Artrepreneur Podcast (art business journal)

Wine and art are two passions for Rafe D’Amico, who works full-time at Cumulus Media. So, in 2013, it made perfect sense for him to marry the two by founding Ozymandias Wines, a true passion project that helps raise funds for emerging artists by selling wine with artist-designed labels. D’Amico, who serves as President, and his predominantly volunteer staff use the bulk of the proceeds from wine sales to fund art projects and support the Ozymandias Wines Scholarship at the New York Academy of Art (NYAA).
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In this podcast, Rafe talks about his two passions and why they are such an important part of his mission.

Alexis Yuen is on a mission to discover socially engaged art by underrepresented artists that creates dialogue around today’s pressing issues and encourages action. Alexis is an art advisor, business and branding strategist, art tour docent, activist, and former artist. She’s now a creative entrepreneur and founder of her own company, The Art Diplomat, an art advisory for good. Her new business educates young people on how to change the world through art collecting; curates socially-conscious artworks for homes and brands; breaks barriers and creates paid opportunities for underrepresented artists, and inspires women of color to pursue careers in the arts.
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An aspiring diplomat since she was young, Alexis believes in the power of art to bring together different cultures. She travels internationally in search of art, meeting with women artists who are creating socially engaged artworks. In this podcast, she describes her journey to find her place in the art ecosystem, how she found the confidence to start her own company, and why she is passionate about mentoring the next generation of artists and art administrators.

A multi-talented visual artist with a creative writing background, New Jersey’s Amy Paraskeva wants viewers to generate their own stories when they view her work. With Amy’s distinct, minimal, and impactful style, she was a Creative Career Center Ad Open Call Winner for Artrepreneur, online destination for creatives to find jobs, manage their own business or freelance careers, and get tips on how to succeed. Her bold, bright and modern images were chose to represent the campaign tagline “Artrepreneurs Start Here.”

Amy describes herself as “innovative, self-motivated, highly creative and what I lack in good jokes I make up in dorkiness.” Artrepreneur’s Creative Careers Podcast interviewer Brian Young spoke to Amy about the event that inspired her to transition from writing to visual art, her thoughts on creative entrepreneurship, and what she wants her art to say. Follow Amy @paraskeva.

Anelle Miller, Director of the Society of Illustrators and the Museum of American Illustration in New York City, understands a successful career requires more than just talent. After all, it’s not what gifts you have, it’s what you do with them. Early on Anelle learned what to do, what not to do, and how best to harness the creativity of herself and those around her. For this conversation, Anelle discusses the importance of confidence (not arrogance!) and how being a team player, a good leader and “the kind of person others want to work with” has contributed to her success.

Since 2007, Anelle has served as Director of the Society of Illustrators and the Museum of American Illustration in New York City but her Creative Career story began many years earlier, in 1978, when she joined The Estée Lauder Companies. During her tenure, Miller helped to build their Origins-division to the 5th largest within the corporation. In the years following, Miller founded several successful businesses of her own including Bean Bag – a healthy food company featured in Women’s Wear Daily and Allure magazine, and Original Women a company whose mission is to celebrate the artistry of women from around the world by selling their handcrafted creations. She serves on the board of Friends of Materials for the Arts, Friends of Art and Design (a neighborhood association that supports the school) and has worked with groups such as New Alternatives for Children, Coalition for the Homeless, PENCIL, The Foundling, and AMAC, which supports autistic children and their families.

If you haven’t heard of Annette Green, wake up and smell the perfume. She’s one of America’s leading fragrance authorities and futurists, and the definition of a fearless entrepreneur. Green served as Executive Director and President of the Fragrance Foundation, a non-profit, educational organization, for 40 years. Her memoir, “Spritzing to Success with the Woman Who Brought an Industry to Its Senses,” focuses on the concepts she instituted to help drive the small six-figure industry to its current multi-billion-dollar stature.

Green is credited with inventing the concept of the “celebrity fragrance” (think White Diamonds by Liz Taylor), and in 1994 established The Annette Green/Fragrance Foundation Studio at The Fashion Institute of Technology – the first fragrance laboratory ever to be established in an American University. Green helped to establish the F.I.T.Cosmetic/Fragrance Marketing Bachelor’s Program, where students learn first-hand about how fragrances are developed, constructed, evaluated, tested, and marketing. 

In the 1980’s, Ms. Green created the Scents of Time, a perfume company which specialized in re-creating ancient fragrances, placing the history of fragrance against the backdrop of the changing mores of the societies where fragrances were born. After opening at the Museum of the City of New York to rave reviews in 1988, the Exhibition traveled to Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas. In the Fall of 2006, the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) Museum & Galleries opened The Annette Green Perfume Museum, a permanent installation open year round.

