Download our programme guide here 

Download our list of attending organisations here

Georgina Adam 

Georgina Adam has spent many decades writing about the art market and the arts in general. She is editor-at-large for The Art Newspaper and a contributor to the Financial Times. She initially studied Islamic Art at the Ecole du Louvre and also lived for five years in Japan. She has written two books about the art market – Big Bucks (Lund Humphries, 2014) and Dark Side (Lund Humphries, 2018) and a third book, The Rise and Rise of Private Museums, came out in September 2021. She is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA) and The International Art Market Studies Association (TIAMSA).

Guillaume Cerutti    

Guillaume Cerutti has been Chief Executive Officer of Christie's since December 2016.  He has been active in the artworld for more than 20 years, working closely with collectors across the globe.  He first held positions in non-commercial organisations, as Managing Director for the Pompidou Centre and then as Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Culture in France.  His previous background was focused on economics and finance.  Mr. Cerutti also served for three years as the head of the French national competition agency, and is the author of numerous articles, reports and a book on cultural policies.  He is based in London.

Under his tenure at Christie’s, the company continues to support 70 categories of business with a global presence across 45 physical locations.   Christie’s has been entrusted with the sales of major Collections (Rockefeller in 2018, Ebsworth in 2019, Cox in 2021, Bass, Getty and Allen in 2022, Rothschild in 2023 and Barbier-Mueller in 2024).   It has also established the records for a work of art sold at live auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi) and online auction (Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5,000 Days).

     Charotte Appleyard     

Charlotte Appleyard is Director of Development & Business Innovation at the Royal Academy of Arts. She previously worked at Outset Contemporary Art Fund, and in the curatorial departments at The National Gallery in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In 2012 she published "Corporate Art Collections: A Handbook" a history and survey of corporate collections. She served as a trustee of Turner Contemporary and the Institute of Contemporary Arts and currently sits on the advisory board of the Centre for Entrepreneurs; Evening Standard London Recovery Board and is a trustee of the Marylebone Cricket Club Foundation.

She is currently working on a book on the history of creativity and is a graduate of Oxford University, the Courtauld Institute and Harvard Business School.

Fatoş Üstek  

Fatoş Üstek is an independent curator and writer, working internationally. She is the author of The Art Institution of Tomorrow, Reinventing the Model (2024), Co-founder and Managing Director of non-profit community interest company FRANK Fair Artist Pay, and Curator of Frieze Sculpture in London, Curator of Cascading Principles Expansions within Geometry, Philosophy and Interference at the Mathematical Institute, Oxford University. Alongside leading international projects, she holds governance roles in arts organizations: in the UK (Chair, New Contemporaries), Netherlands (editorial advisory, Extra Extra Magazine), and Germany (advisory board, Urbane Kuenste Ruhr). Üstek is a member of the International Association of Art Critics AICA UK, ICI, IKT and founding member of AWITA (Association of Women in the Arts).

She was previously Director of the Liverpool Biennial, Director of the Roberts Institute of Art, Curator of Art Night, London (2017), Curator of fig-2 50 exhibitions 50 weeks, ICA London (2015) and Associate Curator of the 10th Gwangju Biennial, South Korea (2014).

She has commissioned a number of projects in the public realm in the UK and in Turkey. Üstek has also taken on multiple jury roles for international art prizes and biennales, including Turner Prize 2020, the Scottish Pavilion 2022 and the Dutch pavilion in 2022 and 2024 at the Venice Biennale and Jindrich Chalupecky Society Award (2022-2024). She nominates for prestigious prizes such as the Jarman Award and the Fourth Plinth, among others. 

fatosustek.com

Jennifer Schipf

Jennifer Schipf is AXA XL’s Global Chief Underwriter for Fine Art & Specie. In this role she is responsible for setting worldwide strategy, Underwriting guidelines and ultimate profitability. She’s been dedicated to the highly specialized market of fine art underwriting for nearly twenty years and helped establish the AXA Art Prize. She previously led the organization’s North American Fine Art & Specie team while also serving as leader of Broker and Client Management for North American Specialty.  Prior to joining AXA XL in 2008, she led the US Fine Art underwriting practice at another carrier and held various roles in claims, settling losses and performing loss control assessments for private collector clients. 

