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ART WRLD CONFERENCE

SELF-EMPOWERMENT AND FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR ARTISTS AND ARTS PROFESSIONALS

New York Law School

ABOUT

Welcome to Art World Conference, a new, annual professional development experience bringing together artists and arts professionals at all stages in their careers.

Art World Conference is a business and financial literacy conference that includes panel discussions, conversations, and in-depth workshops addressing many of the opportunities and challenges faced by visual artists and arts professionals who work closely with artists. Topics range from sales, marketing, grants, taxes, managing debt, and investing to managing public projects, new technologies, and growing and sustaining community. The emphasis of all programming is on personal development and empowerment.

Our first conference launched at New York Law School in April of 2019. We look forward to seeing you at upcoming 2020 conferences in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago! If you’d like information as it becomes available, join our mailing list below and start following us @artworldconference.

Art World Conference is organized by Dexter Wimberly, entrepreneur and independent curator, and Heather Bhandari, independent curator and co-author of the leading professional development guide for artists, Art/Work. We believe organization, financial literacy, and professionalism are crucial components of an artist’s studio practice. Business skills and sustainable income streams create opportunities and resources for the implementation of creative, ambitious ideas. Our goal is to provide a platform where artists learn tangible skills, are directed to relevant resources, explore options for sustainability at all stages in their careers, and feel the support of community.

Art World Conference is a fiscally sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts.



Team

  • Dexter Wimberly

    DEXTER WIMBERLY
    Founder & CEO

    Heather Bhandari

    HEATHER BHANDARI
    Creative Director

Dexter Wimberly
DEXTER WIMBERLY
Founder & CEO
Dexter Wimberly is an entrepreneur and independent curator who has organized exhibitions and developed programs with galleries and institutions throughout the world including The Third Line (Dubai); Koki Arts (Tokyo); Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, NC; and the Museum of Arts and Design (NYC). His exhibitions have been reviewed and featured in publications including The New York Times, Artforum, and Hyperallergic; and have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Wimberly served on the board of the New York-based arts nonprofit, The Laundromat Project for 4 years and actively supports other arts organizations. Prior to developing his curatorial practice, Wimberly was the founder and CEO of the pioneering marketing and public relations agency, August Bishop. Wimberly has also served as Director of Communications for The Museum for African Art, NY; Director of Strategic Planning at Independent Curators International, NY; and Executive Director of Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art in Newark, NJ.

@dexterwimberly
Heather Bhandari
HEATHER BHANDARI
Creative Director
Heather Darcy Bhandari is an independent curator, a co-founder of The Remix, an adjunct lecturer at Brown University, a lead organizer of Forward Union, and a consultant to several for-profit and not-for-profit arts institutions. The second edition of her book, ART/WORK, was published by Simon and Schuster in October of 2017. She is on the board of directors of visual arts at Art Omi and the advisory boards of CODIFY Art and Trestle Gallery. From 2000 to 2016 she was a director of Mixed Greens gallery in Chelsea. Most recently, she was the Director of Exhibitions at Smack Mellon. Her career began at contemporary galleries Sonnabend and Lehmann Maupin.

TheRemix.nyc / @hdb917 / @theremix.nyc / @artworkbook2

Image © Coke Wisdom O’Neal

Presenters

As of March 2019

  • Yona Backer

    YONA BACKER
    Producer, Curator, Founder of Third Streaming

    Danny Baez

    DANNY BAEZ
    Cultural Facilitator and Founder/Director of MECA Art Fair

    Hannah Cole

    HANNAH COLE
    Artist, Enrolled Agent and Founder of Sunlight Tax

    Courtney Colman

    COURTNEY COLMAN
    Art Advisor and Curator

    Kris Collins

    KRIS COLLINS
    Managing Director of Cultural Projects, MGAC

    Karen De Temple

    KAREN DeTEMPLE
    Co-Founder, The Art of Change

  • Susan R. Delvalle

    SUSAN (SUZY) DELVALLE
    President & Executive Director of Creative Capital

    Tiana Webb Evans

    TIANA WEBB EVANS
    Arts Marketing, Communications Expert, Founder of ESP PR

    JiaJia Fei

    JIA JIA FEI
    Director of Digital, Jewish Museum

    Brendan Fernandes

    BRENDAN FERNANDES
    Artist & Choreographer

    Trish Classe Gianakis

    TRISH GIANAKIS
    Artist, Adjunct Professor, Creative Director

    Deana Haggag

    DEANA HAGGAG
    President/CEO of United States Artists
    (KEYNOTE SPEAKER)

  • Jeanne Hardy

    JEANNE HARDY
    President/Founder Creative Business, Inc

    Patton Hindle

    PATTON HINDLE
    Senior Director of Arts, Kickstarter

    KemiI Lesanmi

    KEMI ILESANMI
    Executive Director, Laundromat Project

    Paddy Johnson

    PADDY JOHNSON
    Founder of Art F City & Freelance Art Writer

    Paul Ramirez Jonas

    PAUL RAMIREZ JONAS
    Artist

    Jae Joseph

    JAE JOSEPH
    Media Strategist

  • Lisa Kim

    LISA KIM
    Director Of The Ford Foundation Gallery

    Jennie Lamensdorf

    JENNIE LAMENSDORF
    Director & Curator of Time Equities Inc. Art-in-Buildings

    Jessica_Lee

    JESSICA LEE
    Attorney at Loeb & Loeb

    Melissa Levin

    MELISSA LEVIN
    VP of Artists, Estates & Foundations, Artist Agency, Partners

    Sharon Louden

    SHARON M. LOUDEN
    Artist, Educator, Advocate, Editor

    Anibal Luque

    ANIBAL A. LUQUE
    Managing Attorney at Luque PLLC & Co-Founder of POWRPLNT

  • Kristin O'Keeffe Merrick

    KRISTIN O’KEEFFE MERRICK
    Financial Advisor

    Maria Elena Murguia

    MARIA ELENA MURGUIA
    Licensing Executive/Marketing Manager, Artists Rights Society

