Need a Crash Course in the Art Industry? This Fall, Christie’s Education Will Debut Two New Programs That Promise to Demystify the Field

The art market can be opaque for even the most impassioned art lovers, but Christie’s Education believes it doesn’t have to be that way. This fall the storied auctioneer is debuting two new yearlong academic programs—the Contemporary Art Business Program, based in New York, and the Art World Career Project, based in London—to help students forge the art-world careers of their dreams. Both programs run from September to May and are organized to accommodate the schedules of students, offering hybrid platforms both for virtual and in-person participation

For those looking to get a foot in the door career-wise, the Contemporary Art Business Program will focus on the necessary basics, such as helping students craft art-specific résumés and improve interview skills. A special public-speaking workshop will teach participants how to talk about contemporary art, while a career roundtable will offer diverse networking opportunities. Among the in-person elective courses are “Art in the City,” “Inside the Auction House,” and “Conversations in Contemporary Art“—classes designed to improve connoisseurship skills and lift the curtain on the inner workings of the contemporary art capital of New York City.

For those with specific areas of interest, the London program, the Art World Career Project: Designing Your Professional Future in the Art Market, aims to empower students to pursue those careers, with focused courses on running an art advisory, curating, and opening a gallery, as well as marketing, PR, and communications for the arts. Other classes focus on art law, insurance, logistics, taxation and art-market economics, provenance and restitution, and collection management. Students will have access to a series of career development workshops and will be able to spend a day learning firsthand in the relevant Christie’s department. 

Christie’s Education prides itself on its innovative approaches to education, and that includes NFTs. The London course will offer the course “NFTs—A Complete Guide,” while in New York, students can pursue “NFTs in Context,” two first-of-their-kind courses that will give students a nuanced and informed grasp of this new sphere.