Michael K. Chung, announced the appointment of Jos Hackforth-Jones, Director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art - London, and Christine Kuan, Director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art - New York, as joint CEOs of Sotheby’s Institute of Art. David Levy will take on the new role of President Emeritus of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and will continue to support business development activities for the CIG Education Group.
Michael Chung stated “Hackforth-Jones and Kuan possess the experience, vision, and talent for this vanguard program redefining visual arts education and art market leadership in today’s competitive art industry. What particularly excites me are their complementary skill sets and background in academia, art business, art history, and technology, which will lead the Institute to new levels of excellence.”
“I am tremendously excited to be working in partnership with Christine to develop an Institute which will continue to be recognized as being in the forefront of thought leadership internationally in both art business and art world education, while continuing our expertise in our distinctive object-based approach,” said Jos Hackforth-Jones.
“This is an exciting new era for the Institute to build upon its existing strengths as the global leader in art business education,” Christine Kuan stated. “I am honored to join Jos in leading the Institute and to foster the next generation of art market players and stewards of our cultural heritage.”
"What particularly excites me are their complementary skill sets and backgrounds in academia, art business, art history, and technology, which will lead the Institute to new levels of excellence."
Professor Jos Hackforth-Jones has served as Director of the London Institute since 2008. Hackforth-Jones is a distinguished academic administrator, noted art historian, author, curator and lecturer. Since joining Sotheby’s Institute she has worked closely with colleagues to refine the academic standing and raise the international profile of the London Institute. Hackforth-Jones has recently edited (with Iain Robertson) Art Business Today: 20 Key Topics (Lund Humphries and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, 2016). This accompanies the launch of an exciting and innovative new MA curriculum in Art Business, Contemporary Art, Fine and Decorative Art and Design and Modern and Contemporary Asian Art. Prior to her post at the Institute, Hackforth-Jones served as President and Provost at Richmond The American International University in London.
Christine Kuan has served as Director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art - New York since January 2016. In her first months of leadership she has worked with the Institute’s faculty to establish new curricula for its Master’s degree programs. She has also completed a multi-million dollar expansion of the New York campus, opened new student curated exhibitions, and launched a new speaker series, which included “Women Leaders in the Art Market” with Amy Cappellazzo, Elizabeth Dee, Marianne Boesky, and Touria El Glaoui. Prior to joining the Institute, Kuan was Chief Curator and Director of Strategic Partnerships at Artsy, Chief Curatorial Officer at Artstor, and Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Art Online/Grove Art Online at Oxford University Press. Kuan has also worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has taught at University of Iowa, Peking University, and Rutgers University.