Cobi Labuscagne

Between 2008 and 2019 Cobi ran her own organisation, Artlogic in Johannesburg with fellow shareholders, producing a large contemporary art fair (FNB JoburgArt Fair) amongst other large public events on the African continent and internationally. During this time her clients included local and national government, large corporate sponsors such as banks and telecommunications corporates and small businesses in the cultural sector. In her role as director, she managed stakeholders, did the organisational writing, editing, research and conceptualisation of their projects, as well as communications, marketing and finance.

Alongside her entrepreneurial activities, she has remained academically active by serving as Research Associate at GIBS (Gordon Institute of Business Science) between 2016 and 2022. She completed a PhD in sociology as a fellow at the Wits Institute of Social and Economic Research (WISER) in 2010 focused on the art economy, and have published in academic journals on topics of creative output as well as business management in the creative industries. In 2019 Cobi published a children’s book introducing and celebrating 42 of South Africa’s iconic contemporary artists. After selling her company in 2019 she worked as a consultant to the South African national government to roll-out a funding program out to the creative industries and do incubation work among creative entrepreneurs.

• Creative industries
• Research
• Management and leadership
• Financial management and reporting
• Information systems
• Future Thinking
• Circular Economy
• Entrepreneurship and innovation

My research has centered around the creative industries such as art galleries, large creative platforms and other businesses in the artisanal economy. I have also published on knowledge management and organizational processes. My recent research focused on small businesses in the creative industries incorporating circular practices into their business models.