Posts by Paul Becker

An Art Innovators Alliance launch & panel discussion, New York, 19 March 2019, at Postmasters Gallery.

Panelists:
Tony Aiazzi, CEO & Co-founder, Chouxbox
Daniel Doubrovkine, CTO, Artsy
Annika Erikson, Founder & CEO, ArtiCheck
Alex Mitow, Director of Superfine! Art Fair, former restaurateur
Nathan Richardson, Co-founder Trade-it, former CEO Gilt City
Moderator: Elisa Mala

On a still winter's night at Postmasters Gallery in Tribeca NYC, a new industry voice, Art Innovators Alliance, was launched with a panel discussion around tech and innovation for the arts.

An audience of 100 people heard a panel discussion titled The Road Yet Travelled: What art businesses can learn from other industries.

Speakers included Artsy CTO Daniel Doubrovkine, Superfine! Art Fair co-founder & Director Alex Mitow and Annika Erikson, founder & CEO of Articheck as well as panelists from the fashion & food industries.

The panel explored ways technology had changed those industries, for better or worse, and then drew parallels with the art industry before exploring the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Topics covered included

• the impact of mobile on the fashion industry: 'game-changer'
• the unexpected importance of the 'tactile' nature of images being presented (ie people want to know exactly what they are going to get)
• the importance of empowering non business types (eg chefs)
• The Seamless/Uber eats experience in the food world - how B2C (client driven demand) drove the change in B2B sales (restaurants had to be part of it)
• It's never been easier to harness tech to new business models (API's can solve anything!)
• The challenges of getting people to change when they've been doing something the same way for years (change habits, not just try something once)
• 'Data is the key' - create personalised, unique experiences utilising data (in everything from email to product)
• Lessons learned included 'concentrating on what people want rather than what we thought they needed; be rational and data driven; don't let your ego get in the way
• Be where the people are: thoughts on Instagram, Google etc
• The merits of using existing tech rather than building custom solutions that don't integrate or use industry standards
• Competitors or collaborators? What's best for the art industry?
• Transparency (or the lack thereof) in the art world and who does that actually benefit?
• Some best practice examples of art businesses using tech
• What are the challenges of bringing art into the tech world?
• Is tech v art so different? Although the art world is resistant to tech, both are creative endeavours

Listen to the full podcast here.

Introductions (6 mins)
Session One: Innovation in Food & Fashion (29 mins)
Session Two: Innovation in the Arts (36 mins)

Photo left to right: Alisa Mala; Alex Mitow, Superfine!; Annika Erikson, Articheck; Daniel Doubrovkine, Artsy. Works by artist Joe Amrhein. Courtesy Postmasters Gallery. Photo Erik Erikson