Devang Thakkar – Christie’s Ventures

Devang Thakkar – Christie’s Ventures

13 September 2022

In this edition of the ArtTactic Podcast, we speak with Devang Thakkar, Head of Christie’s Ventures, about their new area of the business, Christie’s Ventures. First, Devang explains what Christie’s Ventures is and what motivated the auction house to want to establish a venture capital branch. Then, he describes Christie’s mindset now regarding exploring different types of opportunities and investments even in this uncertain economic climate. After, Devang shares how Christie’s can leverage its experience, expertise and brand in the art market so their investments are more than purely financial. Also, he identifies some areas of how NFTs are collected that can be improved so it can mature as a collectible. Lastly, Devang share details about Christie’s Ventures’ first investment.

Rebecca Fine – Athena Art Finance x Yieldstreet

20 July 2022

In this week’s episode of the ArtTactic Podcast, we speak with Rebecca Fine, Managing Director at Athena Art Finance x Yieldstreet. First, Rebecca tells us about Athena Art Finance and Yieldstreet and how art fits into their offerings. Then she shares more about their art funds including how they build a portfolio of art. Also, Rebecca reveals who is the typical type of investor attracted to art funds, whether it is existing art collectors or those without exposure to the art market. Additionally, she clarifies how the inflationary, bull market of the past two years has changed art funds’ appeal to prospective investors, she compares their products to Masterworks and she gives her forecasts on the art market in the short and medium term.

Denis Belkevich – Fuelarts

16 December 2021

In this week’s episode of the ArtTactic Podcast, we’re joined by Denis Belkevich, co-founder of Fuelarts, the first and only accelerator for art and tech startups. First, Denis explains how the accelerator works including how they select companies and how they help develop their businesses. Then, Denis identifies some significant innovation opportunities within the art market. Also, he reveals if the art world is seeing increased interest from investors in conjunction with the surging art market. Finally, Denis explains why when it comes to the art world, certain types of investors are preferable over others.

Christine Bourron – Pi-ex

30 August 2018

In this week’s episode of the ArtTactic Podcast, we speak with Christine Bourron, CEO of Pi-eX, a firm that offers financial instruments based on art in the art market. First, Christine introduces us to contract on future sales, a product that enables sellers to pre-sell a percentage of their artwork to investors in advance of their artwork heading to auction. Then, Christine argues why this is a superior product to traditional third party guarantees offered by auction houses. Also, she explains why investors interested in this product won’t be limited to art world insiders.

Scott Lynn – Masterworks

17 August 2018

In this week’s episode of the ArtTactic Podcast, we’re joined by Scott Lynn, founder of Masterworks, a startup that allows investors to buy and trade in shares of artworks. First, as an active collector, Scott tells us what motivated him to launch a company that provides others with the opportunity to have fractional ownership in artworks. Then, he walks us through how Masterworks works, including how they acquire their artworks for the platform and how individuals can purchase and trade shares of an artwork. Also, Scott reveals why they chose artworks by Andy Warhol and Claude Monet as the first two on the platform. Lastly, he discusses his plans to eventually establish a physical gallery where viewers can see the art on the platform in person and have the opportunity to purchase shares of the artwork on the spot.

Serge Tiroche – Art Vantage

14 March 2017

In this week’s edition of the ArtTactic Podcast, Serge Tiroche, co-founder of Art Vantage, an art investment fund focused on contemporary art from emerging art markets, joins us to update us on his fund. First, Serge details the performance of his fund, which launched in 2011. Then, he reveals how the development of several emerging art markets has impacted his ability to opportunistically acquire artworks from these markets. Also, Serge shares some lessons he has learned from being one of the few successful art investment fund managers. Lastly, Serge speculates on the future of the niche art investment fund space.

Ayal Brenner

Ayal Brenner – Artist Pension Trust

18 July 2016
In this week’s edition of the ArtTactic Podcast, we’re here with Ayal Brenner.

Ayal Brenner is founding member and director of Artist Pension Trust. Ayal discusses the trust’s first distribution since its establishment in 2004.

First, Ayal explains the concept of Artist Pension Trust as a risk diversification tool to provide more secure income to artists. Then, Ayal identifies some of the most prominent artists who participate in Artist Pension Trust. These include Rashid Johnson, Ivan Navarro and three Turner Prize winners. Also, he reveals the strategy and process regarding selling artworks from the trust. He covers how the money generated from these sales is distributed to the artists in the trust. Lastly, Ayal discusses why this financial structure is so appealing to artists and what kind of artists are benefitting the most from this.

Madelaine D’Angelo – Arthena

20 August 2015

In this week’s episode of the ArtTactic Podcast, Madelaine D’Angelo, founder of Arthena, joins us to talk about their new equity crowdfunding platform that gives individuals access to invest in artworks. First, Madelaine explains how Arthena differs from traditional art funds, in large part due to its crowdfunding component, which requires a minimum investment into the fund of only $10,000. Then, she speculates why the art fund industry hasn’t taken off, despite the significant overall growth of the art market. Also, Madelaine describes the type of investors they are targeting, specifically individuals who have an interest in the art market but aren’t established collectors. Lastly, she clarifies the differences in the types of collections they offer in which individuals can invest.

Michael Moses – Mei Moses Index

22 August 2014

In this week’s episode of the ArtTactic Podcast, Michael Moses, co-founder of Beautiful Asset Advisors and the Mei Moses Index, joins us to discuss the trend of art flipping and if it is occurring more frequently in the current art market compared to in the past. First, Michael defines two types of art flipping, one which is measured by the duration of time in which an artwork appears then re-appears at auction and the other, in which an artwork is sold at auction only a short period of time after being created. Analyzing the first type of art flipping, Michael tells us that while on average the holding period of an artwork has decreased over time, the current holding time is actually barely longer than it was over the past few years during the art market peak.

Melanie Gerlis – The Art Newspaper

14 January 2014

In this week’s episode of the ArtTactic Podcast, Melanie Gerlis, art market editor for The Art Newspaper, returns to the podcast to discuss her newly released book, Art as an Investment? A Survey of Comparative Assets. First, Melanie explains how she examines the concept of art as an investment by comparing it to six other assets, including: gold, equities, wine, private equity, property and the luxury goods industry. On the podcast, she reveals which of the six assets was most similar to art and which was the most different. Ultimately, Melanie concludes that art comes up a bit short as an asset compared to other assets and breaks down for us why that is the case. Finally, she touches on the art investment fund industry, explaining why the niche industry has remained stagnant despite increasing prices in the art market over the past few years.

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