    Shervone Neckles-Ortiz

    SHERVONE NECKLES-ORTIZ
    Artist & Artist Programs Manager, Joan Mitchell Foundation

    Hilary Neve

    HILARY NÈVE
    Head of Cultural Initiatives at Google

    Deborah Obalil

    DEBORAH OBALIL
    President & Executive Director Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD)

    Amani Olu

    AMANI OLU
    CEO of Olu & Company and IMG SRVR, and Founding Director of Detroit Art Week

  • Larry Ossei Mensah

    LARRY OSSEI-MENSAH
    Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator of Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit & Co-Founder of ARTNOIR

    Alex Paik

    ALEX PAIK
    Artist, Director of Tiger Strikes Asteroid

    Nicole Polletta

    NICOLE POLLETTA
    Co-Founder, The Art of Change

    Ben Fino Radin

    BEN FINO-RADIN
    Founder, Small Data Industries

    Sara Raza

    SARA RAZA
    Curator and Writer

    Prerana Reddy

    PRERANA REDDY
    Director of Programs, A Blade of Grass

  • Esther Robinson

    ESTHER ROBINSON
    Co-Executive Director, ArtBuilt

    Mark Rosen

    MARK ROSEN
    Associate Director of Marketing, Artsy

    Antwaun Sargent

    ANTWAUN SARGENT
    Writer & Critic

    Steven Sergiovanni

    STEVEN SERGIOVANNI
    Art Advisor and Educator

    Julie_Solovyeva

    JULIE SOLOVYEVA
    Director of Cultural Programming, Neuehouse

    Anisha Steephen

    ANISHA STEEPHEN
    Director of Real Estate, Spaceworks

  • Alice Grey Stites

    ALICE GRAY STITES
    Museum Director and Chief Curator, 21c

    Shannon R. Stratton

    SHANNON R. STRATTON
    Artist – Curator, Writer, Host, & Artist Advocate

    Kay Takeda

    KAY TAKEDA
    Senior Director of Artist Programs, Joan Mitchell Foundation

    MICKALENE THOMAS
    Visual Artist, Filmmaker, and Curator

    Zefrey Throwell

    ZEFREY THROWELL
    Artist and Activist

    Hrag Vartanian

    HRAG VARTANIAN
    Editor-in-chief and Co-founder of Hyperallergic

  • Rise Wilson

    RISË WILSON
    Arts Management Consultant

    Amy Whitaker

    AMY WHITAKER
    Author & Faculty Member, NYU

    Caroline Woolard

    CAROLINE WOOLARD
    Artist & Assistant Professor, Hartford Art School/Founder, BFAMFAPHD

Yona Backer
YONA BACKER
Producer, Curator, Founder of Third Streaming
Yona Backer is a cultural consultant and principal of Third Streaming LLC, a New York-based consultancy providing strategic planning and fundraising counsel to non-profit organizations. Specializing in board development, governance, capacity building, legacy planning, estate management, and program development and evaluation, her client roster includes leading New York City arts and culture organizations including Art Production Fund, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Danspace Project, Denniston Hill, ICI, NY African Film Festival, Residency Unlimited, and SVA—in addition to arts funding organizations including A Blade of Grass, Creative Capital, Lambent Foundation, NY Community Trust, and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, among others.

www.thirdstreaming.com / @thirdstreaming
Danny Baez
DANNY BAEZ
Cultural Facilitator and Founder/Director of MECA Art Fair
Danny Baez is a New York-based cultural facilitator originally from Quisqueya, Dominican Republic. He studied at the Universidad APEC in the Dominican Republic, worked as a printmaker at LeRoy Neiman Center at Columbia University, and went on to be the studio/project assistant for the artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. He is currently the external affairs assistant for art dealer Gavin Brown. Baez is Co-Founder and Director of MECA International Art Fair in San Juan, Puerto Rico; co-founder and board member of ARTNOIR; member of the selection committee of SWAB Art Fair; member of The Indys of ICI; and chair of the Young Collectors Initiative at El Museo del Barrio.

www.mecaartfair.com / www.artnoir.co / @dannylowgram
Hannah Cole
HANNAH COLE
Artist, Enrolled Agent and Founder of Sunlight Tax
Hannah Cole is a tax expert who specializes in working with creative people and their businesses. Though she’s worked at tax firms in New York, she loves bringing her tax skills to the aid of the creative world. Her passion for helping creative businesses began when she was an Account Executive and Interactive Producer for a New York interactive design agency, where she saw the struggles and triumphs from the inside. A long-time working artist with a high-level exhibition history, the financial challenges of freelancers and small creative businesses are both relevant and personal. Hannah Cole is an Enrolled Agent and the founder of Sunlight Tax.

www.sunlighttax.com / @hannah.cole.painter
Courtney Colman
COURTNEY COLMAN
Art Advisor and Curator
Courtney Colman is an art advisor and curator with a keen interest in tech. She is the founder of Colman Art Advisory and co-founder of The Remix, a project-based curatorial team. In 2015, she was named by the San Francisco Chronicle as being a member of “S.F.’s New Art Guard: 5 Women Curating the City.” Previously, she was the Exhibitions Coordinator of Mixed Greens gallery, NYC. She taught at FIT and served as a portfolio reviewer for numerous art schools and nonprofits. Colman received a BA in Art History from Wellesley College and an MA in Art Market Practices from FIT.  Her professional memberships include ArtTable and NADA.

