Theresa Hubbard, the powerhouse CEO of Fractured Atlas, joins NOT REAL ART this week for a lively chat about collaborating on the Arthouse project, an unscripted TV show that aims to connect real people with real artists to buy original art without breaking the bank. During our conversation, Theresa emphasizes the importance of fiscal sponsorship for artists and creative projects like Arthouse, illustrating how Fractured Atlas has evolved from a production company into a crucial service for artists over the years.
We dive into the fantastic work Fractured Atlas does to support creatives through crowdfunding, making it significantly easier for them to get their projects off the ground. Theresa shares insights from her role within the organization and highlights how they’ve adapted to meet the needs of artists across the nation.
Arthouse, as we explore, isn’t just a show; it’s a movement designed to demystify the art world and help everyday folks discover the beauty of original art. The initiative also showcases artists from diverse backgrounds, emphasizing the importance of highlighting art beyond major markets.
Special thanks to Fractured Atlas for their continued support of Arthouse. To learn more about Arthouse, support its mission, or nominate your favorite artist for future episodes, please visit Arthouse on Indiegogo.
For more information, please visit https://notrealart.com/fractured-atlas-arthouse
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
The Not Real Art podcast isintended for creative audiences only.
The Not Real Art podcastcelebrates creativity and creative
culture worldwide.
It contains material that isfresh, fun and inspiring and is not
suitable for boring old art snobs.
Now let's get started andenjoy the show.
(00:47):
Greetings and salutations, mycreative brothers and sisters.
Welcome to Not Real Art, thepodcast where we talk to the world's
most creative people.
I am your host.
Faithful, trusty, loyal,tireless, relentless host.
Sourdough coming at you fromCrew West Studio in Los Angeles.
Man, do we have a great showfor you today.
A vip.
A real vip.
Teresa Hubbard, CEO ofFractured Atlas, is in the house,
(01:10):
here to talk about our littlecollaboration on our project Art
House.
And we love Teresa.
She's been on the show before.
An incredible powerful leaderin the arts running Fractured Atlas,
$30 million arts nonprofitmeant to really support, elevate
artists and help empower theirwork through fiscal sponsorship and
crowdfunding and what have you.
(01:30):
So we're going to talk aboutFractured Atlas here in a moment.
So before we get into that, ofcourse I want to thank our fiscal
sponsor.
Arturial Arturo is an artsnonprofit and we have fiscal sponsor
ship through them.
And that means basically thatyou can support our show.
You can donate vianotrelart.com or arturial.org and
(01:51):
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all those good things.
So please, by all means,consider supporting us, supporting
art, supporting our artistswith a tax deductible donation either@notrelart.com
or arturo.org okay.
Of course, as always, I wantto thank you for being here.
(02:15):
We do this for you.
It's all about you.
And we're trying to justcreate content that you love and
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Part of that, of course, isyou know all about our blog, notrealart.com
go check it out.
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(02:37):
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Amazing content there.
So please go check out all thegood, healthy stuff we've got for
you@notrelart.com okay, today,today we have a VIP in the house.
(03:02):
The one and only TeresaHubbard, CEO of Fractured Atlas,
a 30 million dollar arts nonprofit that's been around about 30
years and they have, they doamazing work for artists.
Providing artists fiscalsponsorship, providing them crowdfunding
platforms to raise money fortheir projects.
Incredible network of artistsall over the country, about 75,000
(03:23):
artists and art lovers allover the country that support Fractured
Atlas and the work they do.
And I've known Teresa for afew years now.
We became friendly, you know,I don't know, 10, maybe 10 years
ago, but hit it right off, ofcourse, for in, you know, just in
terms of our mutual love forart and artists and our passion for
supporting artists.
(03:44):
And when she heard about ourArt House project, which you've heard
me talk about on this show,she expressed real interest in collaborating
and, and, and working with uson it.
And so I am thrilled, I amthrilled that Fractured Atlas and
their board decided to throwin with us and actually financially
support us.
They put in $25,000 into ourproject to film the pilot for the
(04:09):
Art House unscripted TV showthat we're doing about real people,
meaning real artists or byreal art without breaking the bank.
You've heard me talk about it.
In fact, I know you havebecause I talk about it every time.
And we are running acrowdfunding campaign right now and
we do need your support.
If you go to art house tvshow.com arthouse tv show.com you're
(04:30):
going to go to ourcrowdfunding campaign or crowdfunding
page and you're gonna be ableto make a donation.
Whether it's one dollar or athousand dollars or ten bucks or
ten thousand bucks, it doesn't matter.
Every dollar adds up and weappreciate it.
And by the way, you get a.
Tax deduction for just your contribution.
So please, please, pleaseconsider going to arthouse tv show.com
and supporting us today justlike Fractured Atlas did.
(04:52):
We were so grateful and blownaway that Fractured Atlas wanted
to throw in with us and putfor the first time I think in their
history, they have decided toteam up with a LA production company
to crew West Studio, ourcompany, to develop Art House because
of course they realize thatit's a platform for their artists
to shine.
And as we travel around thecountry and make Art House come to
(05:15):
life, we're going to becasting artists every, you know,
three artists at every show.
Fractured Atlas artists arefantastic and we want them to be
in our show anytime we can.
And so, so, yeah, so it's agreat platform to shine a light on
Fractured Atlas and theirartists and all the Great work.
They do.
