We discussed the types of institutions she works with, how projects are funded, and the rhythm of their realization.
The post Putting artists first in curatorial projects with Melissa Messina (136) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>There’s no fancy introduction for this episode because I want to take you straight to the informative conversation I had with Melissa Messina.
I asked Melissa to give us a peek under the hood of her daily life as an independent curator, and she didn’t hold back.
In our conversation, Melissa shares how she became a curator after starting out as an artist. We discussed the institutions she works with as well as the various projects, how she finds them, and the rhythm of how they start and then are fully realized.
She also reveals where we might find other independent curators and the mistakes she sees artists making when they approach her.
Another thing I wanted to make sure we hit on was the studio visit tradition: at what point do they occur and what happens during them.
[ Recommended read from Hyperallergic: For Women Artists, Studio Visits Can Be Risky Business ]
Listen closely to Melissa’s advice about the value of your network. This can’t be overemphasized.
Speaking of our networks, special thanks to Sara Lee Hughes for introducing me to Melissa and her work.
Listen
Highlights
- “I think that curator gene has always been in me.” (1:55)
- Melissa’s work as an independent curator. (5:32)
- How does a curator find their artists? (9:00)
- The importance of your network. (14:37)
- Insights from the details of one of Melissa’s standard projects. (18:46)
- Scheduling projects and finding funding with fellowships. (23:55)
- Curating an artist’s estate is the joy of Melissa’s life. (26:53)
- What piques Melissa’s interest in the artists she encounters? (32:01)
- The cities, websites, publications, and galleries where Melissa looks for artists. (35:00)
- Working with galleries as an independent curator. (38:04)
- The role that studio visits play in a curator-artist relationship. (40:54)
- What curators are looking for from a studio visit. (48:51)
- Correcting the mistakes that too many artists make. (50:54)
Mentioned
Melissa Messina Quotes
“I’m constantly making calculations to see where an exhibition or project might percolate out of my experiences and relationships.”
“Your network is everything.”
“There are some really good artists with bad attitudes, and I would much rather give the opportunity to someone who is a joy to work with.”
“I think artists would do better to let go of their expectations in a studio visit.”
“Without the artist and their work, there wouldn’t be anything for us to do.”
Related Episodes
Art center curator Collin Parson on how he works with artists.
Art gallery director Jeremy Tessmer talks about what he looks for in artists.
Maria Brito is a link between artists, galleries and collectors.
About My Guest
Melissa Messina is a nationally recognized arts professional who has developed thought-provoking exhibitions, dynamic site-responsive projects and engaging educational public programming both independently and in leadership positions at museums and non-profit arts organizations. For 20 years, her work with regional, national, and international artists has been presented in the U.S. in Atlanta, Kansas City, Miami, New York, New Orleans, Richmond, Savannah, and Washington, D.C., as well as in Bermuda, France, and Hong Kong. She has lectured extensively and published widely, and her research has been funded by Creative Time and The Andy Warhol Foundation, as well as by fellowships at Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Library, Atlanta, GA, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR.
In addition to serving select public and private clients, she is the curator of the Mildred Thompson Estate. She has also recently served as guest curator at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, and the New Orleans Museum of Art, and was the co-curator of the 2018 and 2020 Bermuda Biennials. In 2017, she co-created Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to Today, an intergenerational exhibition highlighting 21 Black female abstract practitioners that traveled from Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City to The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
Follow her on Instagram @melissa_messina
The post Putting artists first in curatorial projects with Melissa Messina (136) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>We talk about how she works with artists, galleries, and collectors and why she thinks there has never been a better time to be an artist.
The post The Art Biz ep. 127: She’s the Link Between Artists, Galleries and Collectors with Maria Brito appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>The art world is notorious for being opaque and aloof.
Art is shown and sold without a price made public and galleries train their salespeople to ignore viewers who enter their sacred space.
It’s enough to discourage most people.
My guest for this episode of The Art Biz is Maria Brito, award-winning New York-based contemporary art advisor, curator, and bestselling author on the topic of creativity.
Maria is working to demystify the art world for people who might be otherwise intimidated to enter a gallery. She is an advocate for democratizing the art world for artists, and for collectors who might be interested in buying art but aren’t yet ready to spend tens of thousands of dollars.
Maria and I talk about how she works with artists, galleries, and collectors and why she thinks there has never been a better time to be an artist.
You won’t want to miss her tips about Instagram and why you can’t afford to ignore this valuable platform (no matter how much you want to).
Highlights
- Maria’s career was born from what is missing in the art world. (2:35)
- Democratizing and demystifying the art world. (6:29)
- Making your own rules when using the free marketing tools of Instagram. (12:32)
- There is more than one right way to be an artist. (16:06)
- Maria’s daily interactions with artists. (19:20)
- How does Maria decide which artist offerings to pursue? (24:22)
- The role that a curated Instagram feed plays in discovering artists. (30:24)
- Additional online details that attract Maria to an artist. (35:27)
- A look into Maria’s new book How Creativity Rules the World. (40:15)
- Curiosity and the original artist’s mind. (46:36)
Maria Brito Quotes
- “One of the things that helped me succeed was that I was so interested in portraying artists in a different light.”
