Chasing the Unicorn

Talking Art + Tech at The Epiphany Hotel

“The notion of assigning value to creativity is what I deal with every day… What is valuation of an idea?” Jon Callaghan, general partner of True Ventures, set the tone for our discussion at The Epiphany Hotel last night with this concept. Jon was joined by William O’Reilly of Bonhams and a varied audience of artists, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, art administrators, and government officials. Together, Jon and Will hashed out some thoughts around the way value is assigned in the art world and in the tech world.

Clockwise: Reid Harris (UKTI), Christina Passariello (WSJ), Robert Birnbach (Oracle), David Lea (Neon), Mark Desnoyer (Neon), Jim Hall (IGN), Dane Jensen (Bonhams), James Garner (BT)

It’s the creative potential of an individual or the artist, but also the expectation that the idea could have social value or missionary value — that it could change the world. — Jon Callaghan

When you’ve got an untried artist that you as a gallerist think is going to be the next big thing, you’ve got to build a market. — William O’Reilly

Clockwise: Glenn Marasigan (SVB), Melanie Light, Aimee LaFont Leifer, Lauren Lyon (MDV), William O’Reilly (Bonhams), Liat Bishko (Turner Impact Capital), Chris Bishko (Omidyar Network), Jon Callaghan (True Ventures), Steve Dauber

It was surprising and fascinating to hear about some of the similarities between value in art and tech. Tech investments and the primary and secondary art markets each total about $50B per year; “love” is a driving force in investing and art collecting; the desire to obtain cultural capital could be a reason behind some art and tech investments. Read more in the Wall Street Journal coverage of the event.

Check out the event video for more insights from Will and Jon.

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See more coverage at #chasingtheunicorn on Twitter.

Thanks to our co-sponsors Bonhams and Silicon Valley Bank.

Photo credit: Olivia Smartt

Video credit: Graham King