April 20, 2017, New York— Dr. Jos Hackforth-Jones and Christine Kuan, co-CEOs of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, announce that the Institute is launching enhanced internship opportunities, new group mentorships, and an exclusive job project bank via its expanded relationship with Sotheby’s auction house. These new career-focused programs will give Sotheby’s Institute of Art Master’s Degree students privileged access to a wide array of opportunities at the auction house, plus group mentorship sessions with Sotheby’s professionals. MA students will also have, during their third semester and for one year after graduation, exclusive access to Sotheby’s job project bank, which offers short-term job opportunities with their global marketing, special events, and other auction house departments.
“This initiative will be a brilliant opportunity for our Master’s students to build on the direct contact with art works together with the object-based and art business learnings and experience they gain at Sotheby’s Institute of Art. We continue to lead this exciting field. The transformative student experience will be complemented by the opportunity to work with the art, its experts, and art business leaders in a dynamic auction house context. We are confident that our students - the next generation of art world professionals - are uniquely qualified to make the most of these fantastic opportunities,” said Dr. Jos Hackforth-Jones.
Christine Kuan said, “We are delighted to work even more closely with the auction house to provide targeted job training for our students with the largest publicly-held art business in the world. Coupled with the Institute’s graduate education in art business, these opportunities give our students an even greater professional edge in a burgeoning, global art market.”
Sotheby’s will partner with the Institute to introduce MA students to all facets of the auction world. Students will benefit from the network of Sotheby’s offices and the knowledge and breadth of art professionals globally to identify opportunities for internships and work experience and to forge strong relationships.
Group mentorship with Sotheby’s executives will be available to all Master’s Degree students of the Institute’s locations in New York, London, and Los Angeles, in a variety of formats including lectures, seminars, and workshops. Mentorship will focus specifically on providing inside views into working as a professional in the international art market and navigating the challenges of art business in today’s competitive global arena. Art executives and thought leaders will share with students their own personal career trajectories, insights into how they forged their professional practices, and will coach students on strategies for succeeding in the art world.
As the art world becomes increasingly complex, ascending to senior positions has become more challenging than ever. By providing strategic professional guidance and training, Sotheby’s Institute of Art students will gain unique insight in a variety of areas such as: collector relations, board development and management, long-term sustainability planning, building teams and fostering collaboration, working across complex organizations, communication skills, management advice, negotiation strategies, and more. Through this new initiative with Sotheby’s auction house, the Institute aims to accelerate the career advancement of our graduate students as they hold even more leadership positions in the art world.