But also, you know, teaming upto collaborate on this project because,
of course, it requires a lotof energy, a lot of talent, a lot
(05:37):
of expertise, and a lot of money.
And so we're grateful,grateful, grateful for Fractured
Atlas financial support ofthis important project.
Art house.
You, Teresa, came through totalk about not just art house, but
of course, all the great workthat Fractured Atlas is doing.
And so I just loved, as Ialways do, chopping it up with Teresa.
We could talk for hours.
And we're here today.
(05:58):
She's here today to talk to.
Talk to us.
And only we kept it.
We kept it to like, under anhour, so we did pretty good.
So without further ado, let'sget into this awesome conversation
I had with the one and onlyTeresa Hubbard.
(06:19):
Risa Hubbard, welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
I'm glad to.
To make an appearance again.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
You're like the returning champion.
I love it.
We didn't scare you away last time.
You've come back for more.
No, and I think last time weeven ended saying we could talk for
hours.
So maybe there.
There needs to be a repeat appearance.
(06:40):
I'm happy we could make that happen.
Yeah.
So that's a. Yeah.
You sort of know, you, you,you know, when you.
When you meet people, you sortof know instantly you know, whether
or not, you know, there's real chemistry.
And, and, and you and I, thatfrom the time we met, we just.
Conversation was always so easy.
Yeah, it was.
We hit the ground running frommaybe 0-60 mph in a.
(07:02):
In a matter of a second.
In the matter of a.
Should I order coffee orshould you?
Exactly, exactly.
Well, so let's get into thisbecause you.
You are one.
So much going on, and for ourlisteners sake, let's remind them
(07:23):
of the important work that youdo because you run Fractured Atlas.
It's been around, what, 30 years.
The organization has touchedthe lives of so many artists, visual
and performing artists, overthe years, and now you've been with
the organization for a long time.
You've essentially worked yourway up the ladder, so to speak.
(07:44):
Now to a CEO.
How does that feel?
It feels.
You know, it's an honor tolead this organization that I so
deeply care about and havecared about for so long.
It's also a challenge, youknow, every single day, especially
considering how the world ischanging so rapidly and there are
(08:08):
new punches for us to respondto seemingly every day, if not every
week.
And so, you know, it feels great.
It feels amazing to be In aposition and leading a company that
I have put more than 14 yearsof my life into.
(08:30):
And it really gives me adifferent way to continue committing
to the artists that I seek toserve through my work and have sought
to serve through my work forthe last 14 years.
Yeah, yeah.
And.
And you've seen, not only haveyou evolved and grown within the
organization, but theorganization has evolved and grown
(08:54):
and kind of morphed andchanged over the years as well.
I mean, it's incredible totalk, I mean, just for folks who
don't know sort of whereFractured Atlas started and where
it is today, sort of chat alittle bit and talk a little bit
about.
About the evolution of theorganization and what you guys are
doing now versus where youcame from.
(09:15):
Oh, absolutely.
Our founder, Adam Hutler,actually started the organization
as a production company, aperforming performance production
company based in New York city.
And when 911 hit was anopportunity for Adam to really reflect
(09:37):
and decide whether anotherperforming arts company as something
that the city needed andsomething that the arts community
needed, or if he could turnhis focus to a different.
In a different direction withFractured Atlas.
And so from there, he made thedecision, you know, worked with the
(09:58):
board at the time to make thedecision to really transition into
a service organization for artists.
And at the beginning, hestarted out by selling affordable
health insurance to artists,because this was 2001, 2002, 2003,
somewhere in that area.
(10:19):
And this was before theAffordable Care act.
So there wasn't a whole lot ofopportunity for artists to get the
essential care that theyneeded, the essential healthcare
that they needed.
And from there on, it sort ofturned into, well, what else is it
that artists need?
What else can we deliver,deliver on?
And fiscal sponsorship, whichis really our flagship program, was
(10:44):
born from that idea, that ideaof what else do artists need?
Because, you know, it's no secret.
Artists need access to funding.
They need.
They're.
They're doing public benefitwork and which we can.
We consider charitable workand should have access to charitable
dollars as a result.
(11:04):
And so through fiscalsponsorship, they're able to raise
those funds they seek, seektax deductible donations from individual
donors.
They can seek grants that aretypically only available for 501C3s
or fiscally sponsored projects.
And it really opens doors tomore types of funding for them so
(11:27):
that they can introduce a newtype of funding stream into their
work.
And then over the years, youknow, we have started and sunsetted
other sorts of programs.
Liability insurance orbusiness insurance, for example.
We had an online ticketing andCRM software for artists called Artfully.
(11:51):
And we had a space finderprogram which was kind of a marketplace
for unique spaces that artistscould use for things like rehearsal
or exhibition or performance space.
But the emphasis was really onunique spaces so that you don't have
to break the bank renting outa Lincoln center or like the Disney
(12:12):
center in LA or something like that.
It allowed for a lot more foryour money to go a lot farther when
looking for space.
And unfortunately, we've hadto sunset some of those programs
not because we didn't thinkthey were valuable, but because the
business couldn't support them anymore.
And that has led to a lot oflearning opportunities for us.
(12:32):
We're at a point now where wecan start thinking about what is
it that we can bring to thesector in the future and think about
that really intentionally gointo those intentionally with the
goal of sustainability in mindso that we don't end up in a situation
(12:53):
again where we, you know, wehave to sunset some programs that
are really valuable to the, tothe sector.
Unless of course, there's asystemic solution for that.