Listen or read below to hear Annette describe how she was destined for her career (hint: her mother’s water broke in the perfume aisle of a Wannamaker’s), rising through the ranks of the male-dominated fragrance industry in the 1950s and 60s, and how today, over 60 years since her career began, she never stops working, learning, and inspiring others.

Famed designer and animal rights activist, John Bartlett discusses the importance of sustainability in the design industry as well as how sustainability led him to start the Tiny Tim Rescue Fund, a charitable organization that provides ongoing resources to animal rescue organizations.

Born and raised in Ohio, John Bartlett is a graduate of Harvard University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. He served as a designer for Willi Smith and Ronaldus Shamask before launching his eponymous “John Bartlett” collection in 1991. The designer officially launched his newest line “The Tiny Tim Collection” in the Fall of 2011. The collection was lovingly created to help raise funds for the designer’s nonprofit 501(c)3 animal rescue organization, “The Tiny Tim Rescue Fund” which helps support independent rescue groups across the country.

He has long championed the issues of animal rights and welfare. John started The Tiny Tim Rescue Fund, a charitable nonprofit organization to honor the memory of his three-legged pit bull rescue named Tiny Tim, to raise and distribute funds for animal rescue groups who pull innocent animals directly from high-kill shelters thereby saving the lives of countless dogs and cats. The money raised by the Tiny Tim Rescue Fund goes to providing these animals with the proper medical attention, training, affection, human interaction and foster parents they desperately need so that they will one day find a loving, forever home.

Dian Holton‘s creativity knows no limits. Nor should it. She exemplifies the modern day “hybrid”, “portfolio” or “slasher” career, being one of over 53 million people doing freelance work in the United States.  With a combination of part-time employment, temporary work, freelance gigs, or a side hustle. her “job title” is fluid; her occupation is a myriad of professions.
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Based in Washington DC, Dian is an Art Director/Fashion Enthusiast/Pop Culture + Style Junkie/American Institute of Graphic Arts Washington DC Mentoring + Design Continuum Scholarship Fund Director/AIGA Diversity & Inclusion Task Force Committee member/Footwear Designer/Visual Display Associate. Dian has worked with brands such as The Gap, Nike, and AARP, and Hewlett Packard. She started Daily Digits, an Instagram series where she fashions numbers out of found objects. Dian was named a Graphic Design USA “Person to Watch” in 2016 and has earned many other awards (which would entail much more slashing).
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In this podcast, Dian talks about what it’s like to have so many different creative outlets. She describes what makes a collaborative leadership style, what she looks for when deciding on potential projects, and the importance of mentorship at every stage of a creative’s career.

Félicie Haymoz, character designer known for her work on “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Isle of Dogs,”  and Taili Wu, stop-motion “monster-shaper,” contrast their experiences working in the movie world, balancing commercial and creative projects, and how they’ve inspired each other. Artrepreneur’s curator Matt Rota explores with them their path to their current field and the highlights of their careers thus far. Félicie Haymoz and Taili Wu have currently teamed up to teach a unique covid-adapted workshop combining their perspectives through the use of paper puppets.

Frantz Alcindor is the Director of Career and Internship Services at the Fashion Institute of Technology where he serves the career development needs of over 9,000 students. 

In this podcast, Frantz discusses what it takes to find work and succeed in the creative industry. Matching your skillset to job opportunities, viewing yourself as an entrepreneur, and guiding your career path through the lens of problem-solving, are just a few of the topics you’ll hear in this extremely informative podcast. Regardless of where you are in your creative career, Frantz has advice for you.  

Brian Young is a lead creative recruiter at Creative Circle in New York. A champion of Creative Circle’s culture, Brian partners with stakeholders and executive leadership to shape and uphold core values and operational best practices. Throughout his tenure at Creative Circle, Brian has mentored, managed, coached and developed teams, in multiple markets – directly contributing to Creative Circle’s growth and success.
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In this podcast, Young discusses a variety of trends in today’s market along with advice to stand out and get noticed no matter what stage you’re at in your career. From graphics designers to illustrators, UX designers, animators and others, Young helps you better prepared to enter the creative job market.

Mark Golden grew up with paints all around him. His father started a paint supply business in the 1930’s in NYC frequented by William de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. Following in his footsteps, Golden started Golden Artist Colors. As CEO, he re-imagined a new company based on delighting customers and sustainability, from its waste management practices to being an employee-owned company (ESOP). With an artist-in-residence program and philanthropic commitment, Golden has created a winning formula.
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In this podcast, calling in from a farm in upstate New York, a small town called New Berlin, population 2700, which also happens to be their corporate HQ, he talks about the opportunities and challenges in running a small business and what it takes to steer the ship. For Golden, his business is more than materials for artists, “colors are a catalyst, bridging creative communities and inspiring positive global change through the arts, recognizing that we do have a voice.” Mark Golden received the 1996 Small Business Person of the Year from the US Small Business Administration. Golden Artist Colors was featured on the NBC Nightly News as a successful small business.

