MBA in Contemporary Art: Sales, Display, and Collecting

What You Will Learn

The Administrator of Artistic and Cultural Projects title aims at the acquisition of the following skills:

• Defining an Artistic and Cultural Project
• Manage the administrative and financial operations of an artistic and cultural project
• Deploying a Marketing and Distribution Strategy for an Artistic and Cultural Project
• Manage an artistic and cultural project
• Appraise and package artworks and art objects (Specialization A)

MBA in Contemporary Art: Sales, Display and Collecting Curriculum

1st semester

• Modern art history and visits
• Finance
• Intellectual property law
• Contemporary art law
• Preservation of digital art and the metaverse
• Marketing and communication
• Fundraising, entrepreneurship
• Art criticism
• Artistic expertise/value creation
• Economics and structures of the art market
• Emerging art markets
• History of the Art Market
• Research methodology for a consulting project
• Methodology for an exhibition project
• Audiences and Mediation
• Visits to art fairs and professional meetings
• Study trip (previous trips: Berlin, Zurich, Brussels, and the Lyon Biennale)

2nd semester

• Contemporary art and visits
• Digital art law
• Art market data analysis
• Economics and structures of the art market
• Commentary on artworks
• Art criticism and contemporary discourse
• Exhibition setup
• Methodology of an exhibition project
• Logistics of an exhibition project
• Research methodology for a consulting project
• Methodology for an exhibition project
• Collecting contemporary art
• Sociology of the arts and culture
• Digitization of the art market and the metaverse
• Professional meetings
• Study trip (previous trips: ARCO Art Fair, Brussels, and the Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles)

Assessment method

Assessment linked to the professional certification of RNCP title 42330:
The level 7 certified title “Administrator of Artistic and Cultural Projects” is awarded after validation of the 5 skills blocks. Each block involves simulated or real professional scenarios, with structured deliverables assessed by a jury of professionals.

Defining an artistic and cultural project

• Professional simulation based on a real or fictional case on defining an artistic and/or cultural project.
• Case study based on a real or fictional case of designing a cultural and artistic mediation proposal, including documentation on defining an artistic and cultural project.

Conducting the administrative and financial operations of an artistic and cultural project

• Practical case based on a real or fictional case on conducting the administrative and financial operations of an artistic and cultural project.
• Professional simulation based on a real or fictional professional situation of implementing a partnership.

Deploying a sales and distribution strategy for an artistic and cultural project

• Professional simulation based on a real or fictional case of deploying a digital sales and distribution strategy for an artistic and/or cultural project.
• Practical case based on a real or fictional project to carry out in the art market and/or cultural industries sector.

Leading an artistic and cultural project

• Professional simulations based on a real or fictional case on coordinating a project’s stakeholders and on a real or fictional case of implementing a quality system after project closure.
• Practical case based on a real or fictional case presenting project management process optimization challenges.

Appraising and packaging artworks and art objects (specialization A)

• Professional simulation.
• Ongoing projects based on a real or fictional case on the appraisal of an artwork and within the real or fictional framework of organizing an exhibition or a sale.
• Real or fictional practical case completed during the program, including a corpus of artworks.

Project-based learning

Throughout their program, students are encouraged to engage in various professional projects, such as an exhibition project, auctions, and artist residencies. They thus have the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired during their studies and develop project management skills, which they will use in their final group project, launched at the end of the year. Students are trained by a group coach and producer who guides them throughout the process. A professional mentor provides advice to students and gives them access to a diverse professional network.

The MBA Contemporary Art: Sales, Display and Collecting trains students through a teaching approach combining solid theoretical foundations, fieldwork immersion, and learning by doing. This teaching format fosters the development of a critical view of the contemporary art landscape, while giving students concrete skills directly transferable to their future careers.

The courses allow an in-depth exploration of current aesthetics, the dynamics of the art world, and the major issues running through it: globalization of exchanges, evolution of curatorial practices, transformation of artists’ careers, and the societal commitment of cultural institutions. This content is delivered by professionals and instructors who combine rigorous analysis with field experience.

Professional outreach takes the form of a range of concrete activities: meetings with artists, curators, gallery owners, or critics, visits to exhibition venues, participation in fairs or biennials… In France and internationally, these experiences let students expand their network, better understand the variety of careers in the sector, and test their ideas against the reality of the field.

By acquiring a project methodology through these experiences, students, supervised by a professional, will be able to carry out their own end-of-cycle project, which they will present to the certification jury. They will thus be able to show not only that they have acquired all the skills required for certification, but also that they were able to put them to work on a project that matters to them.

Prerequisites:

• For entry into the 1st year (M1): hold a level 6 certification (Bac+3) or an equivalent degree (foreign degree, etc.), or have earned 180 ECTS credits in the targeted or a related field (art history, culture, etc.).
• For entry into the 2nd year (M2): hold a level 6 certification (Bac+3) or an equivalent degree (foreign degree, etc.), or have earned 240 ECTS credits in the targeted or a related field (art history, culture, etc.).

Admission is based on the submission of an application file and an interview with the admissions committee.

Access timeframes: Admissions are open from October 2026 to August 2027 for the September 2027 intake and from February 2026 to December 2026 for the January 2027 intake.
Applications are processed within 3 weeks maximum after receipt of the complete file. Enrollment is possible until the start date, subject to available places.
By exception, enrollment is possible after the program start date, following review and verification of the learner’s ability to catch up on the learning already delivered, within a maximum of 1 month after the start of the program.

More information: international@iesa.fr

The program takes place at IESA on the LE DELTA campus (16 rue Claude Bernard, 75005 Paris) and at partner cultural venues.

IESA premises are accessible to people with disabilities. The admission interview and the course of study can be adapted to the needs of those concerned, who are therefore invited to express them as soon as they apply to the school. Contact: handicap@iesa.fr

If you do not obtain the RNCP title, please note that if you have validated all the skills of a block, that skill block is yours permanently.

Equivalences: In the case of an equivalence, whether through VAE and/or the award of a skill block or an equivalent certification, it is up to the applicant to present this equivalence to the jury for validation.

Bridging paths: No bridging path for this program.

Further studies: This program is designed for professional entry.