Face to face with Julia Wehkamp, co-founder of One Art Nation: seminars, symposia, lectures

by leslierankowfinearts

One Art Nation
Co-founders Julia Wehkamp and Amanda Dunn

AS COMPETITIVE AND GLOBALIZED AS THE ART MARKET ITSELF, THE DEMAND FOR INTERESTING, INFORMATIVE EDUCATIONAL LECTURES ON ART AND ART MANAGEMENT AND SEMINARS FEATURING KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, LUMINARIES IN THE WORLD OF ART, HAS GROWN IN RESPONSE TO THE EVER INCREASING NUMBER OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD WHO VISIT ART FAIRS, MUSEUMS, AND GALLERIES AS WELL AS  THOSE WHO ACTUALLY PURCHASE WORKS.

ONE ART NATION OFFERS OFFLINE SYMPOSIA TO BRING TOGETHER LEADING ADVISORS, DEALERS, CRITICS AND ARTISTS TO SPEAK, IN NEW YORK, TORONTO, SOUTHAMPTON, AND OTHER VENUES, AND INITIATES PANEL DISCUSSIONS WITH  EXPERTS FROM THE CREATIVE FIELDS AS WELL AS FROM THE BUSINESS SIDE OF THE ART WORLD.

Guerrilla Girls

JULIA, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SYMPOSIUM IN TERMS OF ITS TOPICS AND ITS SPEAKERS?

Yes, we have had the pleasure of working with various art fairs, heading up their educational programing. All our talks have been recorded and produced as online content, for those who were not able to make it on site to the fairs. These can be found here. The One Art Nation Symposia have allowed us to work with some incredible experts and opinion leaders. Some highlights include a talk at CONTEXT / Art New York, where we featured a panel, led by pre-eminent art lawyer Barbara Hoffman with an original member of The Guerrilla Girls, Rosalba Carriera, legendary photographer Jeannette Montgomery Barron, and artist and filmmaker Jack Waters, as they discussed New York’s electrifying cultural scene, the artists that left their mark, and the vibrant scene today, which is the legacy: When Creativity Ruled the Streets. The same Symposium presented When Art Meets Rock n’ Roll, a discussion between celebrated photographer Bob Gruen ​and rock and roll icon Jason Newsted of Metallica, who was making his artistic debut. 

Barbara Hoffman
Hoffman Law Firm

THE SITE ALSO ACTS AS A GUIDE TO UPCOMING ART FAIRS, MUSEUM SHOWS AND GALLERY EXHIBITIONS. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FAIRS AND EXHIBITIONS YOU PUBLICIZE AND HOW HAS THIS SELECTION – AN ENORMOUS UNDERTAKING – BEEN MADE?

Yes, we feature talked-about events in an easy to navigate calendar  with specific search functionality, ensuring art lovers never miss an important art fair, exhibition or event. We invite our Network Members to submit events, which are then vetted for relevance. Those that our selection committee deems to be significant for our overall global membership are published live within 24 hours. We also feature events that 1AN is involved with or attending, supporting the community as a whole. Every month, we select four of those events to feature in our eNewsletter.

Demystifying the Art World panel

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH TOPICS ARE THE MOST RELEVANT AND WHAT TO HIGHLIGHT TO YOUR READERSHIP FROM THE VAST POOL OF INFORMATION CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO US IN EVERY FORM?

We curate our content very carefully to the needs of our membership. We do so, by sending out monthly polls to gather information on what type of education they are seeking, what is currently missing, where their interests lie, what their art market goals are, etc. By analyzing the results, as well as more targeted surveys, general market research and face-to-face conversations about the learning needs of our audiences, we design an ever-evolving selection of content, which we then match up with opinion leaders in those given fields to deliver education based on their experiences and expertise.

Evan Beard
U.S. Trust
National Art Services

YOUR NETWORK INCLUDES TOP PROFESSIONALS GLEANED FROM A VERY WIDE RANGE OF EXPERTISE: LEGAL, COLLECTION MANAGEMENT, INSURANCE, APPRAISALS, WEALTH AND FINANCE. WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MOST RESPECTED CONTRIBUTORS AND HOW DOES THE SELECTION PROCESS WORK?

As mentioned above, we start by determining what our audience wants and needs to learn about. From there, we research the most knowledgeable sources to deliver that education. These sources are targeted, regardless of their geographic location, and invited to contribute to our growing program of courses under various models of collaboration. We are very selective of whom we invite to contribute, but some of our most popular videos are led by Annelien Bruins, whom Spears Wealth Management named Best Art Advisor multiple years in a row; Evan Beard, the Global Art Services Executive with U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management; and Gracie Mansion, legendary New York art dealer. 

Gracie Mansion
Art dealer

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG POST, CO-FOUNDER JULIA WEHKAMP WILL INFORM US OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP PROFILE AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS EXCEPTIONAL ART EDUCATION SITE.  PLEASE JOIN US!