www.colmanart.com / @courtneystrimplecolman / @theremix.nyc
Kris Collins
KRIS COLLINS
Managing Director of Cultural Projects, MGAC
Kris Collins, AIA, LEED AP is a Managing Director of Cultural projects for MGAC, an Owner’s Representative and Project Management firm with offices in Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Toronto. In 2017 alone, MGAC managed over $7 billion of cultural, hospitality, corporate, retail, historic, and government building projects across three continents. Since 2006, Kris has been working as a project coordinator for commissioned public artworks, working directly for artists to advocate for their business interests. He uses his experience in design and construction to bridge the gap between project developers and the artists they wish to engage.

www.mgac.com
Karen De Temple
KAREN DeTEMPLE
Co-Founder, The Art of Change
Karen DeTemple believes that successful fundraising is an art that connects people, builds collaborations and achieves a vision. She has over 25 years of experience working with arts organizations and other forward-thinking nonprofits around the country. Her expertise in fundraising and special-event management successfully strengthens each client’s mission by securing funding, growing awareness and building community relationships. Previously, Karen founded Karen DeTemple Consulting and worked at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the Exploratorium in San Francisco, The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

www.theartofchange.is / @art_of_change_
Susan R. Delvalle
SUSAN (SUZY) DELVALLE
President & Executive Director of Creative Capital
Susan (Suzy) Delvalle is President & Executive Director of Creative Capital, an innovative arts organization that supports individual artists across the country through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Creative Capital’s pioneering venture philanthropy approach builds a community of support that catalyzes connections and helps artists working in all creative disciplines realize their visions with sustainable practices. Before joining Creative Capital in 2016, Suzy was the Founding Director of the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling after serving as the Director of External Affairs at El Museo del Barrio. Her career foundation is in consumer banking and advertising. Suzy is a native of Curaçao and speaks Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento.

www.creative-capital.org / @creative_capital / @_suzyd_

Image © Michael J. Palma
Tiana Webb Evans
TIANA WEBB EVANS
Arts Marketing, Communications Expert, Founder of ESP PR
Tiana Webb Evans is the Founder and Managing Director of ESP Group, a public relations agency specializing in the strategic promotion of agents of culture with International clients spanning art, architecture, interior design, and industrial design. Her experience includes branding, communications, strategic planning, business development, and event planning. Before launching ESP, she was Communications Director at Phillips Auctioneers; Vice President of the Hospitality and Real Estate group at Nadine Johnson & Associates; and the Business Director of Studio Sofield. Tiana is on the boards of New York Foundation for the Arts, Project for Empty Space, and Female Design Council, and the National Advisory Board for the Laundromat Project.

www.espprinc.com / @espprinc

Image © Mauri Myers-Solages
JiaJia Fei
JIA JIA FEI
Director of Digital, Jewish Museum
JiaJia Fei is a digital strategist with over a decade of experience working at the intersection of digital marketing, branding, web, mobile, and social media content strategy for art and culture—making museums and cultural organizations more accessible through technology. She is currently the Director of Digital at the Jewish Museum in New York City, where she has led the Museum’s first digital department since 2016. Prior to joining the Jewish Museum, JiaJia served as Associate Director, Digital Marketing at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, bringing modern and contemporary art to a global online audience through award-winning digital initiatives. JiaJia has lectured on the impact of art and technology worldwide.

www.jiajiafei.net / @vajiajia

Image © Andy Boyle
Brendan Fernandes
BRENDAN FERNANDES
Artist & Choreographer
Brendan Fernandes is an internationally recognized, Kenyan-born, Canadian artist working at the intersection of dance and visual arts. Currently based out of Chicago, Fernandes addresses issues of race, queer culture, migration, protest, and other forms of collective movement in his work. He works to create new spaces and new forms of agency, and always rooted in collaboration and fostering solidarity. He is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery.

www.brendanfernandes.ca / @brendanfernandes

Photo © Milo Bosh
Trish Classe Gianakis
TRISH GIANAKIS
Artist, Adjunct Professor, Creative Director
Trish Gianakis specializes in web design and digital marketing. She founded Classe Design in 2000 and her designs have helped pioneer online creative solutions for artists such as: Elton John, Queen Latifah, Tom Petty, and Bon Jovi to name a few. Companies she has helped are: AMCTV, Bayer, Saks Fifth Avenue, and MLB.com. She has a MFA in Computer Art from School of Visual Arts. Gianakis is a fine artist whose immersive works have exhibited across the United States. Gianakis is also an adjunct professor at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City.

www.classedesign.com / www.trishgianakis.com / @trishgiaart
Deana Haggag
DEANA HAGGAG
President/CEO of United States Artists
(KEYNOTE SPEAKER)
Deana Haggag is the President & CEO of United States Artists, a national arts funding organization based in Chicago, IL. Before joining USA, she was the Executive Director of The Contemporary, a nomadic and non-collecting art museum in Baltimore, MD. She is also on the Board of Trustees of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Maryland Institute College of Art, and Common Field, and the Advisory Council of Recess.

www.unitedstatesartists.org / @unitedstatesartists
Jeanne Hardy
JEANNE HARDY
President/Founder Creative Business, Inc
Jeanne Hardy established Creative Business Inc. in 2005 after observing a growing need for financial literacy in the art world. Over its 13-year history, Creative Business Inc., has worked with creative entrepreneurs across industries, including design, technology, media, fine art, entertainment and retail. Jeanne’s experience, strategic leadership and unique perspective as a former professional artist has made CBI the gold standard for financial services and business advisory in New York City’s creative sector. Jeanne holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York.

