2023 ASA Personal Property Symposium: Event Recap

The 2023 ASA Personal Property Appraisal Symposium was recently held at the Kimpton Canary Hotel in downtown Santa Barbara, California. The Symposium had nearly 75 people in attendance, including 20 speakers presenting on a broad variety of topics covered over the course of 2 days.

Rooftop welcome reception.
Photo provided by: John Russell, JD

The event started at the Kimpton Canary Hotel’s rooftop where guests checked in and attended a welcome reception surrounded by the beauty of Santa Barbara. The first day started with breakfast and opening remarks by Symposium chair Holly Mitchem. Presenters throughout the 2-day event spoke on numerous topics ranging from 20th Century California Fine Art Photography to the history and impact on movements and art of the West Coast.

A brief history of the American Riviera.
Photo provided by: Lela Hersh, ASA

The first presentation, titled, Welcome to Santa Barbara: Experience the History of Americas Riviera with Emily Alessio of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, gave a broad overview of the history and material culture of Santa Barbara. She was followed by Dr. Pamela Jill Huckins with The Arts In California and the Missions. This session took a look at the historical scope of art in California beginning with the arts of the indigenous Chumash people and then covering Spanish colonial art, the development of its market and its private and institutional collectors. Following Dr. Huckins was Michael Dawson who spoke about Understanding the Market for 20th Century California Fine Art Photography. Michael provided an overview on key California photographers and discussed how variations in signatures, photographic papers, and aesthetic approaches affect the value of their photographs. Picking up where Pamela Huckins left off, Jennifer Wilson spoke on The Golden Coast of California: Art & Design of The West. Jennifer discussed the history of art and design in California following the gold rush, emphasizing its role as a marketing tool for settlement.

A great first day with diverse line up of sessions and speakers.
Photo provided by: Peter Held, ASA

After a brief lunch break, the Symposium resumed with the fourth speaker of the day, Olivian Cha presenting on Come Alive: The History of Corita Kent. Olivian discussed the life and work of the artist, educator, and social justice advocate, Corita Kent. The presentation went into detail about Corita’s unique approach to silkscreen prints and the commercial representation of her work. Following this presentation was The Limitless World of Limited Editions: California Fine Art Publishers presented by Debra Burchett-Lere. Debra discussed the history of printmaking in California, focusing on the historic and contemporary print publishers while highlighting publishers that continue to expand the limitless creative processes of this medium.

The final session of day one was How Big is Big? Managing Large and Complex Assignments by Stephanie Boris, Analee McClellan, ASA and Andrea Roth, ASA. This session discussed the approaches to managing significant assignments, highlighting common elements including identifying the scope of work, managing client expectations, determining experts and team members, handling changing elements, and delivering the final report.

Day two of the symposium.
Photo provided by: John Russell, JD

Day two of the Symposium began with a presentation by Patty Ross on Creating a Marketing Plan to Grow and Scale Your Business. Patty spoke about the importance of having a good marketing plan in place to be successful and provided attendees with a roadmap to bring their businesses success. Following Patty’s presentation was Mexican American, Chicano/a, Latinx and What Comes Next moderated by Patrick H. Ela, ASA with presenters Angel Diaz, Rafael Barrientos Martinez and Dr. Denise Sandoval and Dr. Susana Smith Bautista,. This panel discussion focused on the past 50 years of development of political, social, and artistic recognition of Hispanic artists in California, particularly those of Mexican heritage. The presentation focused on the Mexican-American based movements on car culture, art, cultural and lifestyle changes in California, as well as how they have influenced or are currently influencing markets, and predictions of future collecting trends.

Attendees enjoying a relaxing lunch.
Photo provided by: Lela Hersh, ASA

After a brief lunch break, Rick L. Schwartz began his session on Billing and Fee Policies for the Professional Appraiser. Rick informed attendees of the best strategies and practices for billing and fee policies for appraisers, including reviewing fee agreements, preparing and delivering invoices and addressing psychological aspects of the billing process from both the appraiser and clients’ viewpoints. Following Rick was The Government Wants You to Succeed! How Laws, Regs, and Court Cases Make YOU More Marketable plus NFT Update presented by John D. Russell, JD. John suggested potential talking points and marketing aspects to help ASA appraisers stand out from other professionals. He provided a handout exercise to attendees for documenting their accomplishments and emphasizing their skillsets.

The final speaker of the 2023 Personal Property Appraisal Symposium was Leslie Wright, Chairman, North America at Bohnams, presenting on Auction House Mergers and Outlook for Collecting. Leslie covered the recent consolidation of auction houses and provided an outlook on the market and collecting, highlighting growth opportunities in the industry.

Altar at the Santa Barbara Mission.
Photo provided by: Susan Golashovsky, FASA

Once the Symposium had concluded, the event was over for some, but not for all! The post-event tour day began on Wednesday where we toured the beautiful city of Santa Barbara. Attendees enjoyed a private tour of Mission Santa Barbara, observed the art in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and walked through the Santa Barbara Courthouse and visited Sullivan Goss Gallery and other downtown Santa Barbara galleries. The tour ended at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum with a private tour of their collections, followed by a wine reception in its historic courtyard.

We would like to thank this year’s sponsors for their support in another successful event: John Moran Auctioneers and Appraisers, Sullivan Goss Art Gallery, John V. Henley, Biondi Rare Books & QED Appraisals, Abell Auctions, Clars Auction Gallery, Appraisal Scribe, Acanthus Appraisals and Consultation Services and Appraisal Resource Associates.

We would also like to thank those who volunteered, those who presented, and those who attended this year’s 2023 Personal Property Appraisal Symposium!

Here’s some notable attendee comments including posts to ASA’s new online community, ASAConnect:

“Great to see old friends, make new ones and hear terrific speakers. And the weather is holding out well for lunches on the roof with great views of the area. This is a great success!” –Sandra Tropper, FASA

“Great day of conference speakers today, enjoyed the diversity of topics. Perfect setting to see colleagues and make new friends.” –Peter Held, ASA

“Relaxing at lunch after a very gratifying morning. “Art in California and the Missions” with the brilliant, Dr. Pamela Jill Huckins, then a basketful amount of new info by my new friend and colleague Michael Dawson about key California photographers and finally “The Golden Coast of California: Art & Design of the West” by John Moran Auctioneers specialist.” – Lela Hersh, ASA

“Today we saw views from the Mission, the clock tower with talk on clock works, art museum tour (great Asian arts section) plus a tour given by the generous and knowledgeable docent, Maria Cabrera. We also went to galleries, the History Museum for tour and reception, and ended with a relaxing dinner with dear friends.” –Susan Golashovsky, FASA

“The talks were very good, varied and full of information that included sessions on connoisseurship, the market, and managing our businesses. The conference was well run and full of information. Thank you.” –Darcy Tell, AM

To view the full album of photos from the 2023 Personal Property Symposium, click here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed.