HKU Moodle

This course offers a comprehensive exploration of the art market, tracing its historical development while unpacking the dynamics that shape it today.

Students will gain insight into the systems, institutions, and players that influence the buying, selling and circulation of art worldwide.

We will examine the business of auctions, the evolution of commercial galleries, and the global rise of art fairs as pivotal meeting points for collectors, dealers, and artists. Particular attention will also be given to the role of museums as both cultural gatekeepers and market influencers, analysing how curatorial decisions and institutional validation impact artistic value.

Through lectures, case studies, and interactive discussions, participants will:

• Understand the historical roots of the art trade and its transformation into a global market.
• Analyse the strategies and practices of major market players — auction houses, dealers, collectors and advisors.
• Evaluate the influence of fairs and other international events.

By the end of the course, students will be equipped with both a practical framework and a critical perspective on how today’s art world functions — and how it continues to evolve.

This course examines how France positions itself on the global scene from the traditional exercise of economic and military power to the use of more subtle tools of soft power, such as cultural diplomacy, scientific cooperation, higher education, humanitarian actions, tourism, etc.

Using a selection of texts and topics, this course will also examine the historical roots of the French ideas of grandeur and rayonnement, how France’s effort to exert influence is perceived and debated at home and abroad, as well as the issues and challenges to maintain France’s image and standing on the international stage. 

Participants will be encouraged to draw examples from the local context to discuss the material under investigation. The medium of instruction and the majority of the material used will be in French.