www.creativebusinessinc.com
Patton Hindle
PATTON HINDLE
Senior Director of Arts, Kickstarter
Patton Hindle is the Senior Director of Arts at Kickstarter where she oversees the Arts and Performance Arts team, whose specialists work closely with visual and performing artists, arts organizations, museums and cultural institutions around the world to help them realize creative and ambitious projects. Hindle was previously the co-founder of Chinatown gallery, yours mine & ours and the Director of Gallery and Institutional Partnerships at Artspace. She is a co-author of the second edition of How to Start and Run a Commercial Art Gallery and a 2019 Catherine Hannah Behrend Fellow at 92Y Women inPower in New York. Hindle was raised in London and attended university in Boston.

www.kickstarter.com / @pattonhindle
KemiI Lesanmi
KEMI ILESANMI
Executive Director, Laundromat Project
Kemi Ilesanmi is Executive Director of The Laundromat Project, which advances artists and neighbors as change agents in their own communities. She is inspired by the immense possibilities for joyful justice at the intersection of arts and community. She has previously worked at Creative Capital and the Walker Art Center. In 2015, she was appointed by the Mayor of New York City to the Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, and in 2017 she was honored by the Metropolitan Museum. She serves on the boards of the Joan Mitchell Foundation and The Broad Room. She is a graduate of Smith College, NYU, and Coro Leadership NY.

www.laundromatproject.org / @laundromat_proj / @kemi70

Photo © Dread Scott
Paddy Johnson
PADDY JOHNSON
Founder of Art F City & Freelance Art Writer
Paddy Johnson is the founding Editor of Art F City and a New York City-based writer and curator focusing on emerging mediums and under-known artists. Her writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Economist. She has curated exhibitions and lectured at venues ranging from The Weatherspoon Art Gallery and Postmasters to Yale University, SXSW, and the Whitney ISP. Johnson was the first blogger to earn a Creative Capital Arts Writers Grant, was twice nominated best art critic at The Rob Pruitt Art Awards, and was the subject of a VICE profile.

www.artfcity.com / @artfcity
Paul Ramirez Jonas
PAUL RAMIREZ JONAS
Artist
Paul Ramírez Jonas selected solo exhibition venues include Museo Jumex, Mexico City; The New Museum, NYC; Pinacoteca do Estado, Sao Paulo; The Aldrich Contemporary Museum, Ridgefield, CT; The Blanton Museum, Austin, TX; a survey at Ikon Gallery and Cornerhouse, England; and a 25-year survey at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston. Selected group exhibition venues include MoMA P.S.1; the Brooklyn Museum; The Whitechapel Gallery, England; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland; and Kunsthaus Zurich. He participated in the 1st Johannesburg Biennale, 1st Seoul Biennial, 6th Shanghai Biennial, 28th Sao Paulo Biennial, 53rd Venice Biennial, and the 7th and 10th Bienal do Mercosul. He is an Associate Professor at Hunter College, CUNY.

www.paulramirezjonas.com / @paulramirezjonas 
Jae Joseph
JAE JOSEPH
Media Strategist
Jae Joseph is media strategist working to craft narratives, including partnerships and collaborations, through the intersection of artist and consumer brands. He has contributed to BBC America, California Home and Design, Garage, NPR, The New York Times Magazine, and The Paris Review. Joseph is an avid art patron and emerging art collector who supports several museums such as Pérez Art Museum Miami, The Studio Museum in Harlem, MoMA, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture which holds an audio/visual collection of part of his family’s history.

@jaejoseph 
Lisa Kim
LISA KIM
Director Of The Ford Foundation Gallery
Lisa Kim is director of the Ford Foundation Gallery, a new exhibition space within the Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice. Prior to her appointment at the Ford Foundation, she was director of cultural affairs at Two Trees Management Company, where she oversaw the company's arts philanthropy, public art projects, and produced the annual Dumbo Arts Festival. Lisa served as the director of the New York City Percent for Art Program from 2006 - 2008 and for 12 years, managed exhibitions, collections, and construction for Gagosian Gallery. Lisa holds a BA in Art History with a concentration in Visual Arts from Barnard College and a Master of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute.

www.fordfoundation.org/gallery / @fordfoundationgallery

Image © Jonsar Studios
Jennie Lamensdorf
JENNIE LAMENSDORF
Director & Curator of Time Equities Inc. Art-in-Buildings
Jennie Lamensdorf is a curator, writer, and arts administrator based in Brooklyn, NY. Since 2012, she has been Director and Curator of Time Equities Inc. Art-in-Buildings. In 2016, she co-founded Forward Union, a coalition-building initiative connecting social justice organizations with artists and creative communities. She is a Board Member of Art Omi in Ghent, NY and a member of the NurtureArt Advisory Board in Brooklyn.

www.jennielamensdorf.com / @jennielamens
Jessica_Lee
JESSICA LEE
Attorney at Loeb & Loeb
Jessica Lee is a Partner in the Advanced Media & Technology practice at Loeb & Loeb where she counsels clients on the privacy and intellectual property issues that arise when launching, marketing and monetizing digital products and content. Named one of New York’s Notable Women in Law by Crain’s, Jessica has helped a variety of media and technology companies negotiate the agreements that support their digital media initiatives. Jessica is on the Steering Committee for the Museum of Modern Art’s Junior Associates group and a member of the Friends of Education.

