At a Glance
- Face-to-face course
- Wednesdays 11:30-13:30 (fortnightly)
- 11 sessions | October - March
- Starts 23 October 2024
- Fees from £350
- Tutor: Viv Lawes and other expert guest speakers
Enrol-by Date
- 21 October 2024
For outsiders, the art world, and especially the art market, can seem an impenetrable structure, in which works of art are produced, discussed, valued and sold, often to the bafflement of the wider public. Why are some works of art worth almost nothing, and others sell for millions of pounds or dollars?
On this course Viv Lawes invites us to join her on the inside of the art world to develop an understanding as to what is going on.
The journey of a work of art from an artist's studio to a gallery, museum or auction house is often the product of a surprisingly long and complex process, in which questions of quality, taste, fashion and finance all play a part.
On this short course you will discover some of the processes that lead from artists' studios to the art market, learning from experts in the fields of art, museums, galleries and auction houses how artists are selected, what happens to their work and how financial and other values are placed on works of art.
Every two weeks you are invited to join Viv Lawes, an experienced educator, art journalist, curator and promoter of historical and contemporary art, to discover how the global art market works as a complex ecosystem.
As well as classroom sessions, you will take part in site visits to commercial and public galleries, art schools and auction houses to hear from expert professionals in all branches of the art world, to gain a real understanding of how artists think about their work and how that can be very different to the views of the art market.
The course is ideal for anyone curious to discover how value is placed on works of art, as well as those involved in the art world as an artist, curator or collector, or interested in becoming part of the art business.
Possible Course Combination
This course can be studied on its own, or it can be combined with the classes Study Skills in Art History, which is taught on Wednesdays, which will help you to develop the critical and analytical skills used by professional art historians and curators, or Collecting Photographs, taught on Tuesdays, looking at the market for photographic prints and how to build up a photographic collection.
Course Information
- Course Programme
- Additional Reading
- Your Tutor
- Course Fees and Rate Categories
- Term Dates 2024-2025
- Enrolment Process
- Any Questions?
Face to face sessions are held every two weeks (except *)
Programme and speakers subject to possible modification
Session 1: Wednesday 23 October 2024
Introduction to the art ecosystem: From studio to marketplace (Viv Lawes)
Session 2: Wednesday 6 November 2024
The place of art history in the ecosystem (Viv Lawes)
Session 3: Wednesday 13 November 2024*
Collecting for and selling to museums (Viv Lawes and Daniel Robbins, Leighton House)
Session 4: Evening Lecture Thursday 14 November 2024 at 6.30pm*
Speaker: Jo Lawson-Tancred on her new book "AI and the Art Market"
Session 5: Wednesday 27 November 2024
State Art: The role of public museums and galleries (Viv Lawes and Dr Amy Mechowski)
Session 6: Wednesday 11 December 2024
What do curators do? (Viv Lawes and Dr Jenny Sliwka, University of Oxford)
***CHRISTMAS BREAK***
Session 7: Wednesday 15 January 2025
What is a primary market? Understanding the commercial gallery system (Site visit to West End galleries)
Session 8: Wednesday 29 January 2025
What is a secondary market? Understanding the role of auction houses (Site visit to Rosebery's Auctioneers)
Session 9: Wednesday 12 February 2025
Art foundations and grass-roots support (Site visit to Gasworks)
Session 10: Wednesday 26 February 2025
New Commercial Models (Site visit to Cromwell Place with Elizabeth Dellert)
Session 11: Wednesday 12 March 2025
View from the Art Schools (Site visit to CGLAS)
There is no compulsory reading required for this course, but if you would like to read more on the subject we suggest:
- Jeffrey Taylor, The Art Business: Art World, Art Market (London: Routledge, 2023 edition)
- P Fletcher and A Helmreich, The rise of the modern art market in London: 1850-1939 (Manchester: MUP, 2013)
- Jo Lawson-Tancred, AI and the Art Market (London: Lund Humphries, 2024)
Viv Lawes (Sky Arts/Sotherby's Institute/etc) is an author, journalist, lecturer and curator with over 25 years’ experience in the art market.
Viv studied History at York University and graduated with an MA in Fine and Decorative Art from Sotheby’s Institute in 1997, where her thesis focused on the textile trade between England and India/ China in the 17th and 18th centuries. She is Senior UK Consultant for Singapore-based gallery One East Asia and has curated numerous exhibitions of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art in London since 2011. She has written catalogue essays for many Southeast Asian contemporary artists, including Chang Fee Ming (Malaysia), Jane Lee (Singapore) and Andres Barrioquinto (Philippines). She recently co-authored a forthcoming book on the late Singaporean artist Teng Nee Cheong (1951-2013).