That that can means that itdoesn't need to be there anymore.
It doesn't need to be the gapthat nonprofits have to fill doesn't
need to be there anymore.
(13:14):
But I could, I could go onabout that for hours and hours and
how the government could,could provide more, more tools for
artists, more things for artists.
But that's a completelydifferent conversation.
Right, right.
That, yeah, that's talk about,talk about a long conversation.
Right.
Like that would be, that wouldbe that there's a lot to, to mine
(13:35):
there.
Well, you know, one of thethings that I love about the story
you're telling is just, youknow, trying to meet artists where
they live, you know, liketrying to, you know, identify pain
points.
Right.
In artists lives, careers,practices, and trying to figure out
products or services thataddress those pain points and experimenting.
(13:59):
Right.
And trying different things.
And now after, you know, allthese years, it feels like Fractured
Atlas while it continues to bea fiscal sponsor for artists.
But you also have almost likea crowdfunding Kickstarter platform
as well, which is remarkable.
(14:20):
Talk about that.
That's right, yeah.
So, you know, whencrowdfunding became really popular,
it was something that ourartists came to us and said over
and over again that theywanted to use.
And so we sought relationshipswith crowdfunding platforms.
We had, we had a long standingrelationship with Indiegogo many
(14:44):
years ago and also with acrowdfunding platform called Rocket
Hub.
I Believe it was.
Which I don't actually thinkis a crowdfunding platform anymore.
Yeah, I don't know.
But it was really awesome because.
Or both of them were.
These partnerships were reallynice because it allowed for tax deductible
donations to be processedthrough these crowdfunding sites
(15:09):
that were very popular.
You know, we had conversationswith Kickstarter too, and recognized
that Kickstarter is a reallyvaluable asset for artists in getting
their work funded.
But just with like the natureof how fiscal sponsorship works and
the tax deductible donations,Indiegogo's flexible funding model
was one that was reallycompatible with our program.
(15:33):
Fast forward something likeseven years or so and the partnership
was ready to retire.
And we realized that there wasa hole that was being left by that.
And so we made the decision toactually build our own.
To say we are going to build acrowdfunding platform that is created
(15:55):
for artists, buy artists, andseeks to serve our fiscal sponsorship
program so that our projectscould have a way to actually use
crowdfunding tools without andstill access the benefits of their
fiscal sponsorship.
So that, that's really wherethat generated from.
(16:15):
And what it kind of grew intowas a full fledged fundraising platform
for our fiscally sponsored projects.
So in addition to thecrowdfunding tools that have discrete
goals and timelines and, andare usually suited to a specific
project, they also have an ongoing.
(16:37):
The fiscally sponsored artistsalso have ongoing crowd fundraising
pages where they maintain aprofile that can be a little bit
more evergreen and collectdonations, tax deductible donations
through that, that page aswell, that profile page, so that
there are options for bothevergreen ongoing fundraising and
(17:02):
goal specific, time specificcrowdfunding campaigns.
Yeah, it's, it's so wonderfulthat you guys did that because, you
know, artists are unique intheir needs, you know, and one of
the things that I know youguys do, which is super helpful is,
you know, artists get to keepall the money they raise and they
(17:23):
can access the money the firstweek of the raise.
So if you're right, if you'retrying to raise 10,000 bucks for
a project and you raise 1,000bucks the first week, they can act,
they can access that money inreal time.
Because of course we know thatthe work must go on and there's things
that we're doing and forartists to.
(17:43):
Artists need that money to,to, to develop the work.
Right.
And it's just those littledetails, I think, that really speak
to your understanding ofartists needs.
I don't know if you heardthrough the grapevine or not.
But we are involved in alittle crowdfunding initiative of
ourselves, for ourselves, fora little project that we're excited
(18:04):
about called Art House.
And I'm joking with you, ofcourse, because you know very well
what Art House is.
Before we get into it, I justwant to thank you for your support
of Art House.
And, you know, havingFractured Atlas involved in this
project just is such a hugevalidation for the project itself.
(18:29):
It obviously means the worldto us because of the halo effect
that it creates, having such astoried, trusted, beloved organization
like Fractured Atlas involvedin the Art House project.
And so, before we get into it,I just want to thank you for throwing
(18:50):
in with us, because it means a lot.
Thank you.
Oh, yeah.
Thank you for thinking of us, too.
These partnerships, thesecollaborations can be so valuable
in the art sector because, youknow, we can't do everything alone.
We can't.
We can't respond to everything alone.
(19:13):
And sometimes thesepartnerships are really essential
in helping nonprofits achievetheir mission.
So.
Right back at you.
Thanks for thinking of us.
And we're really excited to be involved.
Well, fantastic.
And, you know, I'm so glad Ithought of you, too, because it just
(19:37):
makes so much sense.
Right, because it's a one plusone equals three kind of scenario,
I think.
Because part of the challengefor organizations like ours, yours,
mine, et cetera, is that whenwe're trying to serve artists, artists
are not a monolithic community.
And more to the point, I mean,there's a diaspora of artists all
(20:02):
over the country, all over theworld, and it's like herding cats
sometimes.
It's like, how do you get infront of the artist?
Because many artists, ofcourse, don't want to be necessarily
called.
Maybe they don't have a phone.
Maybe they don't, you know,deal with email.
You know, some artists arequite recluse.
(20:23):
Other artists are very different.
I mean, artists are not amonolithic community.