She started her career with a research position in the Old Master Drawings department at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. followed by development roles at both the Chazen Museum and Tandem Press, in Madison, WI.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Economics from Georgetown University with a concentration in the Italian Renaissance and Patronage of the Papacy. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Architecture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is actively engaged in various arts organizations, teaches fine art underwriting courses and regularly participates in industry educational conferences. 

 Charlene Prempeh  

Charlene Prempeh is the founder of A Vibe Called Tech, a Black-owned creative agency that is dedicated to approaching creativity through an intersectional lens. Charlene is also an Financial Times HTSI columnist and contributing editor who writes about design, travel, and culture.  

After studying PPE at Oxford University, she began a career in marketing and worked at some of the UK’s most prominent media platforms and art institutions including the BBC, The Guardian, and Frieze. More recently, she launched A Vibe Called Tech to encourage a culturally diverse lens in design, technology, arts, and culture by spearheading partnerships, events, research, and workshops across London and through her journalism and consultancy work.

Since its establishment in 2018, A Vibe Called Tech has worked with brands including Gucci, Stine Goya, Faber, Frieze and institutions like Whitechapel Gallery, White Cube, RA and V&A East to deliver ambitious creative output that nourishes communities. In 2022, the agency launched Turned A, a cultural merchandising project which seeks to amplify key messages of the creative agency’s projects and its Art Consultancy arm, established to help clients connect seamlessly with artists.

Charlene currently consults for the Royal Academy of Arts on partnerships and development, is on the editorial board of the Tate Magazine, a Dezeen Awards 2022 judge and is Chair of the Frieze 91 committee.

Eliza Easton  

Eliza (Erskine) Easton is a creative industries expert who has published more than thirty policy and research papers, including on arts funding in England, research and development, the UK’s export strategy, the changing skills needs of the economy, and the impact of Covid-19 on diversity in the creative industries. She runs her own think tank, Erskine Analysis, which recently published a major commission on Keeping the UK's Creative Industries Globally Competitive with University of the Arts London.

Before Erskine Analysis, Eliza spent five years as Head of Policy and then Deputy Director of the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre – an £8m Government and AHRC funded research and policy centre, based at Nesta. Prior to this, she was part of the founding team of the Creative Industries Federation (now CreativeUK).

 Eliza was a Cambridge University Policy Fellow from 2020-2022, and is now an RSA Fellow and a Research Associate at the Bennett Institute, University of Cambridge. She is a trustee for arts charity Gerry’s Pompeii which preserves the legacy of outsider artist Gerry Dalton.

Alongside her research work, Eliza writes literary reviews and essays - often about her favourite author, P.G. Wodehouse. Before working in policy research, she studied History of Art at the University of Oxford, after which she worked for a year as an assistant curator at Waddesdon Manor. 

Melanie Gerlis became the weekly art market columnist for the Financial Times in 2016. She was previously Art Market Editor for The Art Newspaper (2007-2016), before which she was a financial communications adviser at Finsbury in the City of London (1996-2005). She has a BA in English Literature from Cambridge University and an MA in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art. 

A freelancer, Gerlis also writes about the art business for The Times, Vanity Fair and Spear’s Magazine. In addition to her work as a journalist, Gerlis has authored books on the art market including Art as an Investment? (2014) and The Art Fair Story: A Rollercoaster Ride (2021), both published by Lund Humphries. She is a regular commentator on art market trends and developments, frequently appearing on television and radio programmes to discuss the latest news in the art world.

Alessandro De Stasio is the visionary Co-founder and CEO of Artscapy, the award-winning alternative investment platform specialised in art. With over 15 years of art collecting experience and a robust background in digital businesses, Alessandro combines innovative thinking with strategic insights to keep Artscapy at the cutting edge of technological advancements. 

