By Mikhail Korneev
Have you ever seen a 100-year-old art piece in the news, sold for a 9-digit figure, and wondered just how this works? Well, behind every such sale, there is a bustling community of small galleries, themed exhibitions, auctions and drink receptions. The best part is – for LSE students, there is a way to get involved.
To help you learn more about the LSE student community, for this print edition, I spoke with Uriel and Maria Constanza – members of the LSE Art and Business society committee – about what their society does and how one can participate.
As Uriel, the LSE Art and Business society treasurer, puts it, in the UK, the art world is a professional community with highly restricted access. The role of the LSE Art and Business society is therefore to provide LSE students with an opportunity to get a taste of the London art scene and experience semi-public openings and exhibitions.
This academic year will be the third year for the LSE Art and Business society. Maria Constanza, the society’s secretary, says that a lot of people in the society’s committee are not only passionate art enthusiasts but also have personal and professional ties with the art world. This allows the society to access a wide range of unique art events and invite speakers with real experience in the industry.
The philosophy of the society is that the art world is as much about doing business, as about aesthetics and ideas. In the words of Uriel, artists are part of the art industry. This is why the society welcomes people from all backgrounds and interests. In the world of art, there is a place for lawyers, painters and businesspeople alike!
Exhibition openings and gallery visits are the society’s signature events. However, the range of activities that the society provides is intentionally wide. What caught my attention in particular is a student-led magazine on art business that the society publishes. The last year’s edition on NFT art is incredibly well-designed and contains some insightful contributions from LSE students that can explain NFT in an accessible way, helping break it down for those who are new to the topic.
This year the society’s committee are looking forward to running events on a weekly basis and have so far maintained this pace. Maria Constanza shares the society’s future plans to expand its activities and potentially run workshops for those interested in getting involved with the art industry.
So, I would highly recommend keeping an eye on their social pages. They are mostly active on Instagram but also have a WhatsApp chat and a LinkedIn page.
In my view, what makes the LSE Art Business Society unique is that they focus on a highly contentious topic – money and art – and take it with all the seriousness it deserves. London might not quite be a student town, but it has a lot to offer if one knows where to search. The LSE Art and Business Society is a part of the LSE student community that assists you with exactly that.
