Bridging Intuition and Data: How AI Is Shaping the Primary Art Market with Shahane Hakobyan, Founder of ARTanalyst

Dr. David Bellingham speaks with Shahane Hakobyan, MA Art Business alumna and founder/CEO of ARTanalyst, about her journey from artist to gallery director to tech entrepreneur. They discuss the fragmented nature of art market data, the value of measuring financial, cultural and social indicators, and how ARTanalyst’s AI-driven platform helps galleries connect internal CRM and inventory data with external signals (auctions, press, social) to generate actionable insights, KPIs and meeting prep. They cover lessons from Art Dubai and Galerie Kornfeld, building and testing measurement frameworks, ethical data use and security, and the practical benefits of bringing analytics to the primary market. Shahane shares advice for emerging professionals, challenges of fundraising and adoption, and her vision for a networked, collaborative art ecosystem. Links: Website: https://artanalyst.ai/    Gallery Centric-Demo (where you can try and test some of the features): https://app.artanalyst.ai/assistant    music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)      

We meet guests Kasia Piszkos (Art Director) and Lukasz Sinitsyn (Gallery Manager) live from Warsaw to discuss the founding of Bliss Gallery earlier in 2025, the meaning behind its name, and its location in a historic fourth‑floor apartment. They outline the gallery’s curatorial focus on abstraction and minimalism and describe standout shows such as Hydrofornia and Material Tendencies, plus their presentation of Urszula Bról at Artissima. The episode covers: practical gallery logistics (including installing water on an upper floor!); Warsaw’s gallery ecology and Warsaw Gallery Weekend; strategies for art fairs (Vienna, Artissima) and growing international ambitions; the role of social media; and plans to revisit overlooked Polish artists and collaborate with foreign curators. Links: https://blissgallery.pl/en/home/ @bliss_warsaw     music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)    

David Bellingham speaks with Victor Custot and Carmen Hu of Waddington Custot Gallery about continuing a 70-year family legacy, the gallery’s curatorial identity, and their approaches to artist representation and international engagement. They discuss the gallery’s focus on technical excellence, relationships with artist estates (including Peter Blake and Barry Flanagan), and recent contemporary exhibitions such as Qiong Er and textile artist Kenia Almaraz Murillo. The hosts also cover operational choices, including reconfiguring the reception to highlight artworks, and the role of gallery staff and technicians in executing ambitious shows. Victor and Carmen reflect on trends in collector behaviour post-pandemic, the importance of art fairs, online sales dynamics, and generational shifts in collecting. They share advice for MA Art Business students on finding a niche, being curious, and building long-term professional relationships. Listeners are invited to visit the gallery on Cork Street and follow updates at waddingtoncustot.com.   music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)      

Join host Dr David Bellingham, Programme Director of the MA in Art Business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art London, and guest Dr. Natasha Degen, incoming Director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art New York (January 2026), Chair of Art Market Studies at FIT, and author of The Market and Merchants of Style, for a wide-ranging conversation about the evolving art market and the future of art education. Natasha outlines her academic and professional journey from Princeton to China, the UK and New York, explaining what drew her to study the market side of art and how interdisciplinary training shaped her approach. She reflects on leading the MA in Art Market Studies at FIT, the challenges of curriculum design and the balance between academic rigour and practical vocational training for students seeking careers across galleries, auction houses, museums, fashion and luxury. The episode surveys major market shifts of the last decade: the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, China’s rise and contraction, and the pandemic’s role as an accelerator for digital sales, NFTs and online auctions. Natasha and David discuss globalization’s new phase, the rising cost of doing art business, and how auction houses have diversified into luxury, increasingly relying on luxury sales to offset fine art volatility. They explore the deepening convergence of art and fashion, from Warhol and Paul Poiret to contemporary brand collaborations, and consider how luxury houses and cultural institutions are reshaping value and taste. The conversation also tackles digital platforms, NFTs, and social media as new routes to recognition that have fractured traditional dealer-critic pathways. Natasha shares her vision for Sotheby’s Institute New York: strengthening academic programming, launching new offerings (including an MA in Luxury Business), leveraging ties with the auction house, and cultivating a close-knit, interdisciplinary student community. Ethics, law, sustainability, diversity and repatriation debates are highlighted as central topics that should be re-integrated into art-business curricula. Practical advice for students and early-career professionals focuses on identifying what excites you, playing to your strengths, being open to entrepreneurial paths, and recognizing the breadth of careers available, from studio management and logistics to artist representation and brand partnerships. Natasha concludes with a reading recommendation (Mary Davis’s Paul Poiret: Inventing Modern Luxury) and reflections on the continuing importance of fieldwork and international exposure despite environmental and ethical trade-offs. Expect an informed, candid and interdisciplinary conversation that bridges history, theory and market practice: essential listening for students, curators, collectors and anyone tracking the intersections of art, fashion, luxury and digital innovation.   music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)  