His passion for art and commitment to placing collectors first ensures that Artscapy provides expert guidance, data-driven market insights, and a seamless experience in art collection and management. Alessandro’s focus on alternative assets and investments has made Artscapy a leader in the field, helping users effortlessly diversify their portfolios and enrich their lives through art.

Dr. Roman Kräussl  

Dr. Roman Kräussl is Professor of Finance at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), City, University of London. He is also Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Research Fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), and Research Fellow at the Center for Financial Studies (CFS). He received his PhD in Financial Economics from Goethe-University, Frankfurt. 

His research focuses on Alternative Investments, including private equity, infrastructure, art, and green finance. When he engages with the industry, he mostly consults on art as an asset class, dealing with valuation of artworks and construction of art market indices. His work analyzes the market performance of art and of individual artists in order to help investors evaluate and optimise different portfolio allocations. 

He regularly writes for Manager Magazin, the leading German monthly business magazine, on art as an investment. His academic research has been published in leading economic journals such as The Journal of Finance, The Review of Financial Studies, and Management Science. Some of his research has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, The Economist, the New York Times, Forbes' Annual Investment Guide, Fortune, the Guardian and on CNBC. 

In addition to this experience, he has taught numerous Executive MBA courses at the Amsterdam School of Finance at VU University Amsterdam, at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, Atlanta, USA, and at Bayes Business School. He has recently developed the Art & Finance Executive Teaching Program in cooperation with Christie's Education London. 

Harco van den Oever  

Harco is the founder and CEO of Overstone, a regulated company committed to unlocking the full potential of art as a valuable asset for its institutional clients through the combination of data analytics, art expertise and financial advisory. Harco brings over two decades of expertise at the intersection of art, finance, and technology to his current role.

His extensive career journey includes over a decade of leadership at Christie’s, where he served as the Continental European Head and Global Managing Director of the Impressionist and Modern Art Department. He has a solid foundation in debt capital markets, with twelve years of experience at leading financial institutions including Paribas, Bankers Trust, and Credit Suisse First Boston where he was head of LatAm structured debt distribution.

Harco pioneered the digital landscape with the founding of Fredfinds.com, the UK's first online mortgage brokerage business, acquired in 2001 by Netwindfall Ltd.

Harco has an MBA from University of Hartford, CT, is an INSEAD alumnus and member of PAIAM.

Amanda Gray  

Amanda Gray is a Partner in Mishcon Private, specialising in Art Law and the related field of Luxury Assets. She is Practice Lead for Art Law and chairs Mishcon's firm-wide multi-disciplinary Luxury Assets Group. Amanda is also the Chair of the Board of the Photographers' Gallery; the pro-bono General Counsel for Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Sussex, which houses the permanent collection of works by the Ditchling Guild.

Martin Wilson   

Martin Wilson is Chairman of the British Art Market Federation, BAMF. He has worked as an auction house lawyer first at Christie’s and now at Phillips for over 25 years and has extensive practical experience of all aspects of the legal,  ethical and commercial aspects of buying and selling art. He is an Arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Art, co-chair of the Art Lawyers Association and the author of the leading art law textbook 'Art Law and the Business of Art.

Mark Hallett   

Mark Hallett has been Märit Rausing Director of the Courtauld since August 2023. Following his studies at Cambridge and the Courtauld, Professor Hallett started his career at the University of York, where he taught in the History of Art Department for eighteen years. In 2012, he moved to London to become Director of the Paul Mellon Centre for British Art, a post which he held for more than a decade. At the Courtauld, he oversees all aspects of its work as both a specialist scholarly organisation and a world-class gallery. In 2025, The Courtauld will expand its postgraduate course programme to include an MA in Art and Business.

Paul Hewitt 

Paul Hewitt took up his position as Director General of The Society of London art Dealers Ltd (SLAD) in September 2021. Prior to this he was part of the senior leadership teams at Christie’s for 18 years where he was responsible for driving new buyer engagement globally. Paul started his career marketing luxury brands in Asia for Moet Hennessy, part of the LVMH Group.

