Talking Galleries Conference Launches Second New York Edition

There is plenty to talk about in the art world this spring. The Whitney Biennial just opened, next week brings Art Basel Hong Kong, and in mid-April comes the Venice Biennale. In between the latter two events comes an opportunity to hash out what it all means, when Barcelona-based nonprofit think tank Talking Galleries launches its second New York edition.

The conference, which features 12 sessions on April 8 and 9 at the Spiral’s ZO Clubhouse, is once again organized in collaboration with New York–based advisory firm Schwartzman & Co; registration can be found here.

Talking Galleries held its first New York edition in 2022 at the Morgan Library. Former Frieze New York director Loring Randolph, who heads up Talking Galleries’s New York edition, said there’s been so many shifts in the art world in the interim that it’s time to return to the conference table.

“The art world has swiftly progressed and developed new areas of focus that demand the robust discourse that only this level of professional convening can achieve,” she said.

Speakers this year include Museum of Modern Art director Glenn Lowry, Pinault Collection curator Caroline Bourgeois, Guggenheim Museum associate curator Noam Segal, Forge Project director Candice Hopkins, SculptureCenter curator Jovanna Venegas, Para Site director Billy Tang and critic Jerry Saltz. Also taking part are collectors Pete Scantland and J. Tomilson Hill and artists Stephanie Dinkins, Alvaro Barrington, and Jamian Juliano-Villani, as well as dealers Sadie Coles (Sadie Coles HQ), Monica Manzutto (kurimanzutto), and Jasmine Tsou (Lisson Gallery).

Panels will address a wide range of topics, including how both galleries and public institutions are faring in a change world, the shift of power to artists, AI, sustainability, and the forces defining the art market today.

The full program follows below.

DAY 1 – Monday, April 8, 2024

9:00–9:30a.m.
Welcome and Opening Statement
LLUCIÀ HOMS, Founder and Director, Talking Galleries
ALLAN SCHWARTZMAN, Founder and Principal, Schwartzman&

Introduction to Program Day 1
LORING RANDOLPH, Programming Director, Talking Galleries New York

9:30– 11:00 a.m.
Opening: “Contemporary Art and the Media”
DANIELLE JACKSON, critic and researcher
SIDDHARTHA MITTER, Art critic, The New York Times
JERRY SALTZ, Senior Art Critic, New York magazine
MARY LOUISE SCHUMACHER, journalist, filmmaker and Executive Director of the Rabkin Foundation
SEAN TATOL, Founder, The Manhattan Art Review
Moderator: MATTHEW McLEAN, Creative Director, Frieze Studios

11:05–11:30 a.m.
Foundations and a Free Press
CONOR O’NEIL, Chairman, Chauncey and Marion Deering McCormick Foundation

11:35 a.m.–12:50 p.m.
Be True to Your School: Galleries in a Changing World
SADIE COLES, Founder, Sadie Coles HQ
MÓNICA MANZUTTO, Co-Founder, kurimanzutto
JASMIN TSOU, Director, Lisson Gallery, New York
Moderator: ANDREW RUSSETH, journalist and art critic

1:10–2:25 p.m.
Artificial Intelligence: A Conversation
BINA48, Android, Lifenaut Project
STEPHANIE DINKINS, artist
BRUCE DUNCAN, Director, Terasem Movement Foundation
Moderator: NOAM SEGAL, LG Electronics Associate Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

3:35–4:50 p.m.
Organizations As Models for Our Future
ANDRIA HICKEY, Head of Programs, Shorefast and Fogo Island Arts
CANDICE HOPKINS, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Forge Project
BILLY TANG, Executive Director and Curator, Para Site
Moderator: PETER J. RUSSO, Director, Walk Together PJR

4:55–6:10 p.m.
What is Defining the Art Market of 2024? A Discussion With Key Players
J. TOMILSON HILL, President, Hill Art Foundation
BROOKE LAMPLEY, Global Chairman and Head of Global Fine Art, Sotheby’s
ALLAN SCHWARTZMAN, Founder and Principal, Schwartzman&
GARDY ST. FLEUR, art advisor and collector
Moderator: JAMES TARMY, Writer, Bloomberg News

DAY 2 – Tuesday, April 9, 2024

9:00–9:10 a.m.
Introduction to Program Day 2
LORING RANDOLPH, Programming Director, Talking Galleries New York

9:15–9:40 a.m.
Sustainability in Art Logistics
VINCE SZWAJKOWSKI, Chief Growth Officer, Cadogan Tate

9:45–11:15 a.m.
The Future of Public Art Institutions: Ensuring Financial Survival
DEANA HAGGAG, Program Officer, Mellon Foundation
GLENN D. LOWRY, The David Rockefeller Director, The Museum of Modern Art
PETE SCANTLAND, President and CEO, Orange Barrel Media
Moderator: JULIA HALPERIN, journalist

11:20 a.m.–12:10 p.m.
We’ll Always Have Paris
CAROLINE BOURGEOIS, Curator, Pinault Collection
In conversation with CHARLOTTE BURNS, Founder, Studio Burns

12:50–2:00 p.m.
Mexico City: Dialogues Across Fashion, Art and Design
VICTOR BARRAGÁN, fashion designer
CARLA FERNÁNDEZ, Creative Director and Founder, Carla Fernández. Casa de Moda
KARLA KAPLUN, artist
Moderator: JOVANNA VENEGAS, Curator, SculptureCenter

2:05–3:15 p.m.
Power Shift to Artists
ALVARO BARRINGTON, artist
KATHY HALBREICH, curator and philanthropy advisor
JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLANI, artist
Moderator: SARAH DOUGLAS, Editor-in-Chief, ARTnews