AI is reshaping the art world, but it is also clarifying a genuine opportunity. The qualities machines cannot replicate including taste, curation, and creativity, are exactly the ones that drive entrepreneurial value.

Jeffrey Boloten, Co-Director of the Enterprise Studio, emphasizes the skills students need to thrive in an entrepreneurial environment. The Enterprise Studio acts as Sotheby’s Institute’s incubator for student-led initiatives, helping students develop their visions for driving change in the art world.

As Boloten explains, “communication skills are hugely important, as well as confidence. The Enterprise Studio aims to instill confidence to stand in front of people and pitch an idea. Being able to identify markets you need to reach and how to go about reaching them is also incredibly important.”

The entrepreneurial mindset is further strengthened through collaborative, real-world projects and its results are visible across a range of alumni ventures.

From Study to Enterprise

Sometimes the spark ignites before a student has even graduated. Winton Rossiter developed Art In Schools — an initiative using high-definition ArtScreens to bring iconic and contemporary works into secondary school common areas across the UK — as a group assignment during his Art and Business course. It is now an enterprise with ambitions to reach one million students daily. “What I learned at Sotheby’s Institute was the ecosystem of the commercial art and museum worlds and some of the important figures whom I was later able to approach with confidence,” he says.

Elizaveta Petrova, who studied Art and Business at the Institute, went on to co-found EPIC.NOW, a Michelin-starred virtual reality dining experience in New York fusing immersive technology, contemporary art, and haute cuisine. “It taught me how to think without borders,” she says. “The entrepreneurial mindset at Sotheby’s Institute — coupled with exposure to global perspectives — shaped my approach to storytelling and curation.”

Giovanni Lacerenza and Giulia Cavagnis met on the first day of their MA in Art Business program and later founded Cavagnis Lacerenza, an Italian gallery for ancient art and Old Master sculpture selected for the TEFAF Showcase at TEFAF Maastricht 2024. “The Sotheby’s Institute of Art MA program helped us to understand the complexities of the market and recognize what our individual potential was,” they reflect.

Matilde Sirolli, who completed the MA in Contemporary Art before co-founding Cuadra Projects — a platform for emerging artists that debuted at Milan Design Week 2025— puts it simply: “The entrepreneurial spirit at the Institute, unparalleled in its approach in this sector, gave me the confidence and the tools to embark on my own ventures.” Her co-founder Ines Trafford, an MA in Art Business graduate, adds that the program revealed something equally valuable: “insights into the gaps in the art market, helping me to identify what was missing and what new opportunities could emerge.”

Cori Pickett, Director of Trusts, Estates & Private Clients at Freeman’s and a graduate of the MA in Art Business (Online), was drawn to the program for a specific reason: “I think the main interest for me was a program with an entrepreneurial direction that would give me the tools to create something unique.”

New Models for a Changing Market

Entrepreneurialism at the Institute takes many forms. Laura Peh founded Cinnamon Art Publishing, a children’s imprint on culture and sustainability that earned her a place on Prestige Singapore’s 40 Under 40 list, after completing her MA in Art Business in London. “The program inspired me to explore contemporary art, dream big, and nurture my confidence in international cross-cultural networking,” she says.

Nadine Khoury, who founded both Nasij Art Advisory and Dubai’s Young Collectors Circle after her MA in Art Business, applies what she learned daily. “The most valuable skills I gained were collection management, public speaking, and business development within an artistic context. I apply them constantly — whether advising collectors, curating exhibitions, or developing programs that bridge creativity with market insight.”

Tima Jam launched Art Voyage, a not-for-profit cultural foundation, following her 12-week Art Business Certificate in London, and hosted the landmark Echoes of Migration Summit at the RSA in 2025. “The course helped me refine my professional direction and gain the confidence, language, and insight needed to navigate and reposition myself within the contemporary UK art landscape,” she says.

The Human Advantage

It is here that the Institute’s focus on distinctly human capacities feels most timely. As AI tools proliferate across the creative industries, the qualities that remain irreducibly human, such as curatorial judgment, cultural fluency, and the ability to build trust, are precisely those the Institute has long cultivated.

The curriculum provides grounding, while the network of peers, faculty, and industry figures encountered across campuses in London, New York, and online gives it reach. In a market being reshaped by technology, the Institute equips graduates with the enduring skills that lie at the heart of entrepreneurialism.