@lawgirl21
Melissa Levin
MELISSA LEVIN
VP of Artists, Estates & Foundations, Artist Agency, Partners
An arts administrator and curator, Melissa Levin is committed to innovative and holistic approaches to supporting artists and initiating programs. She is currently the VP of Artists, Estates and Foundations at Artist Agency, Partners, where she advises artists and their families on legacy planning. Previously, Melissa worked at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), where she developed and led artistic direction of LMCC’s Artist Residency programs, the Arts Center at Governors Island, and the River To River Festival. She serves on the boards of the Alliance of Artists Communities and Danspace Project.

www.artagencypartners.com / @melissalev
Sharon Louden
SHARON M. LOUDEN
Artist, Educator, Advocate, Editor
Sharon M. Louden is an artist, educator, advocate for artists, editor of the Living and Sustaining a Creative Life series of books and the Artistic Director of the Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution. Her work has been exhibited in numerous venues including the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, the Drawing Center, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Louden is also active on boards and committees of various not-for-profit art organizations and volunteers her time to help artists to further their careers. Her 102-stop conversation and book tour concluded recently in Fairbanks, Alaska.

www.sharonlouden.com / @sharonlouden
Anibal Luque
ANIBAL A. LUQUE
Managing Attorney at Luque PLLC & Co-Founder of POWRPLNT
Anibal A. Luque graduated from New York Law School. After working in the music industry, he launched his own practice and began servicing creatives and entrepreneurs in the areas of music, art, and fashion. Heavily involved in the technology and media sectors, Luque works to help his client roster succeed in their industries with the right legal planning. He serves on the Board of Directors for POWRPLNT and provides business & legal affairs for New York City- and Berlin-based vinyl record label [par•ka].

www.luque.us
Kristin O'Keeffe Merrick
KRISTIN O’KEEFFE MERRICK
Financial Advisor
Kristin O’Keeffe Merrick is a Financial Advisor at O’Keeffe Financial Partners. After 15 years of working on Wall Street, she quit to follow her passion. She provides clients with personalized financial planning based on goals, time frame, and tolerance for risk at her family-owned firm. Rather than trying to fit the client into the plan, Kristin is known for her ability to identify opportunities to help businesses and individuals pursue their financial goals and build strategies focused on both current and future needs. She is a firm believer in financial literacy and loves writing and talking about markets, money and investing.

raymondjames.com/okeeffefinancialpartners / @thegirlwhosavesmoney
Maria Elena Murguia
MARIA ELENA MURGUIA
Licensing Executive/Marketing Manager, Artists Rights Society
Maria Elena Murguia is a Licensing Executive/Marketing Manager at Artists Rights Society (ARS). Founded in 1987, ARS represents the intellectual property rights interests of over 80,000 visual artists and their estates from around the world. Murguia holds a BA in Spanish Language and Literature from Amherst College and an MFA in Film/Video/New Media from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In addition to developing and implementing marketing strategies for ARS, Murguia has cleared artists’ copyright for countless museum exhibitions and publications worldwide.

www.arsny.com / @artistsrightssociety
Shervone Neckles-Ortiz
SHERVONE NECKLES-ORTIZ
Artist & Artist Programs Manager, Joan Mitchell Foundation
Shervone Neckles-Ortiz manages the Creating A Living Legacy and Professional Development programs at the Joan Mitchell Foundation. In these roles, she designs and administers career management programming to connect the Foundation's artist community to the resources essential for cultivating sustainable creative careers. As an interdisciplinary artist, Neckles’ work considers how complex systems and patterns of change can be built through small interactions, exchanges, and gestures.

www.shervoneneckles.com / @shervone_neckles
Hilary Neve
HILARY NÈVE
Head of Cultural Initiatives at Google
Hilary Nève leads Google’s Cultural Marketing team, aligning the brand with key relevant cultural moments and influential figures. Her time at Google spans some of the company’s most significant projects, including self-driving cars, YouTube, Made by Google hardware, and Google Search. With decades of experience in communications and marketing, she was a founding member of YOOX.com (now YOOX Net-a-Porter), and later started her own agency, banzai!, a boutique fashion and lifestyle PR firm with high-profile clients including Cartier and Zara.

@hilnev
Deborah Obalil
DEBORAH OBALIL
President & Executive Director Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD)
Deborah Obalil has over 20 years experience as a leader in the national arts and culture industry. She became Executive Director of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD) in June 2012, and then President in 2015. Prior to AICAD, she operated a boutique arts management consulting firm, Obalil & Associates. The firm provided consultation and facilitation in strategic business planning, marketing research and planning, and board development for non-profit arts organizations, independent artists of all disciplines, and creative for-profit ventures. She also served as Executive Director of the Alliance of Artists Communities and Director of the Arts Marketing Center & Research at the Arts & Business Council of Chicago.

www.aicad.org
Amani Olu
AMANI OLU
CEO of Olu & Company and IMG SRVR, and Founding Director of Detroit Art Week
Amani Olu is a serial entrepreneur with a strong background in exhibition making and art writing. He is the co-founder of Humble Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports and promotes new art photography; the founder of Olu & Company, a marketing consultancy for individuals, businesses, and organizations in the arts; and the founder of IMG SRVR, a new, all-in-one visual media center designed to help PR pros collect, organize, and share information with journalists. The newest iteration of his five-part series “Young Curators, New Ideas,” will debut this summer during Detroit Art Week.

www.hafny.org / www.olucompany.com  / www.imgsrvr.net  / www.detroitartweek.org /  @olucompany  / @detroitartweek / @humbleartsfoundation
Larry Ossei Mensah
LARRY OSSEI-MENSAH
Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator of Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit & Co-Founder of ARTNOIR
Larry Ossei-Mensah is a curator and cultural critic who uses contemporary art as a vehicle to redefine how we see ourselves and the world around us. He has organized exhibitions and programs at commercial and non-profit spaces around the globe in addition to documenting cultural happenings featuring the most dynamic visual artists working today, including Derrick Adams, Mickalene Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley. He is currently the Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit and co-founder of the not-for-profit ARTNOIR. In 2019, he will co-curate the exhibition Coffee, Rhum, Sugar & Gold: A Postcolonial Paradox at Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco.

