Role & responsibilities The Head of Art & Artist Management will lead and oversee the strategic relationship frameworks, partnerships, public exhibitions, and creative pipelines related to living artists, historical artists' estates, and foundations. The role is responsible for directing artist contracts, primary studio acquisitions, estate representation, archiving frameworks, public retrospectives, and project-based exhibition lifecycles. Working closely with Specialist, Client Relations, Commercial, Marketing, Finance, Technology, and Legal teams, the Head of Art & Artist Management will ensure that every phase of artist alignment, exhibition curation, and estate sourcing is executed to the highest standards of quality and legacy care.

The role will drive brand value, primary market growth, and strategic community relations to support the organization's regional and international expansion

Key Responsibilities Strategic Relationship Management Lead the end-to-end partnership cultivation and onboarding strategies for established living artists, legal heirs, and foundation boards. Serve as the central point of coordination across the organization to align corporate auction objectives with long-term fine art appreciation and artist legacy care. Establish and continuously improve communication workflows and engagement profiles for artists, heirs, and primary market stakeholders.

Art Sourcing &

- Primary Market Consignments Drive the proactive sourcing and acquisition of high-value fine art assets, primary market works, unique commissions, and estate-direct lots for live, online, and hybrid auctions. Oversee consignment timelines, cataloguing parameters, and structural framework agreements for specialized sales and retrospective previews. Review and verify clarity in contract terms, royalty administration (droit de suite), financial distributions, and consignment commitments.

Fine Art

Archiving, Documentation &
- Compliance Oversee the technical research, provenance tracking, and historical documentation of fine art property sourced directly from studio and estate inventories. Partner with internal archiving teams to build robust digital collection registries and support foundations with authentication and cataloguing workflows.



Ensure absolute alignment and compliance with copyright laws, intellectual property guidelines, non-disclosure agreements, and company governance standards. Cross-Functional Collaboration &
- Exhibition Execution Work closely with Specialists, Client Relations, Marketing, Finance, Technology, Legal, and Commercial teams to ensure seamless business and gallery operations. Coordinate cross-functional planning for studio previews, museum-scale retrospective exhibitions, special publications, and international art fair initiatives. Act as the key brand representative at major global art events, biennials, and studio evaluations to expand the corporate sourcing pipeline. Leadership &
- Team Management Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team dedicated to artist relations, archiving, and exhibition project management. Establish clear performance objectives, KPIs, and development plans for the division. Foster a culture of excellence, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Drive team capability building and long-term succession planning. Promote an artist-respectful and patron-centric mindset across all creative functions.

Key Performance

Indicators (KPIs) Successful execution of all private sales, public auctions, and art exhibitions within planned timelines. Conversion rate and onboarding success of target artist estates and foundation portfolios to the AstaGuru network. Delivery of verified provenance portfolios and complete archival dossiers within cataloguing deadlines. Compliance with copyright, licensing, and regional artist legal regulations with zero corporate observations. Quality of exhibition execution and engagement benchmarks during public previews and art fairs. Timely milestone achievements for dedicated publication, archiving, and cataloguing projects. Level of satisfaction reported by artists, estate representatives,



and institutional partners regarding business alignment.

Qualifications &

Experience Masters degree in Art History, Curatorial Studies, Fine Arts, or a related cultural field preferred. 12–15 years of progressive leadership experience within artist relations, high-end gallery management, museum curation, or artist estate advisory. Proven track record of managing high-profile artist relationships, working with legal heirs, and negotiating direct estate consignments. Deep understanding of primary art market dynamics, curatorial standards, and intellectual property/copyright regulations.

Preferred Industry Experience

Experience in one or more of the following sectors: Auction Houses Modern &

- Contemporary Art Galleries Museums &
- Curatorial Institutions Artist Foundations, Estates &
- Advisory Trusts Fine Art &
- Collectibles Foundations Core Competencies Operations &
- Specialization Artist Estate Sourcing &
- Relationship Cultivation Curatorial Project &
- Exhibition Management Fine Art Archiving &
- Provenance Research Intellectual Property, Licensing &
- Copyright Management Primary Market Valuations &
- Artist Representation Frameworks Technical Fine Art Inventory &
- Asset Tracking Systems Digital Archival Databases &
- Cataloguing Software Legal Contract Analysis &
- Non-Disclosure Agreements Collaboration and Presentation Suites (Microsoft Office, Keynote) Leadership High Empathy, Diplomacy, and Discretion Cross-functional Collaboration &
- Alignment Stakeholder Management &
- Communication Fluency Strategic Planning &
- Creative Problem-solving Team Leadership, Mentoring &
- Coaching Success Profile The ideal candidate is a highly articulate, diplomatically skilled, and relationship-driven art skilled who can navigate between the creative community and the commercial auction house ecosystem. They excel at earning the long-term trust of artists and their families, researching difficult provenance trails, and structuring exhibition strategies that protect an artist's legacy. They possess meticulous attention to detail, strict ethical standards of integrity, and the project management capabilities required to deliver high-profile exhibitions, publica

📌 Head of Artist Management (Mumbai)
🏢 AstaGuru
📍 Mumbai