And so when you're trying toserve artists, sometimes it makes
sense to team up with otherarts organizations, because also,
it's very regional sometimesas well.
And the artists that FracturedAtlas serves are very different than
the artists that we serve,maybe here in Southern California.
(20:45):
And so teaming up allows us tojust cover more ground and work smarter.
Absolutely.
And Fractured Atlas is anational organization, and we are
also fully distributed, so wedon't actually have an office anywhere,
which sometimes can result infeeling a little bit ungrounded.
(21:06):
And so a lot of what we'rethinking about right now is how do
we feel more grounded incommunities and how do we partner
with other organizations tohelp them amplify their own mission?
Because we have this nationalspread or reach.
(21:27):
And so this.
You're absolutely right.
We're not going to have thesolutions for every artist because
artists are not a monolith,but because we are but one organization.
And so sometimes it is rare,really important for us to think
about these creativecollaborations in order to reach
all the artists we want toreach, but also so that artists can
(21:49):
find us and the services thatwe can offer through these partnerships,
100%.
And with this project inparticular, it's interesting too
because listening to theevolution of Fractured Atlas and
seeing these pain points inartists lives, right?
(22:11):
Whether it's, you know,affordable health care or whether
it's, you know, services thatthey might need, you know, for insurance
or business or what have you,you know, in terms of us and sort
of our journey.
And I, you know, come frommore of a background in advertising
(22:32):
and marketing.
And then when I got involvedin contemporary art and my partner
and I had an art gallery for10 years dealing.
So I've dealt with artists,both commercial artists and contemporary
artists in many ways over the years.
And one of the things that Inoticed that was a pain point was
(22:54):
that artists, many artistsreally want and need help telling
their stories and promotingtheir work.
And I just said to, I said,well, I can help with that with my
advertising marketingbackground, you know, I can help
with that.
We can help with that.
And so I guess because of mylived experience, I try to think
(23:17):
about opportunities and waysof serving that are not just relevant
and meaningful, but that arehopefully novel and innovative.
Right.
Because at the end of the daywe have to innovate.
We have to come up with newsolutions to old problems.
Absolutely.
And so one of the sort of, notonly did I sort of observe that,
(23:40):
you know, a lot of artists,most artists want help telling their
stories and promoting their work.
I sort of also looked at italmost from an economical, like a,
like a, well, an economicalperspective, which is like, okay,
if, if artists are strugglingfinancially, right?
And they are, many of them are.
(24:01):
Thus the phrase starvingartist, right?
That comes, you know, that'srooted in a trut.
And the truth is that artists struggle.
And so it ends up being aneconomic problem of economics, right?
So it's like supply anddemand, right?
And so as I sort of looked atit, it was like, well, you know,
(24:21):
we're never going to managesupply, nor should we.
I mean, artists are going tomake it work, they're going to make
art.
That's what artists do, youknow, and they're not.
Right, right.
They can't, they don't have achoice, Right.
And they just want to make thework they don't necessarily want
to worry about.
And many of them do take onmarketing and advertising and promotion
(24:42):
because they have to.
Right.
They're a small business orwhatever, they have think about that
stuff.
But you know, given a choicethat you know, they would, they would
really love to just focus onthe work and let somebody else deal
with the promotion, thepublicity, the storytelling, the
marketing, what have you.
Right.
And so, so that for me startedthis, this, this thought process
(25:04):
of like, okay, well how can wehelp artists amplify and if we're
never going to control supply,you know, the only way to put more
money in artists pockets is tostoke demand, right.
And, and then that's wheremarketing and promotion and publicity
and storytelling comes in.
(25:25):
Because you know, the only waywe're going to stoke demand is by
getting the stories out thereand animating and empowering the
general marketplace.
Right.
Because the first world of artthat we love, the first world of
art love going to a fancywhite cube gallery and seeing an
(25:49):
amazing one person show.
But generally speaking, Ican't afford that artwork.
Right.
Who can?
And also those environmentscan feel very exclusive and very
stuffy and kind of pretentioussometimes and people are intimidated
to go in there.
And so what ends up happeningis so many people end up buying mass
(26:13):
produced kind of home decor ormass produced prints and art.
And that's a $7 billion category.
I mean the so called homedecor sector, the prints, the art
prints that people buy atTarget or you know, name your store,
(26:34):
that's a $7 billion category.
And I just, you know, startedsaying to myself that, you know,
I bet you many of those peoplewould buy original art, would spend
more money buying original artto have a one of a kind piece to
support local artists, tosupport their local economy.
(26:57):
If only they knew how, right?
If only they knew, like howcan we connect?
It's almost like a dating show.
Like how do you connect thebuyer and the seller?
Right.
How can we match make true love?
Right.
And that was the kind of theinspiration for Art House.
(27:18):
And you know, as you know, youknow Art House is an unscripted television
show about real people meetingreal artists to buy real art without
breaking the bank.
And we're not going to go toNew York or Miami or Chicago or.
Well, I wouldn't say we aregoing to Chicago, but New York, Miami
or la.
We're Going to go to Toledo,Ohio, we're going to go to Madison,
(27:40):
Wisconsin, we're going to goto Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Right.
And try to connect artistswith our buyers who, they may only
have 500 bucks, they may onlyhave a thousand bucks.
You know, maybe they only got100 bucks.
What do you do when you onlyhave 100 bucks and you're looking
original art?
(28:00):
And so for me, Art House wasjust born out of this need and this
passion to try to solve thisproblem for artists.