Toby Monk  

Toby Monk has been at Christie’s for 13 years. He is the Global Head of Recruiting & Staff Engagement. In addition, he is Chair of the cross-industry Trailblazer committee for the ‘Art Market Coordinator’ apprenticeship, and of the Arts Education Charity ‘ Art history Link-Up.

Jane Morris  

Jane Morris is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and editorial strategist who specialises in the visual arts. She is an editor-at-large at The Art Newspaper and Cultureshock and contributes to the Economist, Monocle, Apollo, the Art Newspaper and Tortoise. She was the editor of The Art Newspaper for almost a decade. She was previously head of editorial at the Museums Association, and a judge of the European Museum of the Year Award. She has contributed to BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and Monocle 24 radio, and has written for national newspapers including The Guardian and The Independent. She studied fine art at University of the Arts London (Central St Martin’s), and journalism at City University, London.

Robert Kennan  

Robert Kennan is Phillips’ Head of Editions for the UK and Europe. Since joining Phillips in 2012 to lead the Editions department in London, he has played a pivotal role in growing the department, guiding it to become a market leader in this dynamic and diverse field of collecting.

Before his tenure at Phillips, Robert oversaw Print auctions at Bonhams from 2000 to 2012. During his time there, he introduced several highly successful themed sales, including the first dedicated David Hockney auctions and a series focused on Avant-Garde British printmaking. A notable highlight of his career at Bonhams was the sale of an important hand-coloured impression of Edvard Munch's Madonna, which achieved £1.2 million. Prior to Bonhams, he worked in the Prints department at Phillips Son and Neale from 1993 to 2000.

Robert holds an honours degree in Printmaking from Leeds Polytechnic, where he graduated in 1991. He furthered his education at Christie’s, completing the RSA Fine and Decorative Arts Course.

A passionate collector and editions enthusiast, Robert is a regular speaker on the subject of collecting and contemporary editions. Most recently, he has been collaborating with colleagues in Hong Kong to develop Phillips’ Editions auctions in Asia.

Charlotte Stewart  

Charlotte Stewart has spent 16 years in the secondary fine art market, starting her career at Christie’s auction house, before leaving to consult a number of online secondary market online art platforms looking to disrupt the traditional structures preventing access and control for collectors. As the Managing Director of MyArtBroker, a unique art and tech business, she runs a unique trading platform for blue-chip prints as an investment asset, aiming to create control, transparency and access in the most investable of art markets: Prints & Editions. In the last 3 years MyArtBroker has developed technology to launch the first 100% ownership trading floor. We have also leveraged this technology to create a collection management system that tracks value in real time against the most comprehensive data sets in the industry.

Conner Williams  

Conner Williams is Head of Prints & Multiples at Artnet Auctions, based in New York. Since joining Artnet in 2013, Conner has overseen the department as it has tripled its sales, set numerous auction records, and has been a driving force in raising clients’ trust in online art sales. Conner has also spearheaded Artnet's Private Sales platform and expanded working relationships with fine art publishers that have traditionally fallen outside the scope of brick-and-mortar auction houses.

Raised in California, Conner studied Humanities at Pepperdine University and received his M.A. in Art History (Italian Renaissance) at Columbia University. After extensive work in museum education, he joined Sotheby's in 2007 where he worked in the Old Masters Paintings and Post-War & Contemporary departments, and later became a Prints specialist at Christie's. In his role at Artnet, Conner works closely with a wide range of international collections, institutions, and fine art publishers.

David Cleaton-Roberts  

David Cleaton-Roberts is co-director of Cristea Roberts Gallery, a leading international art gallery with a particular focus on original prints and works on paper, representing some of the most important artists and estates of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Prior to joining the gallery, Cleaton-Roberts worked at the British Council in Venice and at Phillips auctioneers. He joined Alan Cristea Gallery in 1998, becoming a director in 2004. The gallery changed its name to the Cristea Roberts Gallery in September 2019, in recognition of the close partnership between Cristea and Cleaton-Roberts. 