Martin Wittfooth, an acclaimed painter, discusses with Artrepreneur curator, Matthew Rota, his artistic journey, album covers, the discovery of his love of oil painting, and the logistics of gallery shows and art fairs.  Wittfooth’s oil paintings explore disquieting themes of “industry and nature, unhinged evolution, and the clash of old ideologies with modern fears”, and have appeared in numerous publications such as New American Paintings, Hi-Fructose, and American Artist.

View Martin Wittfooth’s Artrepreneur profile here.

For artist Matt Rota, finding community and building a network is key.  He sat down with Artrepreneur’s Chief-Curator to discuss the path from art school kid to illustrating for the New York Times, The New Yorker, Harpers, Politico, Smithsonian, The Washington Post, and the Criterion Collection, among others.

It’s every artist’s dream to have their work in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art (New York). It means you’re part of the history of art. But Michael Hafftka’s is focusing on the present and the future. His creative career is going strong after more than four decades as an internationally acclaimed visual artist.  His accomplishments check all the boxes for achieving the status of a legend in the art world.  His work has been recognized by renowned art critics  from The Sunday Times of London and The New York Times.
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In this podcast, Hafftka discusses his career from the 1970’s to the present, how he’s embraced social media, and the “dying gallery model”. If you want to know how an artist achieves longevity in his career and what it takes to persist, listen to what art legend Michael Hafftka has to say.

Matt Rota sat down with Nathan Fox, Chair of the MFA Visual Narrative Department at the School of Visual Arts and award winning illustrator & comic book artist, to discuss how he went from editorial to comics and how he developed the skills to effectively craft visual narratives. To see Nathan’s work, visit his profile on Artrepreneur or pick up his latest comic, The Weatherman from Image Comics.

Matt Rota is an illustrator and an instructor. His clients include The New York Times, The New Yorker, Criterion, The LA Times, Harpers, The Washington Post and more.

Nicole Purcell has been president of the Clio awards since 2010. An accomplished marketing executive, Purcell has spent over a decade working in the media and entertainment industries.

The Clio awards are one of the most identifiable brands within the advertising world. Established in 1960 to elevate the most creative advertising campaigns and talent, the Clio awards have a long history within the advertising world and in pop culture. Today, the Clio awards have branched out to include multiple verticals, including music, fashion, sports, and other creative fields. Soon, Clio will also launch a content platform, to be run by the former editor of Adweek, and will highlight creativity in a way that it hasn’t been explored or interpreted before. In this podcast, Orangenius CEO and founder interviews Nicole Purcell, the president of the Clio Awards, who offers some insight into Clio’s growth trajectory while discussing which recent advertising stunts really struck her interest.

Interestingly, Clio is itself driving forward a movement that’s more inclusive of women in the ad world. Historically dominated by men, Clio was chastised as recently as a five years ago on its lack of diversity on its juried panels. Each year’s jury calls on 100 creative executives to select the year’s winners, and these visits often entail extensive travel and time spent away from the office. As such, many women were unwilling to join the jury out of fear they would miss opportunities at work. When Purcell caught wind of this discrepancy, she worked tirelessly to correct it. “Today, the Clio juries are 50/50, and that’s something we’re really proud of,” says Purcell.

When it comes to trends in advertising, Cho noted that the major players in the advertising world often shift from big agencies to smaller outfits, and Purcell agrees that the swing is quite prevalent. According to Purcell, the current trend favors smaller firms who can be more nimble and adhere to the needs of their clients. Moreover, agencies are increasingly focusing on hiring freelancers over full-time employees, to accommodate both the needs of the market and provide flexibility for their hires. Purcell notes that Clio frequently employs seasonal talent, ramping up when awards season is coming upon them.

Finally, Purcell discusses one of her favorite Clio winners of late – McCann’s “Fearless Girl” campaign, which commissioned a sculpture by artist Kristen Visbal that quickly became a viral sensation. Purcell notes that McCann won five Grand Clio awards for the work, an unprecedented amount of honors that Clio has rarely doled out. She notes how winning a Clio award can significantly enhance an agency’s stature, while impacting an individual creative’s career. Notably, the Clio Awards are launching an initiative that supports students with their portfolios, so they can be better prepared to enter the competitive world of advertising.

Raghava KK – Multidisciplinary Artist, Curator, and Storyteller, explores the transcendence of art through the ambits of the current digital era without sacrificing the particular. His work traverses traditional forms of painting, installation, and performance, while his practice embraces new media to express post-human contemporary realities. Raghava discusses with Grace Cho, Artrepreneur CEO, the importance of identity and what it means to journey through art.

