NY EVENT TOOK PLACE IN MAY 2026 AT THE EQUINOX HOTEL - BELOW IS THE PROGRAM

The central theme for the program of our 2026 event is 'VALUE' — exploring the many forms of value created through engagement with art and culture. Across the program, conversations will examine the impact art can have on our lives through a wide-ranging spectrum of perspectives: from emotional and relational value to wellness, cultural capital, financial strategy, and wealth management.

Guests are invited to arrive, take photos, and connect with fellow attendees. Information on courses offered by our education partner, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, will be available on site. Light refreshments will be served. 

The Curator & The DJ. Inside the museum, two figures are now in tension: the classical curator, who structures meaning through slow scholarship, and the DJ, who reads the room and programs in real time. The curator’s authority comes from depth — research, juxtaposition, and the long arc of canon formation. The DJ’s comes from feel — pacing, presence, and the instinct for what should play next. Institutions that endure hold both — combining canon with live broadcast, the white cube with the social square, and the physical gallery with a distributed digital presence that reaches millions.

For the collector, this shifts what it means to buy: a work is no longer a static object, but a living piece of culture whose value depends on how it is curated into public dialogue.

In this opening conversation, architect and hospitality strategist Savinien Caracostea joins entrepreneur and digital artist Rodolphe Ködderitzsch to examine collecting as cultural participation as much as ownership.

It’s What’s Good for You. Artists Harriet Girardoni and Johannes Girardoni explore how art shapes perception, the brain, and wellbeing through an interdisciplinary practice spanning sculpture, architecture, and responsive installation — from wood and wax works to systems that generate feedback between work and participants.

Working across art, science, and technology, and in collaboration with scientists, technologists, architects, performers, and philosophers, their practice examines how art engages the senses, shifts perception, and expands affective states, proposing art as continuous with life and embedded in the environments we inhabit.

Activating spaces. When it comes to harnessing art as a power shaping environment, there is no greater master than Grimanesa Amorós — whose work operates across light, scale, and space, connecting history, technology, and architecture.

In this conversation, interviewed by AAC founder Aza Benyatov, we examine the impact of  Grimanesa’s large-scale installations, which move beyond objecthood to become catalysts for transformation — activating public space, shifting perception, and generating emotional, cultural, and economic impact within cities and institutions. The discussion also considers how immersive works function simultaneously as aesthetic experiences, civic interventions, and cultural assets at the intersection of artistic vision, architecture, and investment.

A reflection on the fading myth of the artist as a solitary creator and the rise of a multidisciplinary creative output, where artistic expression and entrepreneurial thinking converge to shape a new dimension, driving innovation, and generating value across systems — and what this shift means for audiences, institutions, and markets.

What lasts and how to preserve it? This conversation explores the evolving relationship between art, visibility, and commerce, and how the idea of “brand” has become central to cultural production in the digital age. Josh Romm, Head of Global Licensing & Partnerships at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Jessica Miller, Vice President, External Relations at LVMH North America; and Mark Koch, co-founder of global brand-builder Alternatives, examine how institutions balance longevity with cultural relevance — maintaining commercial success while responding to the cultural pulse of a generation.

From heritage institutions to global luxury houses, brands now operate as cultural engines — shaping taste, reach, and meaning at scale. At the same time, artists have greater visibility and access to audiences than ever before, accelerating the overlap between creative practice and commercial identity. This session examines how artists, institutions, and brands navigate this intersection — where recognition, storytelling, and commerce are increasingly intertwined, and where cultural value is created and amplified.

A passion or investment? In this conversation with art finance specialist Andrea Danese, we glance at the mechanics of art as a financial instrument, the complexity of the market, and the opportunities it presents.

Danese is partner and co-founder of Artem Advisors LLC, and co-founder and former President & CEO of Athena Art Finance Corp — a specialty lender providing non-recourse financing against art as collateral, backed by Carlyle Private Equity and Pictet Bank, later acquired by YieldStreet Inc. He has held senior leadership roles at Bloomberg LP, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, and Creditex, and continues to work across art, finance, and cultural investment as a lecturer, advisor, and active collector.

In this closing conversation, we sit down with pianist, composer, and performance artist ELEW / Eric Lewis and technology investor, entrepreneur, and collector Max Dolgicer to explore how art and technology intersect across creative practice and investment.

ELEW — known for redefining piano through his “Rockjazz” style and collaborations with artists including Sting, Quincy Jones, and Wynton Marsalis — presents recent work, including new interpretations of Sting’s repertoire. Max Dolgicer, early investor in Artsy and co-founder of TimeForArt, reflects on how his background in technology and venture investment informs his approach to collecting and supporting contemporary art.

Together, they examine how innovation moves between stage, studio, and market, and how new forms of creativity are shaped by both artistic experimentation and technological thinking. Interviewed by Aza Benyatov. 

Prosecco and sweet bites. Guests are invited to stay for ELEW’s single release and to connect with fellow attendees.

What begins in conversation continues in practice. Thank you for joining the 2nd edition of FROM LOVER TO BUYER™ NY Art Week. We look forward to continuing the dialogue at future AAC events.