Arts Production

Candlestar produces a wide range of arts projects including art prizes, auctions, residences and exhibitions.  Recent projects include the development of the world’s first prize in photography and sustainability for the Swiss Bank Pictet & Cie (Prix Pictet) and a contemporary art prize for the London-based charity Magic of Persia (Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize).

The Candlestar arts team has built an impressive exhibitions portfolio which, in 2009, has led to exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Geneva, Hong Kong, Eindhoven and Dresden.

Over the past decade we have developed an unparalleled track record in the initiation and production of major international cultural projects. These include an acclaimed partnership between CERN and thirteen of Europe's leading visual artists which resulted in Signatures of the Invisible - an exhibition that toured the world and ended its run at PS1 in New York in 2003. In 2005 we designed the European Art Prize for the Sovereign Art Foundation, and we were one of the co-creators of the Gulf Art Fair in Dubai 2007, where we developed an arts programme that included Conrad Shawcross, Emily Young and the distinguished Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli. In 2008 we designed a European student art prize for UCTV

Network and partnership building is at the heart of everything Candlestar does. For the Sovereign Art Foundation we built an extensive European network of advisers and for the Prix Pictet we established a global network of nominators. We regularly broker relationships for our clients with major organisations including the Venice Biennale, the FT, FIAC, Paris Photo, Frieze Art Fair, the Hayward Gallery, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, Bonhams, A Foundation and Kids Co.

Sadegh Tirafkan, #5 Multitude, Digital Photo Collage, 2008 (detail)