Prep Students Unlock Their Inner Artists at Our Sotheby’s Art Academy Program

“Even if you feel the world is shutting down, people are still looking to the arts,” Manjari Sihare-Sutin, Assistant Vice President and Specialist, Head of Sales at Sotheby’s, told our Art Academy students. From creating your own work to watching a live concert from your living room couch, the arts may have been your anchor over this tumultuous summer. At Prep for Prep/Sotheby’s Art Academy, rising ninth and tenth graders got a behind-the-scenes look at the art world and learned how to turn their creativity into potential careers as artists, critics, curators, or a little bit of everything. As has been the case for many of our programs, this year’s format was entirely online. This provided a unique opportunity for students to virtually visit museums and art studios beyond New York City. Students broadened their awareness of arts professions with a diverse group of painters, sculptors, photographers, graphic designers, curators, and art critics from across the country and as far away as Puerto Rico. 

The program combines four weeks of studying art history, engaging with artists and curators, and creating art. Established in conjunction with the Prep in Arts alumni affinity group and underwritten by Sotheby’s, its goal is to welcome students into art sectors that have historically lacked opportunities for people of color. For example, only 1.2 percent of the global auction market was spent on work by African American artists in the last decade. Through this program, students can see the merits of their talents and recognize their potential. 

Their study and discussion culminated in a capstone project: an art exhibit of their own. Students curated and presented work from classic and contemporary artists around themes such as sustainable art, the objectification of women, the audience’s gaze, the artist’s journey, the portrayal of Black men in the Western world, and the interaction of visual art with literature. Each student impressed the audience with their thoughtfulness and insight. 
 
This programming would not have been possible without the dedication of our Art Academy instructors, Bill Appleton and Sinclair Spratley, and teaching assistant Veronica Rivera (XVIII). We are grateful for the time and care of the following guest speakers:  

Akili Tommasino (XXI), Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Alex Santana, Alexander Gray Associates
Jess Lynne, ARTS.BLACK
Sharon Matt Atkins, Brooklyn Museum of Art
Willie Cole
Nora Rosengarten, Clark Art Institute
Lauren Begen, FLOAT Studio
Nina Etnier, FLOAT Studio
Rehema Barber, Kalamazoo Institute of Art
Chelsea Knight
Florian Koenigsberger (XXVI)
Emily Pulitzer, Pulitzer Arts Foundation
Manjari Sihare-Sutin, Sotheby’s
Lucian Simmons, Sotheby’s
Brent Benjamin, Saint Louis Art Museum