How can I find more demand formy products?
How can I put more money in mypocket and make ends meet?
And having a television showon a national platform like an HGTV
(28:22):
or a A and E network or, oreven if it's on YouTube, because
by the way, everybody's onYouTube now.
If we can get a show out therethat helps artists get more eyes
on their work and moreimportantly, helps regular folks
really understand that, yes,they can afford original.
They can go to artist studios,they can meet the artists, they can
(28:44):
buy directly from artists andlargely in their community or in
their region.
And that's, for me, what hasbeen so inspiring about this project
and why I want it to succeed,because it truly would be a game
changer for how artistsconnect with would be buyers.
Yeah, I completely agree.
(29:04):
And one of the things thatreally inspired me about the work
was this idea of bringing artbuyers, art patrons, into the community
with artists and helping themfoster relationships with one another
so that, you know, there's thepotential for word of mouth so that,
(29:26):
that the buyer can say, canhave a discussion piece in their
house and somebody says,that's cool.
Who is it by or where did youget it?
And the answer is not going tobe home goods or target.
The answer is going to be, Imet this really cool artist, and
if you're interested, I'mhappy to introduce you to them.
(29:48):
But even if you don't, ifyou're not interested in this specific
artist, I met two others whoare also doing really cool work that
I could put you into touch with.
And before you know it,hopefully you have a whole new community
for these artists to reach andsell to and not have to worry about
(30:11):
commission fees or, or galleryfees or, or anything there.
It is real organicrelationships that they are building
with real people who recognizethat original art can take your.
It can make.
Can make a house, a home.
It can make it feel morecomfortable and homey and not to
(30:35):
mention, and maybe this issort of a byproduct, but art is a
really important way for us tobuild wealth in our society.
And so by investing in art,you are also investing in your own
future and your own own wealth.
And I love that.
And let's unpack that a littlebit, because I think what you're
(30:57):
getting at is wealth ofspirit, wealth of mind, wealth of.
I often say, for me, art isnot an economic asset that I expect
to appreciate because largely,art is a horrible investment economically.
(31:18):
But it's soul food.
I want art.
You know, I love art in myhome because it feeds my soul, it
feeds my spirit, it makes methink, it makes me feel.
And that's, you know.
You know, so many artists,like, they just.
They don't want you to that artist.
I know.
(31:39):
And I think you probably havethe same experience.
Artists are not saying totheir buyers, oh, buy my work because
it's going to appreciate someday.
They're saying, buy my workbecause you love it and you want
to look at it every day.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
And because it makes you feelsomething, because it makes you ask
questions, because it revealssomething about your life that maybe
(31:59):
you didn't know about before.
Yeah.
And you're right.
It's not.
It's not the best investment monetarily.
But we also, you know, we know that.
How do I want to say this?
There's some art that makes itit, and you never know who that artist
is going to be.
(32:20):
100%.
I just.
Let's be clear.
It absolutely does happen.
I have art that's appreciated.
You know, I did.
But that's not why I bought it.
Right.
No, exactly right.
I bought it.
That's.
It's about intent.
Right, sure.
Like, we're not intending tobuy art because we think it's going
to increase in value.
We buy because we love it.
But.
Oh, by the way.
Oh, and five years later, yourealize, like, oh, actually, it's
(32:42):
worth a lot more now.
And that's a beautiful thing.
But that's not the intention.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, you know, so.
So it is.
You know, as I think about ArtHouse and I think about, you know,
the show, and as it will cometo life and as people will watch
(33:04):
it, it's like one of thethings that I get excited about is
that people will just start.
Well, there's a couple things.
One is people will just startbecoming empowered.
It's like, oh, wait a minute.
It.
I. I could go visit an artistin their studio.
I can go visit this exoticanimal in this exotic place called
(33:28):
an artist studio, you know, and.
And.
And start to build thatrelationship that you talked about,
you know, because having thatone on one relationship with the
artist is the best.
It's the, it's just the best.
It absolutely is.
And you know, one of myfavorite parts about going to a museum,
for example, is reading the plaques.
And you know, obviously it'sgoing to, to take you a while to
(33:49):
read all of them, but there'ssomething so enlightening about what
went into the creation of theart that you're looking at and getting
some insight into the mind ofthe artist who created it and where
they were in their life andwho they were interacting with.
And this gives thatopportunity without needing to go
(34:11):
to a museum, without needingto go to a gallery.
It gives you firsthandexperience talking to the artist,
knowing them, knowing wherethey came from, hearing from them
firsthand what theirinspiration was and what they're
trying to communicate throughthat art.
And that's unparalleled.
You know, very few people getthat experience.
(34:32):
And it's a really, this isgoing to be a really cool opportunity
to start normalizing that.
And I think another example ofthis happening is, I don't know if
you all have like makersmarkets or, I mean, in la, they definitely
do, but makers markets, theyhave something in New York called
the fad markets.
(34:53):
And you, you go around tothese tables that are, it's just,
you know, a warehouse full ofartists and you, you talk to them
about their work and thematerials that they're creating.
And it's just I, I so preferspending time in those spaces and
talking to the actual creatorsthan a situation where, you know,
(35:14):
you might be in a home goodsor a target or feel like a brokered
record at this point.
But it just makes the art inyour house so much more unique to
you, unique to your experience.
You have a story to tell about it.
I don't know, it's unmatchable.
It truly is.
