Arcual Life: Meet Our Head of Business Development, Julia!

Tell us about your professional background?

My professional background in Art X Technology began in 2010 with Artsy. I was fresh out of graduate school from the New York Academy of Art and had my first interview at the City Bakery in New York with the former co-founder. At that time Artsy had about four employees, a landing page, and operated out of a shared loft space. Unbeknown to me I would continue on at Artsy for 11 ½ years and the company would grow to be a leading platform for art discovery and marketplace.

I think I briefly filled just about every position at Artsy aside from engineering over those 11 ½ years including working on their genome project, a gallery liaison, collector liaison, facilitating artwork sales, subscription revenues, traveling to international art fairs, auctions, on-site curatorial activations and more. By sticking with the company for over a decade I was able to gain experience and insight into just about every client-facing role in the newly forming Art x Technology Industry which has changed significantly since then, as well as develop valuable relationships and lasting friendships all over the globe.

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What was a career highlight?

My career highlight is a nostalgic and personal one, which is to remember my first year at Artsy and how special it was to walk into galleries in New York, pitching a new technology platform, galleries handing over CDs (!) of their inventory and them taking a leap of faith with us. So much of the Art World is about forming relationships with clients in person, showing up to their events, inviting them to our offices for weekly happy hours, and building trust by simply sharing close experiences and connecting in our love for art. These special moments of connection, and sharing a passion for art, and finding common ground are truly the highlights of my career.

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What drew you to Arcual?

What drew me to Arcual is our positioning of the artist at the center of the Art Ecosystem. Taking a look at what’s happening currently with SAG-AFTRA strikes, as well as other creative industries which have implemented artist royalties you can see that there is really an opportunity here for growth and recognition in the Fine Art Industry. Contracts need to be updated to align with technological shifts which have taken place. It’s a very important moment in the Art Industry and the ways in which artists are compensated need to be updated to reflect the current world.There is room for enormous innovation in rightfully granting artists a bigger share in the art market, which in turn could sustain their careers over a lifetime and promote a more just and decentralized economy.

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What does a typical day look like for you and your team?

A typical day for our Business Development team is full of many meetings! I would say the day is often split between client-facing meetings and internal team meetings. Client meetings with galleries could  include their onboarding, answering questions about our product and how it can be relevant for their business, technical troubleshooting, and discussing how we can support them in educating their audience on the value Arcual can bring to them. In regards to internal meetings, one of the joys of the Business Development team is being able to truly collaborate with every department in Arcual. We are in close contact with product managers, engineers and designers to make sure we are optimizing our product and user experience for our clients. We are also in very close contact with our marketing team to assure that our messaging is clear and consistent and that we are producing the best possible content to help get the word out about Arcual to all possible stakeholders in the Art Ecosystem.

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What is your favourite thing about culture at Arcual?

My favorite thing about culture at Arcual is the diversity across our team. Having three hubs in Zurich, London and Berlin I’ve never before worked so closely with such a diverse group of people from different backgrounds and cultures. We have a wonderful mix of colleagues with an art background, tech background and specifically blockchain background and I feel as though I have something to learn from everyone. Thanks to our wonderful People and Culture team, everyone at the company is truly a delight to work with and shares a similar goal and mission for innovation and change in the Art x Tech Industry.

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What would you be if you weren’t Head of Business Development?

If I weren’t Head of Business Development, I would likely rewind twenty years and have followed my father’s footsteps to become a General Practitioner. Being close to people, recognising commonalities of our life experiences, and seeking innovations in science and technology to enhance our quality of life has always been inspirational to me.

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Where do you see Arcual in two year’s time? 

I see Arcual growing its community exponentially in two years time and becoming a recognized leader in its mission to put artists at the center of the Art Ecosystem by encouraging their participation in their own careers as well as overall transparency.

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