Welcome to the Art Business Podcast with David Bellingham. In this episode David speaks with Charlotte Stewart, Managing Director of MyArtBroker, about her non‑traditional route into the art world, her decade at Christie’s, and the digital pivot that led her to help build a leading online prints and editions brokerage. Charlotte describes how editorial storytelling and business management skills learned in traditional auction-house roles have shaped her approach to marketing, valuation and running a profitable tech-enabled business. She explains why MyArtBroker focuses on prints and editions, how the platform combines a machine‑learning valuation engine (drawing on data from some 400 auction houses) with specialist human expertise, and why authenticity, condition reports and conservator checks remain central to every sale. The conversation covers MyArtBroker’s business model — private sales, referrals and trade business — and practical differences from galleries and auction houses, including zero percent seller fees and taking a buyer-side margin. Charlotte reflects on how the pandemic accelerated online buying, why Banksy prints were particularly well-suited to digital brokerage, and how the company balanced rapid growth with maintaining trust and authority in the market. Key themes include the interplay of technology and human judgement (Charlotte’s “sandwich” analogy for AI as an assistant, not a replacement), the importance of focused specialism rather than chasing shiny new products, and the role of curated content and data in building credibility. She also discusses collector demographics, the looming wealth transfer from boomers to younger buyers, and predictions for how brokerage, authentication and digital tools may evolve over the next five years. Listeners can expect practical insights for anyone interested in art careers, digital transformation in the art market, and the operational realities of running an online brokerage — from valuation methodology and trust-building to when to use technology and when human specialists must lead the process. Guest: Charlotte Stewart, Managing Director at My Art Broker. Host: David Bellingham, Programme Director, MA Art Business, Sotheby's Institute of Art London. Topics: career paths in the art market; prints and editions brokerage; valuation algorithms and machine learning; pandemic acceleration of online sales; authentication and condition reporting; AI as an assistant; collector behaviour and the future of art brokerage.   Links:  https://www.myartbroker.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-stewart-775a35a1/?originalSubdomain=uk   music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)  

In this episode David interviews Zein Khalifa, alumna of the MA in Photography at Sotheby's Institute of Art London and co-founder of Tintera, the only private gallery in Egypt dedicated to fine art photography, about her journey from photographer to gallerist and the gallery’s mission to showcase and preserve contemporary Egyptian photography. They discuss analog vs digital practices, curatorial choices, working with Egyptian and regional artists, building audiences locally and internationally, and Tintera’s participation in the forthcoming 1:54 (London) and Paris Photo art fairs.   Links: https://www.tintera.art/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/zein-khalifa-90767425/?originalSubdomain=uk   music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)

David interviews painter Georgia Dymock about her artistic journey since leaving Slade: solo shows, selection for New Contemporaries, representation by Gillian Jason, and winning the ACS x Gurr John Studio Prize. They discuss how the prize and gallery exposure are shaping her career. Georgia explains her studio routine in Camden and her process of moving from digital sculpture (ZBrush, rendering) to oil on herringbone linen, exploring themes of connectedness, ambiguity, hybrid mythic figures and the balance between surface and psychological distance. She also reflects on influences, practical art‑business skills, and plans to expand her work.   Links: https://www.georgiadymock.com/ https://www.gillianjason.com/artists/97-georgia-dymock/ https://www.gurrjohns.com/ https://artistscollectingsociety.org/news/2025-acs-studio-prize-x-gurr-johns-exhibition/     music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)

This lecture explores Sandro Botticelli's Venus and Mars, examining its Neoplatonist layers of meaning, ambiguous identities, and possible identifications with historical figures like Giuliano de' Medici and Simonetta Vespucci. The talk discusses iconography, seasonal symbolism, botanical clues (including the thorn apple/Datura), Christian readings (Adam and Eve, Mary Magdalene), and the painting's likely function in a marriage chamber, offering a multi-semantic interpretation that blends myth, history, and moral commentary. music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)

In this second episode of a two-part lecture series, Dr David Bellingham continues his exploration of the art market, tracing its development from the Renaissance to the contemporary global scene. Drawing on historical, economic, and ethical perspectives, the lecture examines how art evolved from elite patronage into a commodified asset shaped by imperialism, celebrity culture, and financial speculation. Topics include: The rise of branded artists and the value of materials The emergence of auction houses and commercial galleries Colonial plunder and the ethics of restitution The impact of globalisation and digital transparency The role of collectors, dealers, and art fairs in shaping today’s market This episode completes the journey begun in Part I, offering a critical overview of the forces that continue to shape the art world today. Keywords: Art Market History, Renaissance Patronage, Auction Houses, Colonial Acquisitions, Contemporary Art Fairs, MAAB, David Bellingham   music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)  

In this first episode of a two-part lecture series, Dr David Bellingham traces the evolution of the art market from its prehistoric origins to the medieval period. Drawing on archaeological, literary, and technical evidence, the lecture explores how art objects transitioned from ritual and utilitarian functions into exchangeable commodities. Topics include: Long-distance trade and stylistic diffusion in ancient cultures The emergence of artist signatures and competition in Classical Greece Roman collecting, auctions, and the replication of originals The role of advisors and secondary markets The shift to church patronage and the proto-Renaissance This episode sets the stage for Part II, which will examine the rise of the modern art market from the Renaissance to the present day. Keywords: Art Market History, Ancient Trade, Artist Branding, Roman Collecting, Medieval Patronage, MAAB, David Bellingham music ‘Baby, I Miss The Internet’ (Rama, Rama, Rama)  by TOT TAYLOR is used by kind permission of the artist ©Tot Taylor/Songmatic Music (2020)