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The symposium is open to all and free of charge, with mandatory registration (Please note that delegates attending IKT Congress 2026 are registered automatically and therefore do not need to register)The symposium will also be live streamed via Microsoft Teams: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/379453250347457?p=PKWoXEfL6Cjsin1UG
About the Symposium:
The history of art philanthropy spans millennia. Artists have relied on private donors and the state for support for centuries, even before the state became involved. While both actors had their own agendas, the balance between state and market, and the wealthy, fostered diversity and innovation in arts and culture. However, with the corporatisation of art and culture against the backdrop of ongoing austerity policies, the state’s withdrawal from the field has led to a shift towards more homogeneous, market-friendly forms of art. In this context, the role of art philanthropists becomes increasingly crucial. The pressing question is how curators, artists’ vision champions, and art philanthropists can work together to address the sensitive issue of funding. This ensures that diverse, rich, and innovative art and culture remain produced. We will explore the practical models of funding and support for innovative contemporary art curators who are pushing the boundaries of art and culture making.
The keynote address will be given by Suheyla Takesh, an art historian and Director of the Barjeel Art Foundation. The Foundation is one of the leading organisations of the Gulf region with a specific focus on alternative modernisms and the role of women-artists in South Asian art history. She oversees curatorial and scholarly initiatives to expand the visibility and critical engagement with modern and contemporary Arab art through exhibitions, research and publication projects. Founded by the philanthropist Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, The Barjeel Art Foundation is at the forefront of questioning European art historiographies of modernism and avant-garde and building bridges between the institutions in the Global South. Takesh will also address the construction of the new museum in Sharjah.
The first panel, chaired by Denis Maksimov, will feature Lekha Poddar, Rajeeb Samdani, and Andrea Rurale and explore the state of art philanthropy now. Lekha Poddar, the founder of Devi Art Foundation, will present her outstanding work in India, which covers the restoration of cultural heritage and the introduction of South Asian contemporary art in a dialogue with the rich artistic traditions in the region. Her practice has ignited the interest in contemporary art practice in the region for many philanthropists, including Rajeeb Samdani, who will speak about his ongoing commitment to support artists and provide wider access to their work to the public. Together with his wife, Nadia Samdani, he established the Samdani Art Foundation, the biannual Dhaka Art Summit, and Srihatta–Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park in order to promote Bangladesh and South Asia’s contemporary artists and architects. Professor Andrea Rurale, the director of the Intensive Programme in Arts Market and Finance at Bocconi University, will reflect on the institutional and infrastructural specificities of philanthropic activities in the present.
The second panel, chaired by Adina Drinceanu, will bring together Nadja Argyropoulou, Vladimir Yavachev, and Bérénice Antoinette Robaglia to examine strategies for ‘producing culture’’ under the strain of the current context and its limitations. Nadja Argyropoulou, curator and artistic director of the 9th Thessaloniki Biennale Everything Must Change, will reflect on philanthropy as a ‘collective body’ and the ethical and operational challenges of carrying out the curatorial concept in a polarised and resource-constrained environment. Vladimir Yavachev of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation will discuss the artists’ distinctive approach to creative autonomy, highlighting a self-directed system of project financing and large-scale production that enabled ambitious interventions to unfold independently of institutional or market pressures. Bérénice Antoinette Robaglia of FAMM (Female Artists of Mougins Museum), founded by the collector and philanthropist Christian Levett, will explore how private initiatives can amplify historically underrepresented voices, mobilising collectors, curators, and communities to align diverse stakeholders in pursuit of shared cultural objectives.
At large, the Symposium inquires how curators, artists’ advocates, and art philanthropists can work together to address the politics of funding while ensuring that rich, diverse, and experimental art and culture continue to thrive. It will map the current state of art philanthropy in the early 21st century, outline possible futures, and present practical models of funding and support for contemporary art curators working at the forefront of cultural innovation. Organised under the umbrella of the Future of Art Philanthropy initiative, the Symposium is a step towards a larger conversation about the implications of ‘producing culture’ in the contemporary context. The initiative will stage the events, symposia, dialogues, and public programmes with the aim to consolidate the expertise, know-how, and innovative ideas into a Reader as well as build the community of like-minded art and culture producers and supporters.
Learn more: https://www.iktsite.org/congress-2026-italy/symposium
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Event Venue
Deloitte, Via Santa Sofia 28, 20122 Milan, Italy, Via Santa Sofia, 28, 20122 Milano MI, Italia, Milano, Italy
Tickets
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