BDAA ACCESS (Winter 2020)

JH: What has been your worst moment since starting BDAA?
BD: Without doubt it’s been the art market itself. Or rather the people that inhabit it! I’ve done top end
international sales, worked in the shark infested waters of the fashion industry, the cut throat world of elite sport
and still wasn’t prepared for the amount of lies, false promises and backstabbing that I’ve experienced over the
last two years. It’s been truly amazing to witness the level of disingenuous behaviour that seems almost de rigueur
in the art world.
JH: Any particular people or moments stand out?
BD: Er, I’ll ‘take the fifth’ on that one! Ha! Ha! But yeah; for sure there’s a few people on my shit list that ain’t EVER
coming off!
JH: If you could go back and do anything different, what would it be?
BD: For sure it’d be to bring more things in house sooner and to protect the end-to-end control that comes with
that. It’s understandable, I guess, when you’re new to an industry to look to the people and ways of working that
are already there and try to mimic that. As you have no other frame of reference. But it was only when I started
following my own instincts and turned my back on the ‘establishment’ that we started to make serious inroads.
I mentioned earlier that I’ve done a lot of different things. And it’s weird, because most of what I’ve done before
has actually become of use in terms running the agency. Whether it’s destiny, irony or pure coincidence my past
work experience has been invaluable in building a business that actually works.
WINTER 2020 BDAA ACCESS 11