Cover Sara Mao is the founder of The Culture Atelier (Photo: TMT/Tatler Hong Kong)
Sara Mao is the founder of The Culture Atelier (Photo: TMT/Tatler Hong Kong)
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Art expert and founder of consulting collective The Culture Atelier Sara Mao explains why collecting is a matter of education, not just acquisition
After spending nearly two decades at Christie’s—as the vice-president of modern Chinese paintings, then director of Christie’s Education Asia Pacific—auctioneer Sara Mao launched The Culture Atelier last October, a consulting collective rooted in education, strategy and legacy planning. The timing of her entrepreneurial leap reflects both personal ambition and market
opportunity. “I really wanted to build on people’s appreciation for culture,” Mao says. Her approach centres on three pillars: education, cultural storytelling and strategic insight—the latter an area she believes receives considerable lip service but insufficient attention.
What distinguishes Mao’s venture is her expertise: a long-time auctioneer, with a formal art education background, offering culture advisory services. Her time as an art specialist was “heavy on transactions, on curation and understanding the trends and tastes of the market”, but her subsequent shift to education proved life-changing. “When you’re a specialist, you’re incredibly niche in identifying paintings, knowing how much you’re going to value them for and which collectors you’re going to target for purchases,” she says. “But when you’re in education, you recognise that there are many different ways you can approach art
and luxury.”
Above Sara Mao (Photo: TMT/Tatler Hong Kong)
Sara Mao (Photo: TMT/Tatler Hong Kong)
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This educational philosophy informs The Culture Atelier’s structure, which Mao conceives as a collective rather than a traditional consultancy. “I see myself as a connector that brings people together to learn, depending on their needs,” she says. Through her work she is able to facilitate private, guided tours to popular exhibitions, led by curators and specialists to bring depth and nuance to otherwise mass experiences. Recent excursions have included the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s Mughal and Egyptian exhibitions. “Engaging with an iconic exhibition alongside a subject matter expert offers a level of access, connection and understanding that is both rare and deeply meaningful,” she says. “It goes back to my belief in education being the foundation of art appreciation and collecting.”
Her firm serves two distinct client categories: private clients, including independent collectors and family offices, where the focus is on building and continuing a collecting legacy; and corporates and institutions, where the focus is on understanding objectives and advising on artworks that meaningfully represent their values, mission or collecting purpose. “I am able to move fluidly between these roles, adapting my approach to very different needs while maintaining the same depth of cultural insight,” she says. For collectors embarking on long-term relationships with her firm, Mao avoids the typical advisory approach of immediately discussing budgets and preferences. “If I were to say, ‘How much money do you have?’, that doesn’t give the framework for the collector to build beyond that conversation.”
Above Sara Mao (Photo: TMT/Tatler Hong Kong)
Sara Mao (Photo: TMT/Tatler Hong Kong)
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Instead, she develops bespoke strategies addressing five-, ten-, and even 20-year collection trajectories, legacy planning, and broader cultural participation in everything from joining museum advisory boards to supporting emerging artists and graduate shows. “There are so many ways you can participate in the cultural community,” she says, rejecting the term “art advisory” as insufficiently comprehensive for the cultural curation she practises.
Her approach draws from personal history. Mao’s grandfather, Philip Mao, a doctor and Chinese ceramics collector, specialised in transitional porcelain–that were produced during and after the transition from the Ming to Qing dynasties, which represents moments of political and socioeconomic upheaval. When he determined that neither his son nor granddaughters shared his passion, he donated his entire research library to the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore and dispersed his collection, rather than force his descendants to take them. “He made me recognise that there are people who are going to appreciate [an inheritance] more than you. It doesn’t have to be [given to] your family,” Mao says. This lesson highlighted her conviction that
education must precede and inform collection-building.
For high-net-worth individuals with spending power but no concrete investment plans, her advisory offers a methodology for building something that will last the test of time and something they’d be proud to give to the next generation. “I believe art and culture are about legacy,” she says. The Culture Atelier proposes that the path from wealth to meaningful cultural contribution requires not just advisors, but educators, strategists and long-term- thinking partners that think beyond individual purchases. In a region where the culture of collecting continues to evolve rapidly, Mao’s emphasis on education-first advisory is one to watch.
Credits
Photography: TMT
Production: Carlos Hui
Photography Assistant: Wu Ho Sun
As Content Director at Tatler Hong Kong, Tara shapes the brand's editorial vision across social, digital and print. She also drives the planning and execution of Tatler's flagship IPs. In her dual role as Head of VIP, she reports on Asia's most influential figures — from CEOs and leaders across business, style and the arts — curates star-studded events, and builds the relationships and communities that define the brand. Born and raised in the Middle East, she honed her craft in Dubai, building communication strategies for luxury brands across the Gulf. Follow her on Instagram @tarasobti.