www.mocadetroit.org / artnoir.co / @youngglobal

Image © Andrew Boyle
Alex Paik
ALEX PAIK
Artist, Director of Tiger Strikes Asteroid
Alex Paik is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work has been shown at galleries and art fairs nationally and internationally. He is the founder and Director of Tiger Strikes Asteroid, a non-profit network of artist-run spaces; Curator of Satellite Art Show, an alternative art fair in Miami; and Chief Curator at Trestle Gallery, a non-profit arts organization in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

www.alexpaik.com / @alexpaik

Image © Jen Maler
Nicole Polletta
NICOLE POLLETTA
Co-Founder, The Art of Change
Nicole Polletta has over 15 years of experience managing high-profile audiences and strategic partnerships for national and international corporate and nonprofit institutions. She establishes the platform, messaging and outreach strategies to effectively engage key opinion leaders and tastemakers with a special focus on the contemporary visual arts. Previously, Nicole served as the inaugural Director of VIP Initiatives at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, and as the inaugural Director of VIP and Sponsor Relations at FITZ & CO in New York City. In addition to her audience development work, she has maintained an artistic practice for more than 20 years.

www.theartofchange.is / @art_of_change_
Ben Fino Radin
BEN FINO-RADIN
Founder, Small Data Industries
Ben Fino-Radin is the founder of Small Data Industries, a private conservation lab and consultancy that supports and empowers people to safeguard the permanence and integrity of the world’s artistic record. Before founding Small Data Industries, Ben served as Associate Media Conservator at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) where, in addition to the conservation of digital art, he managed the design and development of the institution’s digital repository. Prior to this, Ben led preservation initiatives at Rhizome as their Digital Conservator. He holds a MSLIS and MFA in Digital Art from Pratt Institute, and has served as an adjunct at NYU’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation program.

smalldata.industries / @benfinoradin / @small_data
Sara Raza
SARA RAZA
Curator and Writer
Sara Raza is a curator and writer on global art, and was the winner of the ArtTable New Leadership Award for Women in the Arts. She has curated exhibitions and projects for several international biennials, festivals, and museums and was, most recently, the Guggenheim UBS MAP curator for the Middle East and North Africa. Formerly, Raza was the head of education at Yarat, Baku, Azerbaijan; founding curator at Alaan Art Space, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and curator of public programs at Tate Modern, London. Sara is the West and Central Asia editor for ArtAsiaPacific and lives and works in New York where she runs her own independent global curatorial and visual cultures studio practice  “Punk Orientalism.”

www.sararaza.com / @punkorientalism
Prerana Reddy
PRERANA REDDY
Director of Programs, A Blade of Grass
Prerana Reddy is Director of Programs at A Blade of Grass, a nonprofit that supports the field of socially engaged art through financial support for artists, public programming, and content creation. From 2005-2018, she was the Director of Public Programs & Community Engagement for the Queens Museum where she organized screening, talks, festivals, and performances, a third of which were developed in collaboration with diverse local community organizations and cultural producers. She also spearheaded community engagement initiatives, such as Immigrant Movement International, that combine arts and culture with social development goals in nearby neighborhoods. Reddy holds an MA in Cinema Studies, with a focus on documentary and visual anthropology, from NYU.

www.abladeofgrass.org / @abladeofgrassnyc

Image © Michael J. Palma
Esther Robinson
ESTHER ROBINSON
Co-Executive Director, ArtBuilt
Esther Robinson has worked on behalf of artists for over 20 years as a foundation program officer, TV and film producer/director, technology entrepreneur, and arts activist. She was Director of Film/Video/Performing Arts at Creative Capital and a principal architect of their grant-making system. Since then, her nonprofit ArtHome provided financial-training and asset-building programming to artists and organizations. Currently, she is Co-Executive Director of ArtBuilt where ArtHome's programs continue alongside space-based initiatives, including a 56,000 square foot affordable arts and arts-business studio complex in Brooklyn and an innovative mobile studio program in city parks and public plazas. Robinson is also an award-winning documentary filmmaker and producer.

www.artbuilt.org
Mark Rosen
MARK ROSEN
Associate Director of Marketing, Artsy
Mark Rosen is the Associate Director of Marketing at Artsy, overseeing social media and contributing to consumer marketing strategy for the world’s largest online database of contemporary art. Based in New York City, he and his team regularly engage over 3.5 million followers across platforms and develop strategies to acquire and retain consumers on Artsy.net.

www.artsy.net / @artsy / @markatthemuseum
Antwaun Sargent
ANTWAUN SARGENT
Writer & Critic
Antwaun Sargent is a New York City-based writer and critic whose work has appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, The Nation, Interview, W, Vogue, Aperture, Vice, and numerous museum and gallery publications. In 2018, Sargent wrote catalogue essays on Ed Clark, Mickalene Thomas, and Deborah Roberts; co-curated The Way We Live Now at the Aperture Foundation; and lectured at venues including the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Yale University, and Brown University.

@sirsargent
Steven Sergiovanni
STEVEN SERGIOVANNI
Art Advisor and Educator
Steven Sergiovanni is an art advisor and curator based in New York.  Sergiovanni was previously a Director at Mixed Greens Gallery and a founding member of The Remix, a project-based curatorial team established to exhibit the work of underrepresented artists.  With The Remix he launched a 15 episode podcast series exploring the challenges of creating and sustaining a business and career in the visual arts. He is a visiting professor at Pratt Institute where he previously taught Professional Practices and currently teaches Artist as Curator.

