Date of Award
2025
Document Type
MA Project - Restricted Access (SIA Only)
Project Type
MA Project - Business Plan
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art Business
First Advisor
Brendan Burns
Second Advisor
Matthew Nichols
Abstract
Acknowledging that there is a need to improve a major logistical gap in the art world when it comes to efficiently preparing to attend art fairs –Federica Jermann, recent Sotheby’s Institute of Art graduate, is providing a practical solution through the creation of an app called ArTAsk. Before completing her Art Business Master’s degree at the Sotheby’s Institute in New York, Federica Jermann has gathered several years of helping gallerists from the US, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Ireland in preparing and exhibiting at many renown international art fairs. Through this work she established a strong network and good relationship with many gallerists, and art world professionals. These consistently emphasized the same desperation and problems when dealing with the entirety of the logistical preparations – often within cultural contexts different to their own habits. On the newly developed ArTAsk app one can find and contact specialized service providers at the destination you need who can offer their help in what they do best. The logistical process is therefore simplified, making it a more transparent, reliable, secure, efficient and cheaper for the app users. ArTAsk will focus on providing the necessary service providers for and during major art fairs, but is not limited to only those circumstances, but also for providing these contacts for other art world professionals and other purposes like moving collections or traveling exhibitions. The idea of this business venture is for this app to be designed, developed and launched within one calendar year whilst simultaneously processing standardized service level agreements with the local and international logistical providers. The app would first come into play for Zona Maco art fair taking place in February of 2026 in Mexico City, followed by Art Basel in Basel in June of 2026. Once it has been inaugurated at these two fairs the portal will also launch its features Jermann 4 for other large art fairs like Frieze, The Armory Show, TEFAF, Art Basel’s other locations (Paris, Miami, Hong Kong), Art Dubai, Art Cologne, Photo London, eventually followed by other wellknown satellite fairs like Volta, art Miami, NADA, Untitled, 1-54 Marrakesh, Positions Belin, as well as for the Venice Biennial, and other major art events. Finally, the app aims to facilitate all preparation to an art fair as well as finding the same providers for other logistical purposes like organizing your own exhibition somewhere, planning a traveling exhibition if you are a museum, or simply wanting to ship an artwork or collection without the help of a gallery – if you’re an artist, a collector, an art advisor or other. The financial analysis shows that ArTAsk LLC would break even after the third business year and after 10 years it would reach a positive Net Present Value of USD 3.8 million.
Recommended Citation
Jermann Farias, Federica S., "ArTAsk: A business plan for facilitating logistics in the artworld" (2025). MA Projects. 227.
https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/stu_proj/227