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Sima Familant: Private Curator and Art Advisor
MA Contemporary Art, London, 1996

Charlotte Mouquin: Independent Curator, Artist
MA Contemporary Art, New York, 2008

Sarah Barker: Art Law Attorney/Solicitor at Halebury
Semester Programme Art & Business, London, 2006

Sima Familant

Programme: MA Contemporary Art
Campus: London
Year: 1996
Current city: New York, NY
Current place of work and title: Private Curator & Art Advisor www.simafamilant.com

What attracted you to Sotheby’s Institute of Art and what was the most important part of your experience?
When I was considering applying to graduate programs, there was nothing like the Sotheby’s Institute of Art's MA in Post War and Contemporary Art in London. In 2005, there were no Universities in the United States that I knew of that provided a graduate course in contemporary art.

What I found when I applied to Sotheby’s Institute of Art was that they truly understood what it meant to be involved in the academic side of contemporary art. The faculty was comprised of highly functional academics who were also involved in the contemporary art world, writing books, working with renowned art galleries and involved with the contemporary publications. This gave students a good balance of experiences, exactly what was needed and required for a contemporary education in a way that was different from a traditional art history education. The teachers were adamant that one could not be involved with contemporary art without really being involved in all aspects of it and therefore we saw A LOT of art!

As a class, we traveled all around London, Germany, Holland and Belgium with the emphasis placed on looking at art and engaging with each other about what we were viewing. It was about creating dialogue and having significant conversations about the art, which is an important lesson that has stayed with me throughout my professional life.

Did you always know you wanted to be a private advisor?
I did not know I had the option to be a private advisor until I moved to New York and began working as a director in several galleries. When I met an advisor the first week on my job, I remember thinking that being an Art Advisor is what I ultimately wanted to do. Yet having just moved to New York, I had no idea how one went from where I was, a new gallery director, to the coveted position I was interested in. One of my favorite parts of being a gallery director, was that it gave me opportunities to recommend artists and artworks that I thought my clients would like. Since the beginning of my career, I have always enjoyed the process of helping collectors build their collections.

What are you doing now and how did you get here?
I am a Private Curator & Art Advisor, and I started my business over 5 years ago. I arrived here following 10 years of working as a director at several New York art galleries. My gallery experience helped me learn the gallery system, and understand how collectors interact with the system.

What are some major players (artists, collectors, and dealers for us to keep an eye on)
It is exciting to see artists of my generation having success and becoming the leaders of the contemporary conversation. Some of these artists include, Mark Bradford, Wade Guyton, Wangechi Mutu, Anne Collier, Carol Bove, Julie Mehretu and Cameron Martin. In addition, it’s great to be involved with the next generation of artists such as Francesca DiMattio, Ahmed Alsoudani, William Cordova, Ned Vena, Robert Zungu and Kianja Strobert.

Who are your mentors in the field?
I feel fortunate to have worked with fantastic, smart, creative woman in the business before I started my company. I worked for Carol Greene, owner of Greene Naftali Gallery when I first moved to New York. She introduced me to much of the New York artworld and it was an inspiration to see what was possible when one took the risk to start their business. She pioneered the Chelsea neighborhood as the new gallery district and never shied away from difficult, political and untraditional art. It was inspirational to be a part of her gallery at an early stage.

When I was a director at Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, I worked with Dorsey Waxter, the director of the gallery. As she was previously the director at Emmerich Gallery, a past preeminent New York gallery, she knows the New York artworld, how it is run and is well respected by all. She is an elegant, fair businesswoman. As the gallery director, she handles many varied relationships as she manages artists, collectors, staff, and everyone in between. Her calm and sense of perspective were a great qualities to learn for business.

While at Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, I also worked with Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn. Jeanne now owns two gallery spaces - Salon94 and Salon94 Freeman’s Alley. She has an entrepreneurial spirit, fantastic style and taste, topped with a wonderful philanthropic attitude. She taught me that the artworld is a place where one can wear many hats and that there are no guidelines. You can invent your business to be what works for you.

Do you have any advice for someone trying to break into your field?
I am often asked how one can acquire my job and my answer is that it is not a job, it is a lifestyle. It comes full circle to what I learned at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. As an Art Advisor you are always engaged, you are constantly looking at art, talking about art and thinking about art.

Charlotte Mouquin

Programme: MA Contemporary Art
Campus: New York
Year: 2008
Current City: New York, NY
Current place of work and title: Independent Curator, Artist, Brooklyn NY.
Charlotte.Mouquin@gmail.com

What attracted you to Sotheby’s Institute of Art and what was the most important part of your experience?
Traveling, seeing new contemporary art with like-minded colleagues, and having a supportive faculty were the top three important aspects of my Sotheby’s Institute of Art experience. Being able to see museums behind the scenes, and travel to new places brought my art knowledge to new levels. This is what interested me in Sotheby’s Institute of Art - New York, and it’s what I experienced. I was part of the first MA Contemporary Art programme in New York. I didn’t know what to expect but I have never learned and seen so much in such a short amount of time. That is why I was attracted to Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and it brought my education to a new level.

Did you always know you wanted to work as a Curator?
The role of a curator is to put things together in space showing a cohesive idea. I did not know I would be a curator right now. I do however love the idea of being a curator. The role of a curator is to find things the world hasn’t seen together and to put them together in a space that will hopefully make people think about the work. Being a curator is being an educator for a more open audience. Curating also means being a gracious liaison between artists, buyers, press and colleagues. I enjoy being this persona for an emerging gallery as my career is also emerging. I also have a Masters in Art and Teaching and a BFA in Fine Art, the role of curator combines these past loves of mine; art and education with the business of an emerging gallery. Placement, theme, and creating a dialogue are my top priorities when installing a new exhibition.

