Sometimes, even in the art-world, a little hard-nosed reality is a good thing. Collectors and others who are interested in art and live in a major nexus of activity such as London or New York probably know someone who is willing to offer their opinions over dinner, but those who don't have access to casual or friendly advice now have a way to gain insiders' insights over the phone.
APT Intelligence offers to connect collectors and investors with curators, critics and other international art experts who will provide practical advice for fees starting at $350 for a 30-minute consultation, payable via PayPal. Interested parties seeking advice about contemporary art in the West, as well as emerging art markets in Latin America, India, China and the Middle East, can access the program and locate a consultant who is best suited to address their inquiry.
The consultants are listed by expertise in specific areas of genre, region, price and medium, but the most important attribute they share is a solid range of genuinely impressive credentials.
You might end up getting advice from Defne Ayas, the associate curator of New York's experimental non-profit Performa space, an adjunct professor in new media at New York University in Shanghai, and the former Education and New Media Programs Coordinator at New York's New Museum of Contemporary art. Or you could connect with Berlin Biennial co-curator Elena Filipovic, former Manhattan curatorial powerhouse David Hunt, Singapore ICA director Eugene Tan or Rachel Cook, a young artist and curator with specific knowledge of California and Texas.
Some scepticism has been voiced about the viability of the Artists Pension Trust, the four-year-old "investment program" out of which APT Intelligence has emerged. The reality is that it is too young to be properly evaluated. Already more than two hundred and fifty artists in eight cities have contributed works in the hope that, even if some of them ultimately fail to gain acceptance and prosper, the work of the rest will appreciate enough to give all of them some security for their future. And if they have questions or concerns about the value of their colleagues' contributions, they can always make a call to APT Intelligence.
