Iris Lam Chen, cultural manager and director of Global Metro Art, known for her work at the Cultural Center of Spain, re-releases her seminal work “How is the Rice and How to Cook in the Art Market?” “Designing a Business Strategy for Emerging Visual Artists,” a strategic guide aimed at emerging visual artists seeking to develop their careers in the competitive art world, now available digitally. The publication, which is already available on Amazon Kindle at this link, offers a practical and commercial perspective to understand and navigate the contemporary art market.
This second edition is made available digitally, facilitating access to this tool from anywhere in the country and beyond. The work is part of the research efforts of Global Metro Art, which is dedicated to generating accessible and practical knowledge for the professionalization of artists in Costa Rica and beyond.
The first edition, in physical format, can be found at various locations across the country such as Librería Lehmann, Libros Duluoz, Librería Andante, ArtHouseAtenas, and Galería Talentum.
“How’s the rice and how to cook in the art market?”
The title of the book, “How’s the rice and how to cook in the art market?”, is an analogy with the Costa Rican phrase about knowing the situation of a matter.
Chapter I focuses on the industrial and conceptual framework upon which the market strategy for artists proposed in the book is developed. For their part, although Chapters II and III specifically discuss the art market in Costa Rica, readers from other regions can analyze these same characteristics in their respective countries in parallel, so they can identify analogous dynamics and similarities in market behaviors.
In relation to Chapter IV, it is interesting to find that the motivational factors of art buyers still behave in the same way and that even American literature on the art markets of major metropolises continues to point to the same.
Regarding Chapter V, although the successful strategies presented are from established painters in the Costa Rican art market, the model of their strategies is a source of experience from which positive elements can be extracted for other contexts, just as in Chapter VI the proposal for designing a commercial strategy is structured. This proposal is the one originally presented in the first edition aimed at emerging Costa Rican painters, and it is the one the author emphasizes is actually expandable to much more.
The first edition of “How is the Rice and How to Cook in the Art Market?” has been widely praised for its innovative approach and its ability to offer practical and applicable tools in the real world. The work has been recognized by both artists and cultural managers as an essential read for those looking to structure their careers in the artistic field.
The research from which this book originates has been presented at the Amighetti Chair of the University of Costa Rica, the Casa del Artista of the Costa Rican Art Museum, the Atelier del Sol, the National University, Veritas University, ULACIT, among others.
About the author
Iris Lam Chen is a prominent cultural manager with over 10 years of experience in the creation and direction of artistic projects, both in Costa Rica and internationally. Founder and director of Global Metro Art, she has led innovative initiatives in the professionalization of visual art, developing programs for the internationalization of artists and promoting access to culture through communication and cultural management strategies. Additionally, she is an educator on topics related to the art market and strategic management.
Iris holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Management from the State Distance University of Costa Rica. (UNED). Currently, she has been a cultural manager and curator at the Cultural Center of Spain in Costa Rica (CCECR) since 2018, in addition to being the founder and director of the cultural management organization Global Metro Art since 2015. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Odyssey Film Festival. (NYOFF). As a current Master’s student in Arts Administration at the City University of New York (CUNY), she is the recipient of the 2024-2025 International Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the 2024-2025 International Peace Scholarship from PEO Sisterhood.
More information at: [email protected]
+1 516 989 3113.
