All Programs
Maria Hiltunen-Sedoshenko
Art manager, curator and art historian
Has worked at Phillips auction house, 11.12 Gallery and Winzavod, on the artists’ side as a manager. She has curated exhibitions at MMOMA and given one-to-one reviews to more than 1,000 artists. At OnStudy she writes programmes on the artist’s career: how to get into galleries and fairs and start selling work.
In brief
- Specialism
- Art management, the art market, getting artists into galleries and fairs
- Experience
- Phillips auction house, 11.12 Gallery, Winzavod — manager on the artists’ side
- Current practice
- One-to-one consultations for artists and art managers; the Your Art Muse blog on Telegram
- Education
- RMA Business School — art management, the gallery business, conflict studies (social psychology)
- Class formats
- Recorded lectures, reviews of your work and documents, Q&A, live sessions, a defence of your document pack
- Who it suits
- Emerging and academically trained artists, designers and illustrators, and people who want to work in art without making it
About the tutor
Maria Hiltunen-Sedoshenko is an art manager, curator and art historian. She has worked at Phillips auction house, 11.12 Gallery and Winzavod, on the artists’ side as a manager. She has curated exhibitions at MMOMA, accompanied artists at six art fairs and given one-to-one consultations to more than 1,000 artists. She trained at RMA Business School in art management, the gallery business and conflict studies.
“When we talk about the art market — if the aim is to enter the art world — we are talking about grown-up tasks. The art market demands a responsible approach, from galleries and from the artist alike.”
“You cannot plan a signature style, and you cannot dream one up. It is a process in which you start working with a theme. <…> Your main task is to become visible. Ask yourself: what else can I do to get noticed?”
“Don’t be afraid to apply, even when you meet rejection. It is normal for the process to take commitment and time.”
Translated from Maria’s article “How can a contemporary artist become sought-after in the art world?” (in Russian), vc.ru, 2024What she teaches
- Putting together a portfolio, CV and bio the way galleries and fairs expect
- Understanding how galleries, fairs and open calls work
- Pricing your work
- Talking and writing about your work
- Building a personal strategy for entering the art world
Experience and projects
Phillips, 11.12 Gallery, Winzavod
An auction house, a contemporary art gallery and an art cluster — on the artists’ side, as a manager.
Curating: MMOMA and 11.12 Gallery
Katrin Z., “Between Fun and Pleasure”, at MMOMA, 25 Petrovka Street. At 11.12 Gallery: Damir Muratov, “Short Stories”; Slava PTRK / SBPCh; Nikita Shokhov, Scan Klaxon (2020).
Art fairs, lectures, articles
DaMoscow 2019, Cosmoscow 2020, Blazar 2020, Art Russia 2020–2022 — organising artists’ participation and accompanying them. A lecture on “The contemporary art market in Russia” for M.O.X and articles on the artist’s career for vc.ru.
How classes work
Based on the core programme, Into the Art World 2.0.
Theory
Recorded lectures — watch at your own pace, whenever suits you.
Practice
The programme is built around your own work: portfolio, artist’s documents, applications.
Feedback
Document reviews from Maria and the team, weekly Q&A and monthly live sessions.
Outcome
A personal defence of your document pack — ready to take to galleries and fairs.
Her programmes
Student results
Cases from the Into the Art World 2.0 programme pages and Maria’s one-to-one consultations.
A one-year contract with a gallery in Chelsea, New York
Lina Yakobi. She also took part in the group show “The Magic of Luminous Art” at Fusion Art Gallery in Marbella.
His first million roubles from art — during the programme
Alexey Golovin. A solo show at Hidden Place, a contract with Askeri Gallery, Art Russia 2023–2024.
A contract with Haze gallery in Berlin
Milada Kopeliovich. An academically trained artist before the course.
775,000 roubles from Tavrida.Art
Tatyana Kozlova. Before the course she painted academic portraits; afterwards she moved on to large-scale installations.
A solo show at the Omelchenko Gallery
Valeria Salnikova. Had never exhibited contemporary art before the course; took part in Art Russia 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Also: graduates founded the MOX art collective — by February 2025 it had more than 30 members; Alexey Golovin and Varvara Balashova are taking part in the Erarta Prize 2025.
What students say
Students’ words, translated from Russian — from interviews with the school and messages after their results.
“Maria, first of all as a perceptive psychologist, helped me get past the fear and the barriers that were keeping me from speaking freely about my art, from stepping out of my introvert’s shell.”
“A special thank you to Maria for the engaging, methodical way she presents the material, draws you into the process and supports you.”
“I learned a huge amount about how the art world and the market work. I wrote my first artist statement and got feedback from Maria. I owe my first exhibitions to Maria.”
“Today I signed a contract with my first gallery!!! Without you I would never have believed in myself or put together a strong document pack!”
Questions about the programmes?
We’ll help you choose which of Maria’s programmes suits your goals and level, and explain how the classes work.
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