Damian Nixon
Art Business Consultant and Independent Researcher
About
Damian Nixon is a London-based art business consultant and independent researcher. He is the author of ’The Impact of Acceptance: validation mechanisms and legitimating authorities in ‘African’ contemporary art,’ an academic paper that argues cogently for the strengthening of critical art discourses and cultural infrastructure within the African continent to provide local and regional validation mechanisms for the continent’s artists.
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After a career in financial asset management, he focuses his attention on the construction of ‘art world’ value, the relationship between local cultural production and the international art world and the importance of the cultural economy in national development.
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He is currently compiling the first edition of ‘Africa: Art and Philanthropy’ with leading global art market research and analysis firm ArtTactic. The report is the first major survey of non-profit and private philanthropic art initiatives highlighting trends and challenges in Art and Philanthropy across the continent. It is intended to spark a debate, expose the gaps that still need to be filled and inspire emerging philanthropists across Africa to continue developing new models and initiatives around philanthropy in the arts.
Publications
The Impact of Acceptance: validation mechanisms and legitimating authorities for 'African' contemporary art
Available on request
Professional Experience
Damian has been a partner and sales director at leading hedge funds and asset management firms, with responsibility for raising capital and developing client relationships across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
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Previously he was a business intelligence analyst and consultant working largely within the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, as well as Iran.
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He has lived and worked throughout his life in a number of countries in Africa and the Middle East, as well as in the UK.
Qualifications
MAÂ in Art Business 'with distinction' from the Sotheby's Institute of Art, London, awarded by the University of Manchester
BA(hons) in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Bristol
