Welcome to season five, episode 21 of The Abundant Artist, the show that dispels the myth of “the starving artist” and shares how you can live an abundant life as an artist and make a living from your talent one interview at a time.
Our podcast usually features professional artists, but this week’s guest has such a vast experience in the art world, we decided to shake up our usual!
Maria Brito is an Art Advisor, Art Consultant, and Curator. She has spent more than a decade working with a multitude of well-known artists as well as emerging talent, getting them in touch with her clients and building long-term relationships. She also works with corporate clients, helping foster creativity wherever she can.
“My mission was to open up the doors of this obscure, snob world of galleries and auction houses, and give people a gateway to that world.” — Maria Brito
Maria comes on the show to discuss her unique perspective on the art business, and how it intersects with the rest of the world. Cory and Maria discuss the revolutionary changes that technology has enabled, decentralizing the art practice and collectors’ markets. They also touch on what artists need to succeed in the free markets as well as in the official art machinery, and how an increasingly polarized world requires open-mindedness and curiosity to move forward.
Join in for a lively discussion on the ever-evolving business of art making.
In this episode:
[:30] Cory welcomes Maria Brito to the podcast and dives right in with a question about failure.
[1:30] Always remember that failure is impersonal. Maria shares her perspective on the importance of self-reflection and the piecing together of clues to build future projects. She shares a personal story of learning and growth through failure.
[6:50] Maria encourages listeners to take time to review past failures and how they were used to better their practice.
[8:11] What does an art advisor do?
[11:19] From very unhappy corporate attorney to art advisor, consultant, and curator, Maria talks about how her path diverged almost 14 years ago.
[19:22] “Emergent artist” is a term that has changed meaning over time, but belongs to the official machinery of art galleries. Maria speaks about the label “outsider artists,” used for people who evolve away from those official structures.
[24:55] Many cities all over the world are brimming with art ecosystems because technology has enabled a wonderful decentralization of opportunities.
[26:20] How galleries contact Maria, and what they share as information for consideration.
[31:00] A substantial percentage of the art market originates from Instagram, close to $7.5 billion!
[33:25] The three things artists should get good at to build their following on Instagram.
[35:03] Teaching the creative process to corporate clients was years in the making, Maria shares how it came to fruition and some of what she teaches.
[40:00] The starving artist myth needs to be broken. From Picasso to O’Keefe, Maria explains why artists need to stop underestimating themselves as entrepreneurs.
[44:23] Maria’s favorite art and entrepreneurship studies.
[49:00] Pursuing a career for the sake of happiness and creativity versus that of safety has nurtured in Maria a need to share her knowledge to inspire other people to follow their passion.
[53:28] The consistent habits of the creative mind as well as the counter-productive nature of anger and self-righteousness.
[1:08:12] Maria’s advice for aspiring artists in a world that is rife with excellent competition: train your eye and choose your platform.
[1:15:40] Cory thanks Maria for joining the podcast and sharing so much of her knowledge!
Resources mentioned:
Maria Brito’s website
@MariaBrito_NY on Instagram
@MariaBrito_NY on Twitter
Maria on Facebook
Hiscox Online Art Trade Report 2021
Harvard Business School:
“Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Art of the Entrepreneur”
“Theaster Gates: Artist as Catalyst for Community Development”
“Building an Aspirational High-End Brand through Cultural Engagement: Absolut Vodka’s Love Affair with Art”
The Warhol Economy: How Fashion, Art, and Music Drive New York City, by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett
Paducah Kentucky art scene
About the guest:
Maria is an award-winning New York-based contemporary art advisor, author, and curator. She’s the author of the bestselling book How Creativity Rules The World (HarperCollins). She has written for publications such as Entrepreneur, Huffington Post, Elle, and Forbes, just to name a few. For several years, Maria has taught her creativity course in companies and, in 2019, she launched “Jumpstart”, an online program on creativity for entrepreneurs based on years of research and observation in both the areas of business and art. She works with a number of celebrities, including Sean Combs, Gwyneth Paltrow and fitness guru Tracy Anderson.