He currently oversees the sales team and the gallery's international art fair programme, as well as coordinating artists' print projects and artists' Estates for the gallery. He studied History of Art at the University of East Anglia and holds a Masters degree from Manchester University. He has written and lectured extensively on prints and printmaking and served on the selection committee for the Armory Show, Modern. He was the Vice-President of the IFPDA and sits on their charitable Foundation Board. He currently sits on the board of the charity Paintings in Hospitals.

Thomas Murphy  

Thomas Murphy founded Make-Ready in his garage in 2016, growing the studio to become the world’s largest silkscreen printmaking studio dedicated to fine art.  Now located in North London, Make-Ready is known for combining the creativity and history of the silkscreen craft with innovation to make original prints of outstanding quality. Under his guidance, his team of printmakers take a bespoke approach to every project, working hand-in-hand with artists to provide them with their expertise.  

Thomas has created silkscreen prints for over 100 artists including George Condo, Ai Weiwei, Elizabeth Peyton, Sir Anish Kapoor, Mickalene Thomas, Peter Halley, Grayson Perry and Ed Ruscha. 

Rakeb Sile  

Since founding Addis Fine Art in 2016, Rakeb Sile, CEO, has grown AFA from a small Addis Ababa based start-up to a globally recognised enterprise. Addis Fine Art specialises in modern and contemporary art from the Horn of Africa region and its diasporas. Along with Co-Founder Mesai Haileleul, Rakeb set up the gallery to connect Ethiopian artists to the world and to spotlight underrepresented talent from the area. Described as one of the "Most Important Young Galleries in the World" (Artsy 2019) and the “Ethiopian Gallery Enriching a Global Art Conversation” (New York Times 2019), her gallery has become one of the leading galleries from Africa, facilitating critical engagement with the local and international art markets. Rakeb is the recipient of the Apollo '40 Under 40′ Business Award, as one of the most talented and inspirational young people driving forward the art world today.

Prior to her entrepreneurial endeavour, Rakeb spent a decade in Management Consulting. She began her career at Accenture and has since gone on to consult for various companies across telecommunication, media and public sectors. She continued her work in strategy and operations at Google performing a combination of COO and CSO from 2021 to 2023. She is an experienced business professional with strong strategic, business development, business change and commercial management.
 
Rakeb has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Brunel University where she graduated with first-class honours.
 
Outside of work, Rakeb is a mother of two and enjoys spending time with family, keeping fit, travelling and collecting art.

Naomi Rea  

Naomi Rea is the Acting Editor-in-Chief at Artnet News, where she leads a talented team of 18 individuals and collaborates with international freelancers to deliver breaking news, agenda-setting market analysis, must-read features, and engaging multimedia offerings to global audiences.  

Joining Artnet News in 2017, Naomi initially specialized in art and technology as well as the art market before becoming an editor. Throughout her tenure, she has consistently demonstrated strategic acumen in navigating the evolving landscape of arts journalism. 

Naomi holds dual master's degrees in Arts and Lifestyle Journalism from the London College of Communication, and in English Literature and Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin. Outside of her work at artnet, she has lent her expertise to publications including The Guardian and Los Angeles Magazine, and has become a trusted voice in the field of arts and culture. 

Amelia Hunton   

Amelia Hunton is an Associate Director at WTW (previously Willis), specialising in Fine Art and Specie insurance.  She has 7 years’ experience within the Fine Art Insurance Market with an additional complimentary 5 years of experience and knowledge working within professional services of the art market for companies specialized in sales development. She has a strong track record working with Dealers, Institutional Collections, Packer and Shippers and Fine Art Couriers clients. 

Amelia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History of Art and Master of Letters in History of Art and Art World Practice.  She has a special focus on artists, she lectures on artist insurance and risk management, and regularly participates in industry educational conferences. 

