As we welcome a new cohort of students this autumn, we wanted to share a few thoughts on what the first stretch of your time with us might look like.
This is a good moment to start picking up a few habits, ones that will keep serving you gently through your first weeks here and beyond, rather than something you need to have nailed before day one.
The art and luxury world is small and close-knit, and it can be genuinely hard to break into. But it's also built on relationships, and those take a bit of time to form. The earlier you start paying attention to how the sector works, the more natural it will feel once you're properly in it, and that's just as true in October as it is in September.
So if you're joining us this autumn, and whether your interest lies in art business, luxury, historic art and design, or contemporary art, here's a low-key way to think about the time ahead.
Start noticing, not just applying
Before you think too much about internships or job titles, it's worth simply getting curious about the ecosystem itself. Follow the institutions, galleries, and people you admire. Have a read of the market reports when you come across them. Go to the exhibitions and talks that are already happening around you, whenever it's easy to. None of this requires an offer letter, it really just asks for a bit of attention. It's this quiet, gradually built familiarity that tends to show up later, in the ease with which someone talks about the sector in an interview.
Think portfolio, not checklist
It's tempting to treat career preparation as a box-ticking exercise: another internship, another line on the CV. But what tends to stand out is more a sense of initiative, small things like a piece you wrote for the student magazine, an exhibition you helped shape, or a project you got involved with almost on a whim. These experiences also give you room to experiment, to try things out without too much pressure, and often to get close to the people you end up working alongside.
Treat conversations as an end in themselves
Networking can feel a little transactional at times, but some of the most valuable relationships in this sector start as nothing more than a good conversation after a talk, or a genuine follow-up to a meeting. Approaching people with real curiosity about their work tends to matter more than how many people you meet. Authenticity and consistency go a long way here, and it helps to have a sense of your own why, and to be honest about it, when you do reach out to someone.
Trust that the structure is already there
Once you arrive, you won't need to go looking for ways to connect your studies to the industry, that link is already built into our MA courses. Our faculty bring strong, current expertise from across the sector, and the MA Work Placement Elective in particular gives students a structured way to step directly into the art world alongside their coursework.
None of this is about arriving with all the answers. It's more about arriving with the right instincts, a bit of curiosity, some initiative, and a genuine interest in the people and institutions that make up this world.
To everyone joining us, welcome, we're looking forward to having you with us.
To learn more about our MA Programmes in London and New York, please visit this link.
