Selling Art Online: Is It Working?

In the five years of #ArtsTech's existence we've seen dozens of e-commerce start-ups come and go. When we first started back in 2008, there was hardly anyone trying to sell art online, save for the people who sold you posters for your college dorm room. Now, there's countless ways to acquire fine art from artists big and small, and NYC's arts startups are blazing this trail.

Arts writer Julia Halperin has been following the growing boom of arts startups and covering it for publications like Art + Auction (http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/849420/as-the-battle-for-the-online-art-world-sharpens-how-the). As a co-organizer of the panel, Halperin will be moderating the discussion, prompting panelists to describe exactly who is buying art online now, how these businesses are adapting to stay competitive, and what needs to happen before the practice of buying art online becomes more widespread.

Schedule:

7:00pm – Doors. Mingling over wine and snacks.

7:30-8:30pm – Speaker presentations.

8:30-10:00pm – Conversation continues over more wine!

Speakers:

Sebastian Cwilich is the President and COO of Art.sy (http://artsy.net/), an arts and technology startup company. Previously, Sebastian was an executive at Christie's auction house, where he launched their expanded private sales division and co-led its integration into Haunch of Venison Gallery after the Christie’s acquisition, subsequently serving as Commercial and Business Director of the gallery. Sebastian is also the co-founder and Chairman of Proyect Arte (http://proyectarte.org/), an international nonprofit art school and art gallery for young emerging artists.

Liz Parks is an art advisor with 20 years experience in the field of contemporary art. Prior to opening her own art advisory firm, Parks Fine Art (http://parksfineart.com/), in 2008, she was the Director of Sales at Artnet.com. She has also worked at prominent contemporary art galleries in Manhattan and in the Contemporary Art department at Christie's auctionhouse. Recently she served as director of the VIP Art Fair (https://www.vipart.com/). She holds an MA in Arts Administration from New York University, and is a member of ArtTable (the national organization for women in the arts) and NADA (the New Art Dealers Alliance).

James R. ("Jim") Hedges, IV was the Founder, President, and Chief Investment Officer of LJH Global Investments, LLC, an alternative investment advisory firm. Following the sale of LJH in 2010, he founded Montage Finance, to invest in contemporary art and is also Managing Member of Hedges-Projects, an organization created to sponsor exhibits of contemporary art, where he works most frequently with the work of Andy Warhol and Bruce Weber. An avid art collector, Hedges has served on an acquisition committee at the Museum of Modern Art, as a
national council chair for the Aspen Art Museum, and as a trustee for The Drawing Center.

Catherine Levene is the Co-Founder and CEO of Artspace (http://www.artspace.com/). As a digitalmedia innovator and entrepreneur with more than 15 years experiencebuilding successful online media companies, she is responsible for the jointvision of Artspace as well as the overall day-to-day management of thecompany. Most recently, Catherine held the position of COO and GeneralManager of DailyCandy (http://www.dailycandy.com/everywhere/), a leading daily e-mail and website targeted towomen that focuses on the latest trends in fashion, food and culture.

Julia Halperin is assistant editor of The Art Newspaper (http://www.theartnewspaper.com/). She previously served as news editor of Blouinartinfo.com (http://www.blouinartinfo.com/), the global culture news website, and Art + Auction magazine. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Observer, Modern Painters, and Art F City (http://www.artfcity.com/). She writes about museums, arts policy, and the art market.