Recent mass layoffs in the art industry have left some feeling out on a limb, and a general feeling of instability has dented the job confidence of many. Whereas the corporate world generally presents a career ladder to climb, those in the art world often have to forge their own path with little guidance or feedback.
Into this breach steps Art Market Mentors, the voluntary mentorship programme started by former Christie’s colleagues Cat Manson and Caroline Sayan in 2020. It received over 600 mentee applications in the first year and has matched over 300 individuals since then. The programme, which pairs people from across the industry on a one-to-one basis, is launching its 2025 programme now, and prospective mentees and mentors have until 31 January to apply. New-York based Cathy Elkies, also formerly of Christie’s and now a non-executive director of the recruiter SML, will also assist Manson and Sayan with this year’s programme.
Whether you have been made redundant or could just do with some career advice from someone further up—or lower down—the ladder, this is an invaluable programme in what can feel a lonely industry.
“During a complex year, the art world remains a challenging place to navigate. With job losses, market shifts and a changeable environment, career support can be hard to find”, say Manson and Sayan in a statement. “We are pleased to open our programme once again to provide supportive professional development; better, realistic entry-level information, while aiming to widen general access. Attracting and retaining talent is vital to invigorate the art world and keep it relevant.”
Mentors in previous years have included some of the best-known names in the business, such as Oliver Barker and Lisa Dennison (Sotheby’s), Dirk Boll (Christie’s), Amy Cappellazzo (Art Intelligence Global), Jean-Paul Engelen and Martin Wilson (Phillips), Koji Inoue (Hauser & Wirth), Pilar Ordovas (Ordovas gallery), Victoria Siddall (director of the National Portrait Gallery, formerly Frieze), and The Art Newspaper’s Georgina Adam and Melanie Gerlis.
The programme is open to those who are over three years into a career and, specifically, are going through a shift—perhaps they have been made redundant, or are wanting to switch or progress their role. Other facets of the programme will also be available to students and post-graduates, and those looking to make a career change.
A change in demand
Speaking to The Art Newspaper, Manson says she is seeing a new kind of demand for mentors—people in their 50s and 60s, some of whom might themselves have been mentors in earlier iterations of AMM, who are now asking to learn from those in their 20s and 30s.
The reasons are twofold, Manson thinks: first, to learn new digital skills, but also to gain insight on how to manage a younger generation, some of whom have come of age during the Covid-induced era of remote working and have different expectations of the workplace.
“There is no obligation for the mentor to make introductions,” Manson stresses. “The onus is on the mentee to come to meetings well prepared with questions and a clear idea of what they wish to achieve from it.”
Manson’s former colleague Jussi Pylkkänen, who left his role as Christie’s global president and auctioneer in 2023 and now runs his own advisory business, is a proponent of the scheme. “I was always very keen on the mentoring scheme at Christie’s—I had two mentees at any one time for a year,” he tells TAN.
“I believe everyone should change job or career every eight to ten years but there’s very little guidance on how to do that. That’s where mentoring can help, and I love it. It’s good for the soul and it works both ways—I learn as much as my mentees.” He adds: “I think if you’ve been successful in an industry you should give back in some way—if you’ve got 20, 30, 40 years in an industry, you can help younger people choose a career path that might be more successful.”
An exciting but scary prospect
One of Pylkkänen’s previous mentees through the AMM programme is Neil Graham, who left his job as a project manager at British Airways after 13 years in 2020. He is now a sale co-ordinator at the auction house Lyon & Turnbull in London. “A career change is an exciting but also scary prospect and whilst I was fulfilling a lifelong ambition in trying to enter the art world, I was also stepping out of my comfort zone,” he tells TAN.
“Art Market Mentors very much came to my rescue, placing me with a mentor who with extensive experience of the auction world which was also where my career aspirations lay,” Graham says. He describes Pylkkänen as generous with his time, responding to “late night panic emails”, explaining how the art industry worked and where the greatest potential for employment lay.
“Looking back, I was steered away from many bad decisions and dead ends and instead my thought process was gently challenged and pointed in direction of opportunity and eventually employment,” Graham says, adding that Pylkkänen continued to offer guidance through art history degrees, work experience and internships before Graham joined Lyon & Turnbull.
“Having worked in many industries I have not encountered anything like this scheme before and genuinely believe it could benefit anybody with goals and aspirations within the art world,” Graham says.
Pylkkänen is looking for someone to mentor this year too—“maybe two or three people”—so if you would like the chance to learn from him or one of the many other mentors, email a CV and short summary of goals to artmarketmentors@gmail.com, putting MENTEE in the subject line.
If you would like to volunteer as a mentor, and can spare three hours over three months, email the same address with a summary of your career and a link to your Linkedin.
Mentor/mentee partnerships and group mentoring sessions will be announced by the end of February.