As well as teching at the Sotheby’s Institute Viv lectures at the City & Guilds of London Art School, L'Institut d’Etudes Supérieures des Arts (IESA) and the University of the Arts, London. She is also a NADFAS-accredited lecturer, travelling widely in the UK, Europe and Asia.
As a journalist she has written for many national and international arts publications, including The Art Newspaper, Antiques Trade Gazette, The Guardian, Art + Auction, Country Life, The Royal Academy Magazine and the British Antiques Dealers Association annual handbook. She is currently in the finishing stages of writing a book, Horse: A History of Equine Bronze Sculpture, for the Sladmore Gallery, London.
| Weeks | Standard Rate | Internal Rate | Associate Rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Early Bird: £370 Full price: £395 |
Early Bird: £350 Full price: £375 |
Early Bird: £360 Full price: £385 |
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| All fee rates quoted are for the whole course. Early Bird rates are available until the end of 30 September only. Part-payments are not possible. | |||||
Rate Categories and Discounts
Standard Rate
- Available to all except those who fall under the Internal Rate or Associate Rate category.
Internal Rate
- Current Imperial College students and staff (incl. Imperial NHS Trust, Imperial Innovations, ancillary & service staff employed on long-term contracts at Imperial College by third-party contractors)
- People enrolling under our Friends & Family scheme
- Alumni of Imperial College and predecessor colleges and institutes, including City & Guilds College Association members
- Students, staff and alumni of the Royal College of Art, Royal College of Music and City, UAL and the City and Guilds of London Art School
- Students, staff and Governors of Woodhouse College and the IC Mathematics School
Associate Rate
- Austrian Cultural Forum staff
- Co-operative College members
- Francis Crick Institute staff, researchers and students
- Friends and Patrons of the English Chamber Orchestra
- Friends of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
- Friends of Leighton House/ Sambourne House
- Friends of the Royal College of Music
- Harrods staff
- Historic Royal Palaces staff
- Lycee Charles de Gaulle staff
- Members of the Friends of Imperial College
- Members of the Kennel Club
- Members of the London Zoological Society
- Members of the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI)
- Members of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
- National Health Service (NHS) employees
- Natural History Museum staff
- Residents of postcodes SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10 and W8
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council staff
- Royal Geographical Society staff
- Science Museum staff
- Staff of Exhibition Road Cultural Group (Discover South Kensington) organisations
- Students (non-Imperial College)
- Teachers and other staff of UK schools
- The American Institute for Foreign Study
- Tutors and other staff of institution members of the Association of Colleges
- Tutors and other staff of other universities and higher education institutions
- Victoria and Albert Museum staff
Late enrolment
It is possible to enrol on many of our adult education courses after the course has already started. For non-language courses this is subject entirely to agreement by the tutor. For language courses it is subject to agreement by the language coordinator conducting level assessment. If you want to join a course late do bear in mind there might be work you will need to catch up on, particularly in language courses.
Friends and Family Scheme
This course is eligible for allowing Imperial College students and staff to share their discount with their friends and family.
| Weeks | Autumn term | Spring term | Summer term | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Week starting 14 October - week ending 14 December 2024 (6 weeks)* | Week starting 6 January - week ending 15 March 2025 (4 weeks)* | n/a | ||
| *This is a 2-term (Autumn term PLUS Spring term) face-to-face course with sessions held every two weeks (exceptions apply). The Christmas break separates both terms. | |||||
Enrolment via the blue booking link is open. Early-bird discounts are available until the end of 30 September 2024
Enrolment and payment run through the Imperial College eStore. When enrolling:
- Do check on the drop down menu above called "Course Fees and Rate Categories" to see if you are eligible for a discounted rate and also do make sure you select that rate when enrolling on the eStore
- If you are a first-time eStore user you will need to create an account before enrolling. You can do this by entering an email address and password. This account can then be used for any future enrolments via the eStore.
When you have enrolled you will be sent the following email notifications:
| What is sent | When is it sent | What does it contain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Payment confirmation | Is sent straight away following submission of your online application |
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| 2. Enrolment confirmation | Is usually sent within 10 working days. Please treat your payment confirmation as confirmation that your applicant details and payment have been received |
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| 3. Programme information | Is usually sent on Friday late afternoon the week before term starts |
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If you have any questions about the academic content or teaching of this course please contact the Programme Manager, Dr Michael Paraskos, m.paraskos@imperial.ac.uk
If you have any questions about your enrolment or payment processes please contact the Programme Administrator, Christian Jacobi, eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk
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