Crispian Riley-Smith  

Crispian Riley-Smith has over three decades of experience in the global art market, and a wealth of extensive contacts with collections and collectors in the public and private sectors. He provides clients with a thorough and independent view of the market. After successfully setting up and running Master Drawings London (2002) now London Art Week, and Master Drawings New York (2006), and Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd (1998) Crispian set up Art Advisory Group Ltd (AAG).

AAG is new concept and business provides a “one-stop-shop” for all art market requirements. AAG adds value by offering clients the best advice for buying and selling art assets, and the long-term management of collections. Crispian works closely with the top specialists, art market professionals and businesses throughout the global art market. Art Advisory Group provides independent advice on buying, selling and valuing all art assets. Equally careful handling of the small as well the big. Specialists across the UK, and internationally, to deal with your enquiries with the ability to work remotely or in person. Crispian is a recognised specialist in the field of Old Master Drawings and brings this knowledge and expertise with him to the new business and managing complex and multi discipline tasks.

Tova Ossad  

Tova Ossad established Ossad Art Management in 2019, recognising a need for quality advice on high-value art transports, effective registrar practices, post-Brexit options and procedures, and advice with appropriate documentation for the art market.  Tova holds a Masters from The Courtauld Institute of Art and, prior to launching OAM, she worked for renowned art galleries, Richard L. Feigen & Co. in New York and Moretti Fine Art Ltd. in London.  She has consulted over fifty galleries, auction houses, art advisors, restorers, framers, and private collectors to ensure that each company’s practice takes full advantage of special procedures – Temporary Admissions, Inward Processing Relief, Bonded Warehousing, etc. – and operates with procedural efficiency. Tova is also a lecturer at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, a member of the Institute of Export, PAIAM, and the Association of Women in the Arts, as well as a Recommended Service Provider for both the British Antique Dealers' Association and the Society of London Art Dealers.

India Phillips  

India Phillips is Managing Director Bonhams UK. She was appointed in January 2022, and is based in New Bond Street in London. In 2023, Bonhams UK established numerous world records including the sale of Tipu Sultan’s sword which achieved £14m. In 2024, New Bond Street saleroom held The Crown Auction which had 10,000 visitors to the preview.

Raised in Edinburgh, India studied History of Art at Cambridge. Joining Bonhams in 2014, India was formerly Global Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, where she oversaw the most successful year in the department's history in 2018. She brings significant experience to her role as Managing Director, Bonhams UK - from the museum sector, and both Christie's and Sotheby's - in presenting private collection sales, sourcing important works of art from an international network of collectors, and working with clients to focus on and build their collections.

Margaret Carrigan  

Margaret Carrigan joined Artnet News as News Editor, based in London, in January and she writes weekly about the art market in The Back Room, Artnet’s subscriber-only industry insider newsletter. Previously, she was the senior editor and deputy art market editor at The Art Newspaper. She has been covering arts and culture for more than a decade and has contributed to publications such as the Observer, Frieze, and Cultured, among others. She holds an MA in Art History, Theory, and Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in English from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

Elizabeth Chilcott  

Elizabeth Chilcott BA (Hons) is the co-founder of Chilcotts Auctioneers & Valuers, established in 2004 with her husband, Duncan; Chilcotts is based in Honiton, Devon. Liz is responsible for the Company's business development, marketing and day-to-day operations, however, time spent helping and interacting with customers forms the favourite part of her day. In 2023 Liz was pleased to join the committee of the Society of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers (SOFAA) and feels that she represents the grassroots of the auction sector. Always keen to de-mystify the auction industry, recently Liz instigated a local school event promoting the career opportunities that the sector offers. 

Stephan Ludwig  

Stephan Ludwig is a co-owner of Gurr Johns and CEO of the group’s auction businesses Dreweatts and Forum Auctions, alongside the Gurr Johns Capital art financing fund. Stephan’s first career during the 1990s was in capital markets, specialising in credit structuring, securitisation and risk management as a divisional MD at first Credit Suisse and then Nomura. In 2001 Stephan chaired as a founder shareholder The Fine Art Auction Group; the startup was conceived as an aggregator of regional salerooms in the UK and through a series of acquisitions the group became Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions. In 2014 Stephan sold TFAAG and established Forum Auctions, the UK’s specialist auction house for Works on Paper, and following 5 years of rapid growth merged Forum into Gurr Johns in 2022.

