Navigating the Art World: A Journey from Finance to Web3 with Jessica Davidson Marinaro '04

Seasoned art business professional Jessica Davidson Marinaro '04 will discuss her undergraduate Lehigh experience and career trajectory from Financial Consultant to Fine Art Professional and the interests and circumstances that guided her path. From mounting her own pop-up shows in New York City, to rising through the "gallerina" ranks in the contemporary art world and becoming a Sales Director, to launching her own advisory practice and now making waves in the web3/digital art space, Jessica's passion for the business side of the arts began right here in the Lehigh University Art Galleries. A discussion on art advising and collecting, navigating the contemporary art market, and the nascent web3/crypto/digital art sector will be followed by a Q&A with students and attending guests.

About Jessica Davidson Marinaro

Jessica Davidson Marinaro is a veteran of the New York City art world and has held positions in prominent galleries, including James Graham & Sons on the Upper East Side and Leila Heller Gallery in Chelsea, where as a Director she worked with over 30 contemporary artists, placing their works in some of the world’s top private and institutional collections. She is currently a Senior Director at MakersPlace, a leading NFT platform utilizing blockchain technology to power digital art sales that is best known for facilitating the sale of Beeple's Everydays for $69 million, in partnership with Christie's auction house.

Jessica is also the founder of Davidson Art Advisory LLC, a boutique fine art consulting firm that provides advisory and acquisition services to private collectors and art consulting services to corporate clientele. Given the complexities of today’s global art market, Jessica offers her clients streamlined access and tailored services to maximize personal, cultural, and financial returns. Focusing on contemporary art by emerging and mid-career artists, Jessica assists both connoisseurs and novices build special, highly personal collections.

A champion of rising contemporary art stars, Jessica has curated and produced pop-up exhibitions at various commercial and private venues throughout New York City, and has exhibited at art fairs including: SPRING/BREAK (NYC); SCOPE (NYC & Miami); Market ART + DESIGN (the Hamptons), the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Germany), as well as launching dozens of Drops and exhibitions in the Metaverse.

Jessica earned her M.A in Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York and her B.A in Economics from Lehigh University, with dual minors in Philosophy and Museum Studies. She sits on the Director’s Advisory Council for the Lehigh University Art Galleries and has co-chaired and served on the advisory board of several non-profit arts institutions, including White Wave Dance Company and CITYarts, Inc.