Raghava KK has been named by CNN as one of the 10 most remarkable people and has been a featured speaker at countless events such as the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, multiple TED talks, and has been the keynote speaker at many top conferences around the globe.

Rich Tu is the VP of digital design for MTV, VH1, CMT, and Logo. Hear what inspires Rich to create energetic and electrifying designs for brands like Nike, New York Times, and Coca-Cola. He has always been stimulated by street art and the underground scene, allowing a fresh and youthful vibe into mainstream media. From deciding to develop his artistic career to building his relationships with fellow artists, see how Rich emerged to become an influential creator and storyteller in the commercial world.

Successful founder of Blibetroy, a handbag and accessory business artist, designer, builder and maker Sarah Katherine Bleibtreu never believed that you have to do or be just one thing in life. For her, creativity is fluid and ideas are whispers in the air that need to be captured and cultivated. Working across the disciplines of architecture, fashion, accessory design, and the plastic fine arts, Sarah’s title is also fluid. Whether she’s creating Blibetroy, a handbag business, designing homes, objects or lighting, what stays the same is her vision to create a specific sensory experience and bring it to life so others can enjoy it.
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In this podcast, Sarah talks to Brian Young about balancing the creative process and bringing an idea or product to market. She explains how making your version of what you want to exist in the world requires both discipline and openness to keep refining it. And, while everything has to have a monetary value, that doesn’t mean you always need the intention of selling it before it has time to mature.

Sergio Bessa, Director of Curatorial Programs at the Bronx Museum with host Grace Cho (CEO of Artrepreneur), discusses the “Sanford Biggers: Codeswitch” exhibition and exploring what it means to be a curator in the shifting future of the arts industry. Bessa has made an unquestionable claim in the art world with many acclaimed exhibitions, publications, and has contributed texts to numerous catalogs, anthologies, and scholarly journals. Bessa completed his Ph.D. in Art Education from New York University and earned an MFA from Pratt Institute.

You can view the “Sanford Biggers: Codeswitch” exhibition virtually on Artrepreneur’s Art360˚.

Steve Brodner, an award-winning illustrator, caricaturist and journalist, as he dives into how he “lets his art respond to the world”. Brodner investigates how he takes a story and physicality of a subject to craft a narrative through visual storytelling. Working with publications such as The New Yorker, L.A. Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and more, Brodner shares his experiences in the political world as a creative reporter and narrator. Listen to his conversation with our host, Matt Rota.

Visit Steve Brodner’s Artrepreneur profile here.

Zoë van Dijk, a freelance illustrator and storyteller, discusses with Artrepreneur curator Matt Rota her navigation of the freelance world, her roots, and her journey into editorial artwork.  Zoë van Dijk’s illustrations are often described as moody and she masterfully plays with light and shadow. Her illustrations have been featured in publications such as Variety Entertainment Weekly, Netflix, Wired Long Reads, Buzzfeed, Vice, the Atlantic, and the Washington Post.

Heather Pontonio is the art program director of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. She manages the Foundation’s national biennial Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award and the Marketplace Empowerment for Artists programs.
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In this podcast, Artrepreneur Founder and CEO, Grace Cho speaks with Heather Pontonio, the art program director of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation. The organization’s mission to tackle educational issues facing a variety of sectors is driven by a desire to make a national impact, and that mission has been fiercely adhered to within its arts initiative. The Tremaine Foundation began funding university programs roughly 15 years ago, with the goal of creating coursework that teaches business skills to artists.

American artist, curator, and creative designer Tony Khawam’s recent work and curated exhibitions are influenced by the unfathomable unrest in Syria. For many creatives, like Khawam, their homeland informs both their artwork and their deeply personal stories behind their creation. There’s no better example of this than Khawam. Born in Aleppo, Syria and currently living in Florida, he believes that stories bring power to art and make the work more compelling. For him, art is a form of expression that facilitates an exchange of cultures and ideas conveyed through the viewer’s aesthetic experience of the work.
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In this podcast, Tony talks about his vision as an artist, marketing strategies as an artist and gallery owner, and the two things that potential buyers consider when looking at art. He also shares the qualities he looks for when curating work and identifying artists to exhibit.

In conversation with Matt Rota, Javier Ameijeiras, associate designer for the Oscars and Art Director for Hamilton, provides a fresh take on what it means to be an illustrator and designer. He discusses taking the formal pen & paper tools he honed in college and adapting them to exist in 3-D. His creative forces have been applied to the physical worlds of Production Design, Art Direction, and Conceptual Development. Javier has contributed to Emmy winning TV shows, Oscar-nominated films, and Tony Award-winning productions such as the hit Broadway show Hamilton, Disney’s Beauty and Beast, HBO’s Bored to Death, Girls, Boardwalk Empire, and so many more.