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Founder Callum Hale-Thomson will share the story behind First Thursday, a digital platform transforming how galleries meet and engage with their collectors. Learn how he launched a tech venture in a traditionally tech-averse industry and practical strategies for how you can leverage technology and AI to help accelerate your own career in the arts.
Whether you’re tech-savvy or completely new to AI, there will be plenty of time for open Q&A.
Callum Hale-Thomson is the founder of First Thursday, a sales intelligence platform that leverages AI and automation to help commercial art galleries identify and nurture their most valuable collectors. By improving internal efficiency and cutting out manual tasks, the platform enables sales directors to focus on growing their most important relationships. Since its launch during Frieze London in 2024, First Thursday has grown rapidly to support dozens of leading international galleries both online and at major art fairs like Frieze, Art Basel, and The Armory Show. Our inaugural Art Fair Report launched in August 2025 and was featured in ARTnews, ArtTactic and more – reaching hundreds of thousands of readers.
Before founding First Thursday, Callum spent a decade honing his expertise in AI, data analysis, and strategy at early-stage startups, most recently leading Strategic Operations and International Expansion at Otta.com. Whilst working in startups, he moonlit as an artist agent for both emerging and established contemporary artists, working on everything digital, from managing social media accounts to building collector databases. Growing up in a family of artists, he studied Literature at Cambridge University, before joining a startup as an intern during his second year of studies.