(35:36):
And yeah, it truly is.
Just knowing that you havesomething that truly resonated with
you in your home that is oneof a kind or maybe limited edition,
but.
And then, you know, the maker,you know, the artist, it's just a
human, it's just a humanexperience, you know, and you know,
(35:56):
the, the words that I like touse when I think about what we're
doing with Art House is, youknow, we're, we're demystifying and
we're humanizing.
Right.
Like, so we're demystifyingthis like art world thing that people
might be confused about orintimidated or just don't know.
So we're Going to pull theveil back and show them a very, very,
(36:19):
you know, very real, true pathway.
Right.
And.
And.
And then.
So we're going to demystify,but then we humanize.
We're humanizing artists and, And.
And.
And the people that makeartists art.
Because I think a lot oftimes, you know, most people maybe
don't know artists, and theythink of them as these exotic creatures
(36:41):
that, you know, you neverreally know.
And turns out they're everywhere.
Oh, yeah, they truly are everywhere.
We even sort of.
We're reluctant to even give adefinition to an artist or a creative
because there's a little pieceof art inside so many people.
(37:04):
And whether you identify as anartist or not, there is something
that still connects you to artin so many cases.
So you're right.
Even if you don't identify asan artist, you might have a little
piece of that artist inside of you.
And it's everywhere.
Well, and it's truly, youknow, I mean, again, the first world
(37:25):
of art, which we love, havedone a great job of sort of making
art a very exclusive thing.
And there are art experts thatyou should consult.
And by the way, there are lotsof art experts that know way more
than I do.
Yes.
But the truth is that with ashow like Art House, we're actually
(37:53):
honoring the fact that beautyis in the eye of the beholder.
And that means that you and I,who may or may not be art experts,
we know what we like, we knowwhat speaks to us or what doesn't
speak to us.
And by definition, that makesus an expert.
(38:15):
Like, we know what we like.
Trust.
I feel that.
And that's one of the thingsthat gets me excited about our house,
because I feel like.
Like that it will teach peopleto trust their instincts, you know,
like, you know what?
Oh, wait a minute.
I. I love red.
I'm gonna go.
I'm gonna go find some artiststhat love red too, you know, Or.
Or I.
You know, I'm a. I'm afisherman, and I love fish, and I'm
(38:38):
gonna find an artist thatmakes fish sculptures or something,
you know, And.
And.
And so this idea that.
That, you know, hopefully whenpeople watch Art House, they're going
to realize that they are anart expert.
They know what they like.
They can trust their taste oftheir instincts because beauty's
(39:00):
in the eye of the beholder.
And I feel like that's amessage that doesn't always get talked
about or shared, certainly inthe first world of art.
But with a show like ArtHouse, it's very Democratic.
It's a very populous mess.
Message.
Yeah, absolutely.
It just took me to a, a momentof decorating a house.
(39:22):
You know, anytime you moveinto a new apartment or, or house
or whatever, you look for thatone piece, you know, there's some,
there's some unique need thatyou have, and you can't find the
specs anywhere.
You can't find it at thefurniture stores or, or online, you
(39:42):
know, through, through your wayfarers.
And you go to Etsy and youfind exactly what you need because
you find that going directlyto the artist, you know, issues with
Etsy aside, you going directlyto the artist, you find they're able
to almost understand what artdoes, the purpose of art in a home,
(40:09):
whether it's fabricated like apiece of furniture or something that
you're going to hang on yourwall, or they understand it in a
completely different way thansomething that's mass produced can.
And that, I agree, is what'sbeautiful about art house is you
end up going directly to theartists, finding that need that only
(40:30):
you understand because it isunique to yourself and your taste
and your preferences andfrankly, the home that you're in.
You know, every, every homehas different needs, it has different
energies, it has differentcolor scheme, sizes of wall, you
know, everything.
Everything.
Yeah, and, and, and you know,and I'm just so excited too, you
(40:53):
know, for the artists because,you know, the, the artists that are
going to be on the show, youknow, will, will.
Will get, you know, you know,national and, and international,
even exposure.
And, and exposure could bekind of a dirty word.
Somebody corrected me theother day, said, you know, eyes on
the work.
Eyes on the work.
I'm like, okay, want more eyeson the work.
(41:15):
And then somebody else hadsaid to me a while back, said, well,
wait a minute, aren't youconcerned that the other two artists
are.
Because we meet three artistsevery episode we meet three artists,
and the family or the buyer orthe person, you know, looking at
the art will ultimately chooseone artist.
So to go with.
And so somebody was saying tome, well, you know, aren't you concerned
(41:37):
about these other two artiststhat will be, that will lose?
I'm like, no, no, no.
No one loses.
Because, you know, number one,artists are always happy for other
artists when people collecttheir work or choose their work,
number one.
Number two, it's a win, winfor all the artists because they're
(41:57):
getting exposure, they'regetting eyes on their work whether
they're chosen or not in the show.
And one of the things that Iget excited about is this idea of
down the road, we create thisalmost new marketplace for.
For artists to connect withbuyers and people to buy art.
I can imagine that season twoor something, we have a website where
(42:21):
people can go and buy artdirectly from those artists that
were on the show, that kind of thing.
So it's that kind of excitingopportunity that having an innovative,
novel idea like an art housecreates these new opportunities.
And we're just here to serveartists and help them tell their
(42:45):
stories and promote their work.