www.stevensergiovanni.com / @sergnyc
Julie_Solovyeva
JULIE SOLOVYEVA
Director of Cultural Programming, Neuehouse
Julie Solovyeva is the Director of Cultural Programming for Neuehouse. Throughout her career, she has delivered unique cross-channel solutions within the art, design, tech, music, and hospitality spheres, producing engaging brand programs, developing partnerships, and bringing together artistic talent across disciplines. Clients have included Samsung, Armory Show, New Museum, BMW, Spotify, Burberry, BMWi, Artsy, Harper’s BAZAAR, Surface Magazine, Bacardi, SONOS, Uniqlo, Agent Provocateur, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow), The Museum of Everything (London), ArtAngel (London), and ICA (London). She is currently a mentor at NEW INC.

www.neuehouse.com / @neuehouse / @juliemaggoo
Anisha Steephen
ANISHA STEEPHEN
Director of Real Estate, Spaceworks
Anisha Steephen is Director of Real Estate at Spaceworks, the premier nonprofit cultural space developer in NYC. Her experience is focused in successful public-private partnerships that support investments and asset building in low-wealth communities to advance the growth of creative entrepreneurship and middle-skill jobs. Previously, Anisha was a Senior Investment Officer at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), one of the nation’s largest Community Development Financial Institutions where she founded the economic development lending and policy practice for NYC. She also worked in the Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs and at the NYC Economic Development Corporation. She is co-author of the book Cities and the Politics of Difference: Multiculturalism and Diversity in Urban Planning (2015).

www.spaceworksnyc.org / @spaceworksnyc
Alice Grey Stites
ALICE GRAY STITES
Museum Director and Chief Curator, 21c
Alice Gray Stites is Museum Director and Chief Curator of 21c Museum Hotels. A multi-venue museum located in Louisville, Cincinnati, Bentonville, Durham, Lexington,  Oklahoma City, Nashville, and Kansas City, 21c was founded by Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson, collectors and preservationists who are committed to expanding the audience for contemporary art. Stites curates exhibitions, site-specific installations, and a range of cultural programming at all 21c Museum Hotels. 21c also collaborates on arts initiatives with artists and other cultural organizations worldwide. Since opening in Louisville in 2006, 21c has presented over 100 group and solo exhibitions exploring the global nature of art today.

www.21cmuseumhotels.com / @alicegraystites / 21chotels
Shannon R. Stratton
SHANNON R. STRATTON
Artist – Curator, Writer, Host, & Artist Advocate
Shannon R. Stratton has worked as an artist, writer, curator, professor, publisher, and arts administrator, with an emphasis on artist-run initiatives and concepts in contemporary craft. After her MFA, she co-founded Threewalls in Chicago, where she worked with over 100 artists; created The Propeller Fund; conceived and published 4 volumes of PHONEBOOK, a national guide to grass-roots and artist-run organizations; and co-founded Common Field, a network of independent arts organizations and organizers. From 2015-2019 she was Chief Curator at The Museum of Arts and Design in New York. During that time, she reimagined the artistic vision of the institution, exploring craft’s reach in contemporary art and design.

www.shannonraestratton.com / @shannonraestratton
Kay Takeda
KAY TAKEDA
Senior Director of Artist Programs, Joan Mitchell Foundation
Kay Takeda is Senior Director of Artist Programs at the Joan Mitchell Foundation, where she oversees a diverse roster of artist-centered initiatives, including its grants, residencies, and professional development programs. In her previous role as Vice President of Grants and Services at Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, she developed and oversaw grantmaking, professional development programs, and community initiatives. She has led national grantmaking programs at Arts International and managed exhibitions and programming at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Snug Harbor. She is on the board of Movement Research, frequently sits on funding panels, and lectures widely on professional issues affecting artists.

www.joanmitchellfoundation.org /@joanmitchellfdn
MICKALENE THOMAS
Visual Artist, Filmmaker, and Curator
Mickalene Thomas is a Brooklyn-based artist whose paintings, collages, photography, video, and installations draw on art history and popular culture to create a contemporary vision of female sexuality, beauty, and power. Thomas' work has been included in exhibitions worldwide, at institutions such as the Art Gallery of Ontario, Wexner Center for the Arts, Brooklyn Museum, North Carolina Museum of Art, Aspen Art Museum, and L'Ecole des Beaux Arts, Monaco, among others.

www.mickalenethomas.com / @mickalenethomas

Image © Lyndsy Welgos
Zefrey Throwell
ZEFREY THROWELL
Artist and Activist
Zefrey Throwell, Artist and Activist Zefrey Throwell is a NYC-based artist and activist who uses the mediums of film, performance, photography, and painting to orchestrate madness. His work is in many collections including that of the Museum of Modern Art, and his films have shown at the Cannes Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and other festivals around the world. He is currently directing two feature films and organizing the longest choir in history—a 10,000 opera singer project that stretches over the Alps from Italy to Germany. He is an active member of New York City Loft Tenants who fight for artist housing rights in NYC.

www.zefrey.com / www.nyclofttenants.org / @zefrey
Hrag Vartanian
HRAG VARTANIAN
Editor-in-chief and Co-founder of Hyperallergic
The editor-in-chief and co-founder of Hyperallergic, Hrag Vartanian is an editor, art critic, curator, and lecturer on contemporary art with an expertise on the intersection of art and politics. Breaking news, award-winning reporting, informed opinions, and quality conversations about art have helped Hyperallergic reach over a million readers a month.

www.hyperallergic.com / @hragv / @hyperallergic
Rise Wilson
RISË WILSON
Arts Management Consultant
Risë Wilson is committed to lifting up the essential role of creativity in equitable, thriving communities. She is the Founder of The Laundromat Project, an award-winning organization that seeks to connect artists and communities of color to their own capacity to envision the world in which they want to live, and the skill sets to make it so. Her 20-year tenure in arts and culture has spanned philanthropic practice, strategic planning, artist development, and public engagement. She currently provides coaching and consulting to foundations and nonprofits in these areas, with a focus on projects that apply creative practice to issues of racial justice. She holds degrees in African-American Studies from Columbia University and NYU.

