It was a full house last week for the conference “Art, Luxury, and Sustainability: Markets in Transition” at Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
I had the pleasure to chair the first session, which explored possible frameworks to measure the implementation of sustainability in the art and luxury sectors.
What emerged through the papers, cases studies, and the Q&A sessions is the advance towards a more nuanced, cross-disciplinary understanding of sustainability:
1) finally we profile sustainability as a dynamic concept intertwining both environmental and social dimensions. Scholars and practitioners include topics such as cultural dominance, accessibility, craftsmanship, consumption practices (etc.), and reflect on their impact on our approach to the environment.
2) there is an urgency to translate those principles and concepts into an actionable plan and quantifiable metrics. Now, brands as well as cultural institutions are well aware of the challenges and shortcomings that come with it. However, doing (albeit imperfectly) rather than pondering, seems to be the way forward.
3) In looking ahead, brands and institutions fully embracing sustainability need to also look deeper, and question the actual value that they want to deliver: if we start reflecting on value and values, we end up eventually redefining what luxury and art stand for.
A big thank you to the presenters and the audience for their contribution, and to my colleagues Barbara Lasic and Marina Maximova for curating such an inspiring event!