Author

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Art Business

Abstract

This dissertation explores the teleological ties between victim diasporas and successful art market participation through an examination of the Jewish diaspora at its dominance within the art world’s expansion in the 19th Century and the Armenian diaspora at present. It argues that diasporic conditions, particularly those shaped by historical trauma, foster heightened capacity for cultural assimilation and risk taking, identifying and committing to market gaps. The dissertation then examines how these qualities can have business applications to new and emerging galleries. It achieves this through reframing the art world as an example of diaspora or a microcosm of global culture, concluding that galleries must foster a higher commitment to artists which engage closely with the epistemologies of the desired collectors and that a greater degree of risk should be considered when identifying and approaching new markets.

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