Riah Pryor

Riah Pryor is a journalist and author specialising in the relationship between art and law, supported by her experience working at New Scotland Yard's Art and Antiques Unit. She previously worked at The Art Newspaper as Art Market Assistant Editor and continues to write for them (and others, including contributions to Financial Times) on a freelance basis. She is also founder of  Sourced Thought, a consultancy supporting private and not-for-profit cultural organisations in strategy, content and business planning.

Jennifer Schipf

Jennifer Schipf is AXA XL’s Global Chief Underwriter for Fine Art & Specie. In this role she is responsible for setting worldwide strategy, Underwriting guidelines and ultimate profitability. She’s been dedicated to the highly specialized market of fine art underwriting for nearly twenty years and helped establish the AXA Art Prize. She previously led the organization’s North American Fine Art & Specie team while also serving as leader of Broker and Client Management for North American Specialty.  Prior to joining AXA XL in 2008, she led the US Fine Art underwriting practice at another carrier and held various roles in claims, settling losses and performing loss control assessments for private collector clients. 

She started her career with a research position in the Old Master Drawings department at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. followed by development roles at both the Chazen Museum and Tandem Press, in Madison, WI.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History and Economics from Georgetown University with a concentration in the Italian Renaissance and Patronage of the Papacy. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Architecture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is actively engaged in various arts organizations, teaches fine art underwriting courses and regularly participates in industry educational conferences. 

Margherita Barbagallo

Margherita Barbagallo is a dual-qualified lawyer in England & Wales and Canada. She is the Head of Litigation, IP & Art Law at Dragon Argent, where she leads legal strategy for tech startups, SMEs and art market clients navigating digital transactions. A recognised expert on AI, NFTs and regulatory frameworks in the creative industries, she advises businesses, investors and creators on commercial transactions involving digital art, intellectual property and compliance risks. Previously, Margherita practiced in art law at a leading firm, handling title disputes, restitution claims, and fraud litigation for galleries, collectors, and artists’ estates. 

Margherita is a Trustee of Fevered Sleep, an award-winning arts organisation that creates insightful, interdisciplinary work to challenge perceptions and spark dialogue on contemporary issues. She is also an active member of PAIAM (Professional Advisors to the International Art Market).

Christian Zimmermann

Christian Zimmermann is Chief Executive of DACS. He has spent his career protecting artists’ rights, having worked at DACS for 18 years. He is a qualified solicitor in the UK and Germany with a Masters in Intellectual Property Law. Before joining DACS in 2006, he worked at the Association of Photographers (AOP).

As a skilled and experienced negotiator, Christian has defended and advocated for artists’ rights throughout his career. He led negotiations with the government to fully implement the Artist’s Resale Right in 2012, which culminated in more artists and beneficiaries being able to benefit from the Right in the long term. He also steered DACS through an industry-wide valuation with the Copyright Licensing Agency to protect visual artists' share of collecting licensing revenue.

Christian is a Board Director of CISAC the world’s leading network of collective management organisations. He is Vice Chair of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations' (IFRRO) Visual Working Group. He is a Member Director of Online Art and the Educational Recording Agency (ERA) and is on the Editorial and Advisory Board for Journal for IP Protection.

Christian is also an Observer Member Representative at the European Visual Artists (EVA) Board and Observer Member on Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) Board.

Vivienne Chow

Vivienne Chow is an award-winning journalist and the London Correspondent for Artnet News, where she covers the art market and art world with a particular focus on Europe and Asia. She co-authors The Asia Pivot, Artnet Pro's biweekly members-only newsletter, offering essential analysis, insights, and exclusive intelligence on developments in Asia's art markets, with an emphasis on business opportunities and challenges. Previously based in Hong Kong, Chow brings over two decades of experience in arts and culture reporting. Her work has appeared in various publications such as BBC Culture, Variety, The Art Newspaper, Quartz, and the South China Morning Post. In addition to journalism, she founded a non-profit and served as an honorary lecturer at universities.

Chris Bentley  

Chris Bentley is Head of Fine Art & Specie, UK & Lloyd’s at AXA XL. Previously, Chris held the role of AXA ART’s Director of Underwriting for Northern Europe, Middle East & Asia-Pacific. Prior to joining AXA Art in 2012, Chris worked for Hiscox Syndicate 33 at Lloyd’s as a member of the Fine Art underwriting team. In addition, he has held positions at Bonhams Auctioneers and also Aon Artscope as a Fine Art Insurance Broker specialising in art and antique dealers. 

He is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, an elected member of the LMA/ IUA Joint Specie Committee since 2015 and served as Chairman between September 2019 and June 2023, and a member of PAIAM (Professional Advisors to the International Art Market).

to help teams better understand a project's climate impact and is the Director of Strategy at Art into Acres.  

Sylvain Levy  

Founded in 2005 by Dominique and Sylvain Levy, dslcollection is an ongoing cultural and entrepreneurial project that embodies a family adventure and a collection of art and science. Dslcollection wants to establish a model that makes collecting art continuously active and meaningful, always moving with the shifting times.   This collection has the particularity to use all the innovative tools to share with the public. Some dates : 2011 Ipad application, 2012 Creation of a museum on Second Life 2013: Creation of a museum in vr 2015, and in 2021 a video game and the metaverse. Dslcollection has been experiencing  the impact of the digital transformation on the art, the art market and the collectors.