SIXTINE CRUTCHFIELD – remembered amongst Russian culture-vultures as the flamboyant Manager of the glittering Moscow World Art Fair held at the Manezh from 2005 to 2008 – has devised a revolutionary art market study-course starting September 2021.
The new Fine Art International Management MBA, under the auspices of the Geneva Business School, will involve three 16-week semesters instructing students about Art Market Commerce, Logistics, Museology, Art Law, Entrepreneurship, Digital Marketing and Art History – with exclusive visits to museums, fairs, biennales and artists’ studios. All tuition will be in English.
Sixtine Crutchfield
‘Such a programme does not exist in Geneva – or anywhere else!’ claims Crutchfield – who worked for legendary dealer Jan Krugier before bossing Yves Bouvier’s Art Culture Studio, the firm that ran the Moscow World Fine Art Fair. ‘I am extremely proud of this course because it encapsulates 35 years of my professional experience. All tutors will be major actors and innovators on the international art scene, whom I know personally.’
Crutchfield vows to ‘develop the next generation of managers in the Fine Art sector,’ adding: ‘There has never been a more exciting time to get into the artworld. The pace of change over the past year has been electric. The added complexities, brought by new digital formats, have highlighted the need for people with real business management expertise.’
Francis Kahn, founder of the Geneva Business School in 1995, sees the stylish Swiss city as ‘the birthplace of art law, and home to the oldest freeport in the world.’ He declares that the new MBA programme ‘has been designed to meet the changing demands of the art world that have been brought on by rapid digitalization.’
Crutchfield is hoping her innovative course will attract ‘all those interested in pursuing a career involving this incredible market – bankers, lawyers, collectors and arts industry workers of all nationalities. Including Russian!’
As Yves Bouvier’s russophile apasionara, Crutchfield left an indelible mark on the Moscow art scene. Now she’s hoping to engineer the same impact on art-market decision-makers around the world.
