Alumna Valérie C. Whitacre ’08 graduated from Scripps with a self-designed major in Philosophy and Art History, never imagining that she would move to London and begin her own Art Advisory and Discreet Sales business, BLACK etc. Ltd. She credits her Claremont connections for getting her to where she is now, and now she wants to return the favor for current students.
How did you start in the art industry?
After getting my Masters in Contemporary Art from The Courtauld Institute of Art, London (thanks to a scholarship from Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler), I started out working on a private collection of photography that belongs to an ex-Mudder and an ex-Scrippsie who are based here in London. That patronage gave me the hands-on many people my age don’t get, which enabled me to later set up a photography department for a private gallery in the city.
How did you decide to start your own business?
I tried out a few different things and decided I wanted to give a shot to advise on photographs [hence the name BLACK, which is what first comes up onto the paper as you develop photographs] but also get paid to answer the questions I used to answer just as favors. After one reaches a certain level of experience and expertise, I believe that if you know how to advise people on strategy, contacts and the like, you should be compensated and this should help build your career as well as respect for your knowledge base.
What is your typical week like?
I spend 90% of my time advising one private collection called the Stellar International Art Foundation, organizing exhibitions and publications for them. My evenings and weekends are meeting with my more photography-based clients, before and after an auction, doing condition reports, and researching images to make suggestions that satisfy clients’ taste.
What has surprised you most about your job?
Working in London specifically, people are incredibly supportive and the market is not so saturated that you feel like you’re drowning. (In New York, for example, they are so saturated they actually have a TV show called Gallery Girls, which is horribly patronizing.) The dynamic is similar in that if you don’t come from wealth or have a patron it’s difficult to break through, but with perseverance and networking skills it is possible.
What is your number one piece of advice for current students?
There is always going to be someone from Scripps or the 5Cs that’s going to want to lift you up. If you look at the list of alumna that come from the 5Cs, why would you not tap into that resource? That’s not a shameful thing to do. At Scripps you’re encouraged to be independent, so networking within the community can sometimes feel like it might be looked down upon by peers: “Why does she need help? Does she not know what she wants to do? Has she not done well enough in her courses?” But no one does it alone and you shouldn’t have to. Where I am is absolutely dependent on that boost from the network that Scripps and the 5Cs gave me.
Valérie is one of over 1500 alumnae volunteers in Life Connections. Learn how to access the database and start building your network on InsideScripps.