I am a project-based artist interested in investigating the world around me through research and art-making. My thesis project, Welcome to Business School, is a business school simulation exploring the financialization of the contemporary art market. When I was getting my MBA, my professors used lectures, discussions, simulations, and case studies to give us a framework for one way the world could work. I wrote a business plan for this project, defining what I wanted to do and who I wanted my target audience to be: I wanted to explain how the upper end of the contemporary art markets works to people who are not in that world so they can understand how it affects their everyday lives – from their tax bases to the art they see in museums or in popular media. I sent twice-a-month newsletters with essays, and over the ten months of the project, there were three simulations, one online art show, and one case study for people to participate in. My thesis paper is a compilation of the newsletters that have been lightly edited to remove references to the simulations and case studies.

The contemporary art market is a network of people who agree to buy and sell art amongst themselves for inflated prices. By reflecting that activity through simulations, the people participating in this project came together to create a different kind of network and a different kind of art. I am looking at this market through a critical lens, but criticism can be a dead end unless there is space left for something better to happen. I hope the art we made together is that better thing.

Project wrap up can be found here: https://adelaideblair.substack.com/p/welcome-to-business-school-project