: New Customer Experience & Corporate Patronage” explored the implications of social responsibility and business’ mission to preserve human cultural heritage.

“Sustainability is not only a matter of preserving natural resources, but also human resources, creation and cultural creation,” said Iberdrola’s Orbegozo.

The event came days before this year’s edition of Madrid’s contemporary art fair ARCO takes place.

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