When Should the Art World Hire from Outside the Art World?

There are several reasons an organisation might deliberately look beyond candidates with direct art-world experience.

Sometimes it is a question of supply. In areas such as technology and finance, the pool of candidates combining deep functional expertise with significant art-world experience can be relatively limited.

In other cases, the organisation itself is changing. A gallery may be investing in new technology, professionalising its internal infrastructure, building a people function or introducing capabilities that have not historically existed within the business. Hiring someone who has already navigated similar change elsewhere can bring established expertise and practical experience of implementing new capabilities within an organisation.

This is particularly relevant when organisations want to challenge established ways of working. Someone trained in a different environment may bring new systems and experience of more established processes and ways of working. or simply a different perspective on a problem that has historically been approached in the same way.

There can also be a longer-term talent consideration. An organisation looking for a career EA or PA, for example, may find candidates outside the art world whose ambitions are more closely aligned with remaining and developing within that profession, rather than ultimately moving into another area of the market.

Ultimately, broadening a search should be purposeful rather than simply about creating a larger candidate pool. The value lies in being clear about what experience the organisation is trying to bring in.

Where does crossover work particularly well?

As mentioned above. Some functions lend themselves more naturally to cross-sector hiring than others.

Marketing and communications can be strong examples, particularly in digital, brand and strategic marketing roles where the emphasis is on expertise and execution rather than an existing network of art-world relationships.

Technology is another. As galleries and other arts organisations invest in digital transformation, data and increasingly sophisticated systems, they may require expertise that has not historically existed at the same scale within the sector. Candidates who have already led transformation elsewhere can bring both technical fluency and experience managing the organisational change that comes with it.

Finance, HR and people functions can similarly benefit from outside expertise, particularly where the objective is to introduce greater structure, governance or rigour.

Executive support is another area where we regularly see successful crossover. Strong EAs and PAs from sectors including finance, luxury, fashion and family offices are often accustomed to supporting senior individuals in fast-moving, high-expectation environments. Their administrative skills, judgement and ability to manage complexity can translate particularly well into EA to Owner, Partner or Director positions.

Project management and certain operational roles can also provide opportunities for crossover, depending on the specific remit.

Look at the problems someone has solved, not simply their title

Successful crossover hiring requires a different way of assessing experience.

Job titles rarely translate perfectly between sectors. Rather than asking whether someone has held the equivalent role within an art organisation, it can be more useful to examine the substance of their experience.

What problems have they solved? At what scale have they operated? What kinds of stakeholders have they managed? Have they led teams, owned budgets or revenue targets, implemented new systems, navigated organisational change or worked directly with demanding principals and clients?

This can reveal commonalities between candidates whose CVs initially look quite different.

Luxury, fashion and hospitality can be particularly relevant because of their shared emphasis on client experience, discretion and relationship management, often alongside exposure to high net worth audiences. Family offices can offer similar crossover: candidates may already be comfortable working closely with wealthy individuals and navigating high-stakes environments where judgement and confidentiality are essential.

The transferable element is not necessarily the industry itself. It is the nature and complexity of the work someone has already done.

Where does art-world experience still matter?

Looking beyond the sector is not appropriate for every brief.

There remain many positions where specialist knowledge, networks or an understanding of art-market mechanics are fundamental to the role. Sales, artist liaison, curatorial, research, exhibitions, technical and certain operational positions can require knowledge that takes years to develop.

Even within functions that lend themselves to crossover, the specific brief matters. A marketing professional may transition relatively seamlessly into a strategic or digital role, for example, while a PR position dependent on established relationships with arts journalists and editors may place much greater value on sector experience.

Similarly, a finance professional can bring significant technical expertise from elsewhere but may still need time to understand the particular commercial and operational dynamics of the art market.

The objective is therefore not to undervalue sector expertise, but to identify which elements of a role genuinely require it and which do not.

The crossover is not always seamless

Hiring from another sector also comes with risks.

Art organisations can operate within very different structures and cultures from those found in larger corporate environments. Teams are often smaller, roles can be broader, and decision-making may involve a particularly close relationship with an owner, artist or other key stakeholder. This can require a high degree of adaptability, judgement and comfort working across responsibilities.

For candidates moving into the sector, adapting to these nuances can be as important as bringing outside expertise. Those coming from more structured environments may need to adjust to different ways of working, while organisations need to be clear about the environment someone is entering and provide the context they need to succeed.

Compensation can also be a consideration, as can differences in pace, resources and career structure.

Then there is sector knowledge itself. Even when it is not required on day one, candidates need the curiosity and motivation to acquire it.

When we assess crossover candidates, genuine engagement with the art world can therefore be an important indicator. Have they researched the organisation? Do they understand its context? Are they visiting galleries or museums and actively developing their knowledge? Can they articulate why they want to make the transition beyond simply being attracted to the sector?

Curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to understand nuance are often as important as the transferable experience itself.

Making crossover hiring work

A successful crossover requires realism on both sides.

Candidates need a clear understanding of the environment they are entering, including its structures, compensation and ways of working. Employers, meanwhile, need to recognise that someone hired specifically for expertise developed elsewhere will not arrive with every piece of sector knowledge immediately.

Thoughtful onboarding is particularly important. Organisations need to help new hires understand the people, relationships and context surrounding their role, rather than assuming that functional expertise alone will be enough.

Perhaps most importantly, there needs to be clarity about what the organisation wants the individual to bring from their previous sector and what it expects them to learn once they arrive.

Over the past decade, we have seen greater openness to this approach, although appetite still varies considerably by organisation and role. Art-world experience continues to dominate many briefs, often for good reason. But as organisations evolve, there are increasingly situations where looking only within the sector can unnecessarily restrict the search.

The most effective search may not begin by asking where someone has worked before, but by defining what they need to be able to do next.