Course Syllabus

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MGT 838 01 (FA24)

EVANS Hall Classroom 2400

Term Code: 202403, CRN: 22178; Fall 01 (SOM: 2.0 Units, School of Art: 1.5 Units)
Syllabus Yale F2024 - Entrepreneurship in the Art Market-1.pdf
Slides: MGT 838 - Fall 2024 Slides

Excused Absence Form

Friday, 30th August 2024 04:10pm - 7:10pm
Monday, 9th September 2024, 04:10pm - 07:10pm
Monday, 16th September 2024, 04:10pm - 07:10pm
Monday, 23rd September 2024, 04:10pm - 07:10pm
Monday, 30th September 2024, 04:10pm - 07:10pm
Monday, 7th October 2024, 04:10pm - 07:10pm

If you are a student at Yale School Of Art, to register please write an email to magnus.resch@yale.edu. Spots have been reserved for you.
No business or art market knowledge is required to take this course.

CONTACT:
Magnus Resch, magnus.resch@yale.edu or magnus@magnusresch.com
Jane Xiang, jane.xiang@yale.edu
Samantha Sweig, samantha.sweig@yale.edu
Aakanksha Reddy, aakanksha.reddy@yale.edu

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The art market is highly seductive, with its multibillion-dollar industry, hyped NFTs, sensational auctions, wealthy clientele, and lavish vernissages. However, the reality is challenging. Entrepreneurs find it tough, with 30% of galleries running at a loss and over 90% of artists unable to live from their work. How can entrepreneurs succeed? Why does Gagosian turn over a billion while the average gallery makes only $200k? What impact will Web3 have? Can new models replace auction houses and art fairs?

This course offers students firsthand insights into the art market through theoretical analysis and guest experts. Past speakers included Jeff Koons, KAWS, and Noah Horowitz (CEO of Art Basel). Students will shape these sessions, challenge the experts, and develop their own perspectives. Fifteen slots are reserved for artists from the Yale School of Art, fostering a uniquely diverse and enriching classroom experience.

The course is taught by Magnus Resch, a serial art market entrepreneur and bestselling book author of “How To Become A Successful Artist”, “How To Collect Art” and “Management Of Art Galleries”. 

OBJECTIVES:

Students will collect a broad knowledge of the basic structures and practices in the art market. By engaging in discussions with art market entrepreneurs, students will develop observations of the roles and functions of various market players. They will discuss how works of art circulate through the market, as well as how that circulation determines value, both historically and in the current market. Students will then build on this to critique how the market works today and develop business ideas to change the way the market works in the future.

GRADING:

Group moderation: 20%

Each guest lecture session (20 mins) plus Q&A (10 mins) is prepared and moderated by a student group. Guest lecturers are invited by the professor. Grades are based on:

  • Quality of the debate: Placing in a theoretical environment; visual preparation; problem structure and approach
  • Execution strength: work according to milestones and deadlines; professional appearance; leading discussion and Q&A session

Peer Review & Participation: 20%

Active class participation is necessary, particularly in Q&A rounds with guest lecturers. Furthermore, all students who are not moderating are requested to submit peer reviews of today's group's moderation. Out of the 10 possible peer reviews, students only need to submit 5. Students are free to choose those. Peer reviews are due 48h after the start of the class. Students are asked to answer following three questions (½ page or 1 full page are enough enough to answer all questions per peer review):

  • Group’s Moderation: What did you like about the group’s moderation?
  • Group’s Moderation: What questions did you have that weren’t answered?
  • Learnings: What are the three key takeaways from the interview with the expert?

Assignments: 20%

Students prepare two separate short reports (between 3,000 and 4,000 characters, excluding spaces, i.e. roughly 1 page) that will be due before the second and last class. The first assignment deals with the historic development of the art market. The second assignment looks at the business model of tech companies. In detail, students are asked to answer the following questions.

First assignment: How has the role of the artist changed since the beginning of the art market? or Where is the next center of the art market and why? 

Second assignment: Why are tech companies struggling with their mission to democratize the art market? Or How are Web3 initiatives trying to change the art market and are they succeeding? Or How can artists become successful? 

Grades are based on:

  • Formal aspects
  • Contextual aspects
  • Structure of the work 

Final project: 40%  

Students write a paper about the future development of the art market, focusing on one role that we discussed in class (between 9,000 and 12,000 characters, excluding spaces, i.e. roughly 3 pages). An example of a typical paper might be  “The future role of an art gallerist” or “The future role of an auction house” or “The future role of an artist”, etc. Students can choose any role discussed in class. Papers’ grades are based on:

  • Formal aspects
  • Contextual aspects
  • Structure of the work

Alternatively, students may create a work of art that responds to learnings and takeaways from this course. The artwork may be in any medium but must be accompanied by a written (max 5,000 characters, excluding spaces) or short video statement (max. 10mins, via online link) about how the work directly responds or connects to the topics discussed in class. 

Students’ projects will benefit from the guest lecture sessions, as well as making use of the theoretical knowledge and experience gained in class.