What are you doing now and how did you get here?
I have been curating at Clover’s Fine Art an emerging gallery space in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn located at 338 Atlantic Avenue between Smith and Hoyt. I was hired full time in December and have put together four dynamic themed group exhibitions since January 2010. I have been the curator, installer, gallerist, and marketer taking on multiple roles. I have worked intimately installing and de-installing art works from 20 artists so far this year. When I was first hired I had four weeks to put together an exhibition, and I did it beautifully. The gallery also has a baby grand piano and concert chairs for potential music performances as well. The current show is the strongest I have had so far; showing complex sculptural forms as well as painting it will be up until the 31st of May 2010I have also been offered other projects as an independent curator, so there are several projects in the works at the moment.

Who are some major players (artists, collectors, dealers) for us to keep an eye on?
Well, as an emerging gallery, I am hoping to attract the interest of major players, collectors, and dealers in the artists we have at the gallery space. Emerging painters to watch for are: Karolina Mikulska from Sweden, Robin Ross, Rick Midler, Alexis Trice, Todd Miguel, and Win Zibeon. Tad Wiley is a fascinating artist with strong Modernist roots who I recently interviewed. He has a solo show in Chelsea and San Francisco this Spring. My current favorite sculptor is Brigitte Bouquet, she creates micro/macrocosms made of thousands of pieces of hand textured ceramics in large five foot in diameter circles on the wall. Her work will be on view at Clover’s Fine Art until the end of May 2010.

Who are your mentors in the field?
My mentors change constantly. They inspire me at moments when I question myself. Women in the gallery business that have become legendary inspire me and ask me to strive for more. College and University professors that write prolifically inspire me to write and seek out new information. I have started a collection of artist interviews inspired by the Independent Curators International called Inside the Studio.

Do you have any advice for someone trying to break into your field?
See as much as possible and decide what you like and run with it. Make mental notes of what you would want to see together in one room and ask what the learning aspect would be. Then find a place to install the vision. The world is filled with possibilities and with a positive attitude anything can happen.

Sarah Barker

Programme: Semester Programme Art and Business
Campus: London
Year: 2006
Current City: London
Current place of work and title: Art law Attorney/Solicitor, Mayfair, London. www.halebury.com

What attracted you to Sotheby’s Institute of Art and what was the most important part of your experience?
Sotheby’s Institute of Art offered the most commercially orientated art business course available. However, the course was also comprised of a substantial art history element that was immensely interesting.

I was also attracted by the length of the course as I was keen to equip myself with industry knowledge and then to progress my working career as quickly as possible.

Amongst other things, I think there was great value in meeting and studying with a diverse, international group of interesting and like minded individuals. It increased my awareness of all the possible routes which could be taken within the art world, and it also resulted in some great friendships.

Did you always know you wanted to combine art and business/law?
No, it was an organic process. As the daughter of an entrepreneur and an artist, I always had a passion for art and a passion for business. I was also drawn to practising law. For approximately eight years I enjoyed a successful career as a corporate lawyer at a leading international law firm. However, I had a constant yearning to build my own business, and if I could combine that with art then I wanted to try it.

Having studied at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, I founded an art consultancy that eventually developed into an art law practice as a result of the demand from my clients and the interesting nature of the work. As an art consultant I did everything from art buying, art dealing, advising on gallery management, preparing galleries for sale, and advising on gallery business development and international strategy, to helping to launch an art fund. As an art lawyer I can take the service I provide to my clients that extra step further.

What are you doing now and how did you get there?
I am continuing to grow my legal practice in the commercial arts sector. I act for galleries, artists, art funds and collectors. One day I will be helping to negotiate a consignment agreement, the next I might be drafting an artist’s management contract or advising on a corporate structure.

I practice in conjunction with a handful of other entrepreneurial lawyers who have also identified the need for accessible but high quality legal advice across various complementary fields (including intellectual property law and media law). We practice under the name of “Halebury”, and together share the administrative and regulatory burden of a legal practice. Clients include those such as Sky, Virgin, Nike and Ingenious.

In getting to this point, the experience of founding and running the art consultancy was hugely valuable for a number of reasons. First, I acquired an in-depth understanding of how the international commercial art industry operates. The experience significantly expanded my industry network and allowed me to build invaluable relationships within the sector. The experience also highlighted to me the value of flexibility and dynamism when launching a business. When the market demand for art legal advice became evident it was time to focus on this client offering. This demand allows me to combine my three great passions: art, business and law. My career has come a full circle, and I now have a wonderful feeling of playing to all my strengths.

Who are some major players to keep an eye on?
I am impressed by dealer Hannah Barry who runs the Hannah Barry Gallery in Peckham, London. She is entirely dedicated to her artists, and it is such a pleasure to hear her talking about their work. Randall Willette of Fine Art Wealth Management is a knowledgeable commentator on the commercial art market and an authority on art funds. The Wapping Project is a great new arts space in East London housed within a disused power station.

Who are you mentors in the field?
I am extremely lucky to be surrounded by some very inspiring and encouraging mentors. One of whom is former Turner Prize judge and Trustee of the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Keir McGuinness. Keir is also an art buyer/investor and art consultant.

Another is Chris de Pury, senior partner and ex-boss at my previous law firm, Herbert Smith LLP. My great friend, Brenda Van Camp, who is International Head of Marketing and Strategy at Christies, has also been another great source of inspiration and support.

Do you have any advice for someone trying to break into your field?
Be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get stuck in. It is only by doing things that you learn about the industry and yourself.


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