Image © Red Bull Amaphiko Philipp Benedikt
Amy Whitaker
AMY WHITAKER
Author & Faculty Member, NYU
Amy Whitaker is an assistant professor in Visual Arts Administration at NYU. She has published in journals including Visual Resources, and her white paper on fractional equity for artists using blockchain was cited in The Art Newspaper, Artforum, Artsy, ArtsDaily, and Forbes. Her essay “The Eureka Moment that Made Bitcoin Possible” appeared in the Wall Street Journal in 2018 and she has advised Bitmark.com since 2015. She authored Museum Legs and Art Thinking, and co-authored The Social Life of Artistic Property. Whitaker holds an MBA and an MFA.

steinhardt.nyu.edu/art/faculty/Amy_Whitaker / @theamywhit

Image © Shieva Rezvani
Caroline Woolard
CAROLINE WOOLARD
Artist & Assistant Professor, Hartford Art School/Founder, BFAMFAPHD
Caroline Woolard co-founded barter networks OurGoods.org and TradeSchool.coop, the Study Center for Group Work, BFAMFAPhD.com, and the NYC Real Estate Investment Cooperative. Recently, her work was featured in The Brooklyn Rail, Artforum, Art in America, The New York Times and twice on the PBS / Art21 series New York Close Up. A practicing artist, Woolard uses sculpture and online networks to explore interdependence.

www.carolinewoolard.com / @carolinewoolard

Schedule

April 25, 2019
Thursday, April 25
WELCOME PARTY at New York Academy of Art (111 Franklin St, New York, NY)
Venue: New York Academy of Art

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ART WORLD CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

April 26, 2019
Friday, April 26
Keynote Speech, Full day of Panels and Conversations.
-
Venue: New York Law School
185 West Broadway, NYC

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ART WORLD CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

April 27, 2019
Saturday, April 27
Full day of breakout sessions.
-
Venue: New York Law School
185 West Broadway, NYC

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ART WORLD CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Please Click Here For Art World Conference Schedule

FAQ

When will information become available on upcoming conferences?

Art World Conference will launch a new website with upcoming information by early November of 2019. Stay tuned! The Los Angeles conference will occur in early 2020, New York in early May 2020, and Chicago will align with EXPO Chicago in late September 2020.

Who should attend Art World Conference?

Art World Conference is designed for visual artists at all stages of their careers. Arts professionals who work closely with artists, including individuals who work at art non-profits, museums, foundations, and galleries are also welcome.

I am a student. May I attend Art World Conference?

Yes. Art World Conference offers a discounted registration rate for students.

How were presenters chosen for the conference?

Presenters were chosen based on their expertise in the field, their dedication to the advancement of artists, their diverse perspectives, and their willingness to be transparent and generous when sharing information.

Please note, presenters and conference schedule are subject to change.

Can I volunteer at the conference?

Yes! If you are interested in volunteering, please email us at: ask@artworldconference.com

Can I suggest a presenter or conference topic?

Yes! We are open to suggestions, although we cannot guarantee that we will be able to incorporate your suggestion into the conference. Please email us at: ask@artworldconference.com

Are there ID or minimum age requirements to enter the event?

Art World Conference is intended for individuals 18 years old and over. Please bring a government issued ID or passport with you to pick up your badge at onsite registration.

Does Art World Conference have a Code of Conduct?

Art World Conference is a gathering of individuals who share a focus on visual art and the various fields with which it intersects. Art World Conference is an inclusive, cooperative environment where all artists, arts professionals, academics, and interested non-practitioners are welcomed, open dialogue is encouraged, and all perspectives are appreciated. Please read our complete Code of Conduct here.

What is your privacy policy?

To view our Privacy Policy, please click here.

What are my transportation/parking options for getting to and from the event?

Art World Conference is located in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan at New York Law School (185 West Broadway, NYC), and is easily accessible by several modes of public transportation. Click here for details.

There are also several parking garages in the neighborhood offering paid parking. Street parking is extremely limited.

Is Art World Conference wheelchair accessible?

Yes. New York Law School is ADA compliant. If you require additional accommodations, please email: ask@artworldconference.com before April 1, 2019. We will do our best to accommodate special needs.

Are scholarships available?

We are currently working on securing scholarships for those in need. Sign up for our mailing list to be alerted if and when scholarship funding is secured.

Are group discounts available?


If your organization has 5 or more people who would like to attend the conference, please email ask@artworldconference.com to request a group discount.

What is your refund policy?

Art World Conference tickets are non-refundable. However, if you purchase a ticket and are unable to attend, your ticket is transferable. Simply alert conference staff before April 24, 2019 of your replacement’s name before they arrive to sign in.

What can I bring into the conference?

Non-flash, silent shutter photography is allowed during the conference. No video recording is allowed.

Water, coffee, or other non-alcoholic beverages are allowed inside of the conference. We request that food be consumed ONLY in the lounge areas outside of the main auditorium and workshop classrooms. There is a Starbucks coffee shop located inside of the venue and a variety of cafes and restaurants nearby.

Can I attend only a portion of the conference?

Yes, but attendees pay the same registration fee regardless of time spent at the conference. We recommend you attend the welcome reception and stay the full two days.

I am a nursing mother. May I access private space?

Yes. There will be private space at the conference for nursing mothers. Email: ask@artworldconference.com before April 15, 2019 to ensure adequate space allotment.

Is childcare available?

There is no childcare on-site. However, local childcare options are being explored. An email will go out to all interested participants in advance of the conference. Indicate that you are interested in childcare when you register.

How can I contact the organizer with any additional questions?

Please email any questions to: ask@artworldconference.com

Still have questions?

REGISTER HERE >