 

COURSE SCHEDULE:

The course is taught in a concentrated workshop format. It is divided into six days. Attendance at all days is necessary (attendance policy at Yale SOM). Readings must be completed before each class. 

The first two days construct the theoretical foundation for the art world. Students will gain an understanding of the art market’s players, their unique position in the context of the global environment, and the business logic behind them. Statistical data is presented to give students an idea of the art market size, including revenue and profit numbers. The second day ends with the formation of student groups to prepare the guest lectures. Each student group will be assigned a guest lecturer one week in advance, including:

  • A tech company founder 
  • A gallerist
  • An artist
  • A collector
  • A museum director
  • An auction house manager
  • A curator

The third, fourth, fifth and sixth day represent the interactive part of the course. Students will lead a 20-minutes discussion with their expert, starting with an initial introduction to the class and followed by an in-depth discussion about the expert’s daily practice. Students ask critical questions about the expert’s role in the market, existing challenges, and future outlook and position. The group will then lead a Q&A (10 mins), in which the entire class is invited to ask questions. In the remaining part of the day, readings will be discussed and the theoretical foundation strengthened. Readings will always correspond to the guest lecturer’s role, so please note that the schedule below may change depending on speaker availability. For example, if a gallerist (instead of a collector) is scheduled for Session 3, please refer to the gallerist readings. All readings can be found in the “Files” section on Canvas.

DAILY SCHEDULE:

Session 1 – An introduction to the history of the art market

  • Maneker, M (2024). Finally a Sign the Art Market is Back. Retrieved from https://puck.news/finally-a-sign-the-art-market-is-back/
  • Resch, M (2018). How the Art Industry Really Works (2018). Video File. Retrieved from Here (Links to an external site.)
  • De Marchi, N. & Van Miegroet, H. J. (2006). The history of art markets. In V. A. Ginsburgh & D. Throsby (Eds.), Handbook of the Economics of Art and Culture, Volume 1 (pp. 69-113). Amsterdam: Elsevier
  • (not required) Spaenjers, C., Goetzmann, W. N. & Mamonova, E. (2015). The economics of aesthetics and record prices for art since 1701. Explorations in Economic History 57, 79-94. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2015.03.003
  • (not required) Minniti, A. (2015). The evolution of the art market: from 15th century Florence to the Sotheby’s-eBay agreement. Rom: Free International University for Social Studies. Retrieved from http://tesi.eprints.luiss.it/15688/1/172301.pdf

Session 2 – An introduction to key players and art market data

Note: First assignment due

  • Boll, D. (2011). Art for sale: A candid view of the art market. (pp. 29-49). Berlin: Hatje Cantz

  • (not required) Velthuis, O. (2005). Talking Prices: symbolic meanings of prices on the market for contemporary art (pp. 53-158). Princeton: University Press

  • (not required) Mc Andrew, C. (2022). The Art Market 2022 (pp. 17-51). Retrieved from https://www.artbasel.com/about/initiatives/the-art-market
  • (not required) Pownall, R. (2017). TEFAF Art Market Report 2017. Maastricht: TEFAF

Session 3 - Collectors & Museum, Guest Lecture Visit 

Collectors:

  • Gnyp, M. (2015). The Shift. Art and the rise to power of contemporary collectors (pp. 122-137). Stockholm: Art & Theory Publishing
  • (not required) Velthuis, O. (2014). Art Rank and the Flippers: Apocalypse Now?. Berlin: Texte zur Kunst. Retrieved from https://www.textezurkunst.de/96/olav-velthuis-artrank-und-die-flipper/
  • (not required) Noe, C., Steiner, L. & Resch, M. (2014). The Art Collector Report. Nürnberg: Verlag für Moderne Kunst

Museum:

  • Mason, D., & McCarthy, C. (2006). The feeling of exclusion: Young people’s perceptions of art galleries. Museum Management and Curatorship, 21(1), 20-31. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S026047790500107X
  • (not required) Caldwell, N. (2000). The Emergence of Museum Brands. International Journal of Arts Management, 2(3), 28 - 34. (Links to an external site.) 
  • (not required) Lee, J.W. & Lee, S.H. (2017). Marketing from the Art World: A Critical Review of American Research in Arts Marketing. The Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, 47 (1), 17-33. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2016.1274698 

Session 4 - Artists & Art Fairs, Guest Lecture Visit

Artists:

  • Resch, M. (2020). What Makes an Artist Successful. Video File, Retrieved from here (Links to an external site.)
  • (not required) Crawford, T. & Mellon, S. (2008). The Artist-Gallery Partnership. A Practical Guide to Consigning Art (pp. 13-48). New York: Allworth Press.

Fairs:

Session 5 – Art Tech & Galleries, Guest Lecture Visit

Art Tech:

Galleries:

  • Resch, M. (2016). Management of Art Galleries (pp. 1-39). London: Phaidon
  • (not required) Resch, M. (2016). The Global Art Gallery Report 2016 (pp. 6-63). London: Phaidon

Session 6 – Auction Houses & Artists, Guest Lecture Visit

Note: Second assignment due

Auction Houses:

Artists

  • Thompson, D. (2010). The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary (pp. 9-53). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due