Stephan’s leadership at Dreweatts & Forum Auctions has coincided with the businesses exceeding £50M in annual sales, a UK “middle market” auction house record. Whilst Dreweatts’ traditional verticals of decorative arts and especially antique furniture continue to require hands-on physical logistics, Stephan’s longstanding pursuit of digital selling and fulfilment solutions facilitate Forum realising £15M a year from offering over 250,000 books and prints with a weekly auction cycle at the firm’s small premises in Battersea.

Jasmin Pelham  

Jasmin Pelham, Founder and CEO, Pelham Communications 

With over 25 years of experience in cultural communications, Jasmin sets the strategic direction of Pelham and leads its senior team. She has comprehensive oversight over the agency’s full range of clients, departments and international offices.  With Lisson Gallery as her first client, she founded Pelham in 2004, building on her experience of the consumer sector to focus on art. Today, she provides consultancy on high-level communication matters such as brand strategy, crisis communications, reputation management, thought leadership and key opinion leader engagement.  Jasmin has consulted for public institutions such as Whitechapel Gallery, Ikon and the Royal Academy of Arts, as well as private organisations including Samdani Art Foundation in Bangladesh, K11 in China and MACAAL in Morocco. She is closely involved in launching Wadi AlFann, a new global cultural destination in AlUla, as well as the new contemporary art museum there. She also works with Public Art Abu Dhabi, a cultural infrastructure and placemaking initiative from DCT. Jasmin has advised governments on cultural strategy, worked with Royal families and serves on the boards of Somerset House, International Catalogue Raisonne Association and Migrate Art. 

Rebecca Anne Proctor  

Rebecca Anne Proctor is an independent journalist, editor, author and broadcaster based in Dubai and Rome from where she covers the Middle East and Africa. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar Art and Harper’s Bazaar Interiors. Her writing has been published in Artnet News, Frieze, The New York Times Style Magazine; Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East, BBC Worldwide, Galerie, South China Morning Post, Vogue Arabia, Wallpaper, The National, Architectural Digest, Monocle, Arab News, Al-Monitor, The Defense Post, The Forward, The Jewish Insider and The Business of Fashion. She is the author of Art in Saudi Arabia: A New Creativity Economy? written with Alia Al-Senussi and published by Lund Humphries in November 2023.

Rebecca obtained her M. Litt from Christie’s London/University of Glasgow in Modern and Contemporary Art History after completing a thesis on Afro-Cuban Religious Influences on Post-Revolutionary Cuban Art: Redefining National Identity. She then worked at Gagosian Gallery before moving to Paris to pursue a double Master’s Degree in Middle Eastern Studies and Conflict Resolution from the American University of Paris, and a Master’s in Sociologie des Conflits (Sociology of Conflicts) from the L’Institut Catholique.

Stephen Stapleton is a British-Norwegian artist, author, and Founding Director of EOA and CULTURUNNERS.

Since founding ‘Edge of Arabia’, following an artists’ journey across the Middle East in the early 2000s, Stephen became widely recognised for his role in raising the status of contemporary artists from Saudi Arabia and the Arab World at home and abroad. Today, Stephen leads EOA as a purpose-driven company that continues to impact the lives of millions of people through its campaigns, exhibitions and events worldwide.
 
In 2015, Stephen established CULTURUNNERS at MIT as EOA’s not-for-profit arm, dedicated exclusively to social impact projects. Closely aligned with the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, CULTURUNNERS aims to effect systemic societal change through the arts. In 2023, CULTURUNNERS joined forces with the World Health Organization, New York University, and Community Jameel to establish the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, a first-of-its-kind initiative to measurably improve health and wellbeing through the arts. The Lab’s Healing Arts campaign is now the leading platform for arts and health advocacy worldwide.