- “We have to acknowledge that, for the most part, these buckets of technology have definitely helped us democratize and streamline and find clients and find collectors that otherwise would be impossible.”
- “There hasn’t been a better time in history to be an artist.”
- “Being able to have control over how you present your message is just a gift.”
- “Artists have to treat their Instagram account as their own gallery.”
- “The point of being curious is to find more opportunities.”
Related Episodes
Laurence de Valmy discusses how she boldly reached out to art world influencers.
Art gallery director Jeremy Tessmer talks about what he looks for in artists.
Art center curator Collin Parson on how he works with artists.
Problem solving and the life of an artist with Michael Gadlin.
About My Guest
Maria Brito is an award-winning New York-based contemporary art advisor, curator, and the bestselling author of How Creativity Rules The World. A Harvard graduate, originally from Venezuela, Brito has been selected by Complex Magazine as one of the 20 Power Players in the Art World, and she was named by ARTnews as one of the visionaries who gets to shape the art world. She has written articles to help demystify the art world for numerous business and cultural publications. In 2019, she launched “Jumpstart,” an online program on creativity that has been utilized by over 1000 people ranging from artists to entrepreneurs.
Follow her on Instagram @mariabrito_ny
The post The Art Biz ep. 127: She’s the Link Between Artists, Galleries and Collectors with Maria Brito appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Who decides on what to show and when to show it?
Who selects which works of art are next to one another and where to put the labels on the wall or a pedestal on the floor?
Who is the lucky dog who has the the ultimate say on the color to paint the walls?
All of these decisions, and more, fall under the purview of curators in those non-profit spaces.
The post The Art Biz ep. 116: How One Curator Works with Artists at a Regional Art Center with Collin Parson appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Members of the general public enjoy their visits to art centers and museums without much thought as to how the art got into those spaces in the first place.
Who decides on what to show and when to show it?
Who selects which works of art are next to one another and where to put the labels on the wall or a pedestal on the floor?
Who is the lucky dog who has the the ultimate say on the color to paint the walls?
All of these decisions, and more, fall under the purview of curators and exhibition directors, sometimes in consultation with exhibition designers, in those non-profit spaces.
In this episode of The Art Biz podcast I talk with Collin Parson, the Director of Galleries and Curator at the Arvada Center for Arts and Humanities in the Denver suburb of Arvada, Colorado.
Collin, who is also an artist with a robust studio practice, reveals how the exhibition process works at their venue: his timeline, rotating gallery spaces, and the decision makers at the organization.
We also discuss how he selects artists for shows, what makes an artist easy and fun to work with, and why it’s important that artists keep him informed (and how he likes to be kept informed).
If you pay close attention, you’ll pick up on some of the big mistakes he sees artists making—mistakes that are easily fixed.
Highlights
- Collin’s background as an artist and his work as a curator. (1:30)
- Curating a massive space and Collin’s approach to rotating exhibitions. (10:50)
- Scheduling artists into a gallery’s calendar isn’t as simple as it seems. (19:15)
- Why Collin generally doesn’t accept exhibition proposals. (22:52)
- What makes an artist fun to collaborate with? (26:48)
- What Collin wishes every artist would do—and not do. (33:03)
- Studio visits and what curators expect from artists. (38:25)
- Finding inspiration for the most memorable shows. (45:35)
- Details about juried shows and artist rosters. (48:55)
- Balancing curating exhibits, making art, and a personal life. (55:03)
Collin Parson Quotes
- “Work or volunteer at an art center and you will learn so much as an artist about what to do and what not to do.”
- “I always tell artists sometimes you have to be patient. Just let me know you’re out there.”
- “You can remove the ego and just have confidence.”
- “[Curating a show] is a very collaborative process.”
- “You can’t get accepted into exhibits until you put your work out there.”
Mentioned
- Charles Parson
- Arvada Center Galleries and Exhibitions
- Meow Wolf in Denver
- Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
- Steve Farland’s warrior chair-sculptures
About My Guest
Born and raised in Colorado, Collin Parson currently serves as the Director of Galleries and Curator for the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Arvada, Colorado, is a former member of the historic Pirate: Contemporary Art cooperative, and is an alumni of RedLine’s artist residency program. An arts administrator, artist, curator, and designer, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Design and Technology with an emphasis in Lighting and Scene Design from CU at Boulder and his MA in Visual Culture and Arts Administration from Regis University.
Follow Collin on Instagram: @collinparson
The post The Art Biz ep. 116: How One Curator Works with Artists at a Regional Art Center with Collin Parson appeared first on Art Biz Success.
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