Wishing to see the programs set up by Drouot Formation grow, Drouot Patrimoine chose to be attached to IESA arts&culture for its art market programs.
This takeover is an opportunity to develop, in France and internationally, professional programs based on the skills of French professionals in the fields of art appraisal and trade.
Interview with Frédéric Ballon, director of Drouot Formation for eight years.
A former director of Christie’s Education Paris, he was tasked by the Drouot group in 2011 with creating a true art market training school. The "Art Market Specialist Consultant" program that was set up, which adapts each year to market fluctuations, has three complementary components:
- art history applied to the art market
- introduction to appraisal techniques, or the "maieutics of the object"
- in-depth knowledge of how the market works
Drouot Formation’s teaching is based on the practical study of artworks and in this respect resembles the very Anglo-Saxon notion of "connoisseurship." The faculty is made up exclusively of professionals who are asked to give students an objective account of the reality of the market.
The number of students is limited (45 enrolled this year) in order to prioritize the quality of teaching, and they are selected on the basis of a good knowledge of art history and prior professional experience whose skills are transferable to the art market. As a result, each class includes a significant number of students from banking, finance, communication, law, or IT, our approach being essentially entrepreneurial and focused on studying the emerging business models of the art market.
Besides the extremely concrete and practical nature of the teaching, with the proximity of the Hôtel Drouot serving as an irreplaceable teaching tool, students undergo various types of knowledge assessment throughout the year, specifically designed to gradually develop the skills essential for success in this field.
Drouot Formation, whose reputation continues to grow among professionals, today has a very strong identity linked to its connection with the Hôtel Drouot but also to the type of teaching offered there. We are now ready to export our know-how.