And, Teresa, I'm just sograteful that Fractured Atlas has
locked arms with us on thisproject, and I'm just so grateful
for that, and I'm thrilled forFractured Atlas artists that will
have the opportunity to be onthe show.
And whether they're visualartists or performing artists, we
(43:09):
want to find opportunities totry to showcase and amplify Fractured
Atlas artists on the series.
So it's exciting.
It's an exciting project.
It is exciting, and we arereally excited to be part of this
for the benefit of our artistsas well, and also to really showcase
(43:35):
the breadth of art that existsoutside of these primary markets.
Because the United States isfull of art.
It is full of art in ruralareas, in smaller cities, in big
cities, of course.
But this is a real opportunityto give, you know, exposure, like
(43:57):
you mentioned, to the artists,but also to the art and the culture
of the city that.
That is being featured.
City or location that's being featured.
And I think that's really,really exciting because that art
is important, too.
And that art, those artistsare important, too, and they deserve
(44:18):
every bit of recognition thatthe artists in the primary markets
do.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yes.
For sure.
I mean.
I mean, there's so many coolcommunities I can't wait to go to.
I know, I know.
It's.
Yeah, it.
All the neat.
I say neat.
You know, just the neatplaces, the amazing art and artists
(44:42):
that we're going to discover.
It's.
It's like part travel showreally, as well.
Right?
It's like part home design,part travel.
You know, something there for everybody.
Fun for the whole family.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Well, Teresa Hubbard, you arethe best.
Thank you so much for takingtime out of your busy schedule.
(45:02):
We're running a $30 millionorganization like Fractured Atlas
to come sit down with me and.
And chat about ourcollaboration on Art House.
Thank you so much.
Much.
Thank you.
It's always a pleasure.
Have a great day.
Thanks.
You too.
(45:25):
Thanks for listening to theNot Real Art podcast.
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NARL Art is produced by Crew West.
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Not Real Art is created by WeEdit, podcast and hosted by Captivate.
(45:49):
Thanks again for listening toNot Real Art.
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Now let's get started andenjoy the show.
(00:47):
Greetings and salutations, mycreative brothers and sisters.
Welcome to Not Real Art, thepodcast where we talk to the world's
most creative people.
I am your host.
Faithful, trusty, loyal,tireless, relentless host.
Sourdough coming at you fromCrew West Studio in Los Angeles.
Man, do we have a great showfor you today.
A vip.
A real vip.
Teresa Hubbard, CEO ofFractured Atlas, is in the house,
(01:10):
here to talk about our littlecollaboration on our project Art
House.
And we love Teresa.
She's been on the show before.
An incredible powerful leaderin the arts running Fractured Atlas,
$30 million arts nonprofitmeant to really support, elevate
artists and help empower theirwork through fiscal sponsorship and
crowdfunding and what have you.
(01:30):
So we're going to talk aboutFractured Atlas here in a moment.
So before we get into that, ofcourse I want to thank our fiscal
sponsor.
Arturial Arturo is an artsnonprofit and we have fiscal sponsor
ship through them.
And that means basically thatyou can support our show.
You can donate vianotrelart.com or arturial.org and
(01:51):
make a don to support our workso that we can keep it free.
Free of cost, free ofadvertising, all that good thing,
all those good things.
So please, by all means,consider supporting us, supporting
art, supporting our artistswith a tax deductible donation either@notrelart.com
or arturo.org okay.
Of course, as always, I wantto thank you for being here.
(02:15):
We do this for you.
It's all about you.
And we're trying to justcreate content that you love and
that benefits you, inspiresyou and edifies.
Part of that, of course, isyou know all about our blog, notrealart.com
go check it out.
There's all kinds of good,healthy stuff there for you that's
free.
Everything from, you know, thenot real art school with the free
(02:37):
educational videos.
We've got the remote serieswith Badir McCleary exploring the
power of public art around the world.
Exclusive video series.
Check out that.
Check out our first Friday'sart exhibitions that drop the first
Fridays of every month.
Amazing content there.
So please go check out all thegood, healthy stuff we've got for
you@notrelart.com okay, today,today we have a VIP in the house.
(03:02):
The one and only TeresaHubbard, CEO of Fractured Atlas,
a 30 million dollar arts nonprofit that's been around about 30
years and they have, they doamazing work for artists.
Providing artists fiscalsponsorship, providing them crowdfunding
platforms to raise money fortheir projects.
Incredible network of artistsall over the country, about 75,000
(03:23):
artists and art lovers allover the country that support Fractured
Atlas and the work they do.
And I've known Teresa for afew years now.
We became friendly, you know,I don't know, 10, maybe 10 years
ago, but hit it right off, ofcourse, for in, you know, just in
terms of our mutual love forart and artists and our passion for
supporting artists.
(03:44):
And when she heard about ourArt House project, which you've heard
me talk about on this show,she expressed real interest in collaborating
and, and, and working with uson it.
And so I am thrilled, I amthrilled that Fractured Atlas and
their board decided to throwin with us and actually financially
support us.
They put in $25,000 into ourproject to film the pilot for the
(04:09):
Art House unscripted TV showthat we're doing about real people,
meaning real artists or byreal art without breaking the bank.
You've heard me talk about it.
In fact, I know you havebecause I talk about it every time.
And we are running acrowdfunding campaign right now and
we do need your support.
If you go to art house tvshow.com arthouse tv show.com you're
(04:30):
going to go to ourcrowdfunding campaign or crowdfunding
page and you're gonna be ableto make a donation.
