The Future of Art Fairs

Melanie Gerlis

Melanie Gerlis became the weekly art market columnist for the Financial Times in 2016 and was previously Art Market Editor for The Art Newspaper, reporting on auctions, art fairs and market news globally since 2007.

Before entering the art world, she worked for ten years at Finsbury, a communications and investor relations firm in London. Melanie’s book, ‘Art as an Investment?’, was published 2014 and her forthcoming book ‘The Art Fair Story: A Rollercoaster Ride’ will be published in December 2021 (Lund Humphries).

Catherine Petitgas

Catherine Petitgas is former financier and collector, chair of Tate International Council, member of its Latin America committee, former trustee of the Whitechapel, chair of Gasworks, member of the Serpentine gallery council, “founding godmother” of the Anglo-French Fluxus Art project, editor of art books, art historian, briefly a gallerist, Tate guide. And that is just a partial list. In a previous life she was a successful equity analyst on Wall Street.

Christian Hemmerle

Hemmerle is a fourth generation family run house at the vanguard of jewellery design. Each jewel conceived is unique and as original as a work of art. Today, Christian and Yasmin Hemmerle run the business, with the continued support of Stefan and Sylveli Hemmerle. Hemmerle remains renowned for its dedication to craftsmanship, exceptional quality, innovative material combinations, and bold, unostentatious creations.

Catherine Walsh

Catherine Walsh is a branding expert, a philanthropist and a leading figure in fashion and beauty. With more than 30 years of international expertise in creating and marketing global luxury goods, Ms. Walsh earned a reputation as a game changer for her foresight in predicting “the next big thing”.

Prior to creating Walsh house, a strategy and product innovation consultancy, for 30+ years Ms. Walsh held senior international positions at the Estee Lauder companies, Revlon and Coty.
With deep knowledge in the fields of art and architecture Catherine is an avid collector and supporter. She curated a show of Anna Dickinson’s work at the von Bartha gallery, Basel. Her pop-up gallery, on Main, featured the work of Jarrod beck, Hadi Tabatabai and others. Catherine also serves on the Board of Directors of the via Art Fund, TEFAF, and spent more than a decade with the Chinati foundation, Marfa, Texas. She is also holds a number of advisory roles in the fashion and beauty industry.