Research Focus

Art market and media theory, signaling processes and value attribution, mediatisation of the art market, the influence of new technologies on market structures, digital transformation of cultural institutions

Her research interests emerged from market practice. After more than ten years in the international art market, in galleries, at art fairs and in cultural institutions, one observation became increasingly central: how art is valued is not a purely economic operation, but a mediatised process. Visibility, repetition and institutional framing determine which signals appear credible and generate trust.

Her dissertation project at Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF examines how these mediatisation processes are changing under the influence of new technologies, and how this affects value attribution in the art market. Technological infrastructures such as AI and blockchain have not only made existing market dynamics visible, but amplified them, with measurable consequences for pricing and market structure. Methodologically, the study combines the application of signaling theory to the art market with media theory and affect theory. The aim is an explanatory model of how trust, attention and symbolic authority are produced and circulated through media structures.

In parallel, she works on the practical side of the same question: the digital transformation of cultural institutions, particularly at the intersection of archival databases, AI integration and data sovereignty.

Bio

Viktoria Hilsberg studied art history and cultural studies in Leipzig, Berlin and Barcelona, among other places. Since 2026, she has been pursuing her doctorate at Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Susanne Eichner. Prior to this, she worked in the international art market for more than ten years, including three years as Gallery Manager at Galerie Irrgang in Leipzig and most recently as Gallery Relations Manager at POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, working with 75 galleries from 19 countries. She publishes regularly on the art market, media theory and the economic dimensions of digital art, including in Navigationen (2025). As founder of archora, she supports the digital transformation of cultural institutions in Europe.