Whether it's one dollar or athousand dollars or ten bucks or
ten thousand bucks, it doesn't matter.
Every dollar adds up and weappreciate it.
And by the way, you get a.
Tax deduction for just your contribution.
So please, please, pleaseconsider going to arthouse tv show.com
and supporting us today justlike Fractured Atlas did.
(04:52):
We were so grateful and blownaway that Fractured Atlas wanted
to throw in with us and putfor the first time I think in their
history, they have decided toteam up with a LA production company
to crew West Studio, ourcompany, to develop Art House because
of course they realize thatit's a platform for their artists
to shine.
And as we travel around thecountry and make Art House come to
(05:15):
life, we're going to becasting artists every, you know,
three artists at every show.
Fractured Atlas artists arefantastic and we want them to be
in our show anytime we can.
And so, so, yeah, so it's agreat platform to shine a light on
Fractured Atlas and theirartists and all the Great work.
They do.
But also, you know, teaming upto collaborate on this project because,
of course, it requires a lotof energy, a lot of talent, a lot
(05:37):
of expertise, and a lot of money.
And so we're grateful,grateful, grateful for Fractured
Atlas financial support ofthis important project.
Art house.
You, Teresa, came through totalk about not just art house, but
of course, all the great workthat Fractured Atlas is doing.
And so I just loved, as Ialways do, chopping it up with Teresa.
We could talk for hours.
And we're here today.
(05:58):
She's here today to talk to.
Talk to us.
And only we kept it.
We kept it to like, under anhour, so we did pretty good.
So without further ado, let'sget into this awesome conversation
I had with the one and onlyTeresa Hubbard.
(06:19):
Risa Hubbard, welcome to the show.
Thank you for having me.
I'm glad to.
To make an appearance again.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
You're like the returning champion.
I love it.
We didn't scare you away last time.
You've come back for more.
No, and I think last time weeven ended saying we could talk for
hours.
So maybe there.
There needs to be a repeat appearance.
(06:40):
I'm happy we could make that happen.
Yeah.
So that's a. Yeah.
You sort of know, you, you,you know, when you.
When you meet people, you sortof know instantly you know, whether
or not, you know, there's real chemistry.
And, and, and you and I, thatfrom the time we met, we just.
Conversation was always so easy.
Yeah, it was.
We hit the ground running frommaybe 0-60 mph in a.
(07:02):
In a matter of a second.
In the matter of a.
Should I order coffee orshould you?
Exactly, exactly.
Well, so let's get into thisbecause you.
You are one.
So much going on, and for ourlisteners sake, let's remind them
(07:23):
of the important work that youdo because you run Fractured Atlas.
It's been around, what, 30 years.
The organization has touchedthe lives of so many artists, visual
and performing artists, overthe years, and now you've been with
the organization for a long time.
You've essentially worked yourway up the ladder, so to speak.
(07:44):
Now to a CEO.
How does that feel?
It feels.
You know, it's an honor tolead this organization that I so
deeply care about and havecared about for so long.
It's also a challenge, youknow, every single day, especially
considering how the world ischanging so rapidly and there are
(08:08):
new punches for us to respondto seemingly every day, if not every
week.
And so, you know, it feels great.
It feels amazing to be In aposition and leading a company that
I have put more than 14 yearsof my life into.
(08:30):
And it really gives me adifferent way to continue committing
to the artists that I seek toserve through my work and have sought
to serve through my work forthe last 14 years.
Yeah, yeah.
And.
And you've seen, not only haveyou evolved and grown within the
organization, but theorganization has evolved and grown
(08:54):
and kind of morphed andchanged over the years as well.
I mean, it's incredible totalk, I mean, just for folks who
don't know sort of whereFractured Atlas started and where
it is today, sort of chat alittle bit and talk a little bit
about.
About the evolution of theorganization and what you guys are
doing now versus where youcame from.
(09:15):
Oh, absolutely.
Our founder, Adam Hutler,actually started the organization
as a production company, aperforming performance production
company based in New York city.
And when 911 hit was anopportunity for Adam to really reflect
(09:37):
and decide whether anotherperforming arts company as something
that the city needed andsomething that the arts community
needed, or if he could turnhis focus to a different.
In a different direction withFractured Atlas.
And so from there, he made thedecision, you know, worked with the
(09:58):
board at the time to make thedecision to really transition into
a service organization for artists.
And at the beginning, hestarted out by selling affordable
health insurance to artists,because this was 2001, 2002, 2003,
somewhere in that area.
(10:19):
And this was before theAffordable Care act.
So there wasn't a whole lot ofopportunity for artists to get the
essential care that theyneeded, the essential healthcare
that they needed.
And from there on, it sort ofturned into, well, what else is it
that artists need?
What else can we deliver,deliver on?
And fiscal sponsorship, whichis really our flagship program, was
(10:44):
born from that idea, that ideaof what else do artists need?
Because, you know, it's no secret.
Artists need access to funding.
They need.
They're.
They're doing public benefitwork and which we can.
We consider charitable workand should have access to charitable
dollars as a result.
(11:04):
And so through fiscalsponsorship, they're able to raise
those funds they seek, seektax deductible donations from individual
donors.
They can seek grants that aretypically only available for 501C3s
or fiscally sponsored projects.
And it really opens doors tomore types of funding for them so
(11:27):
that they can introduce a newtype of funding stream into their
work.
And then over the years, youknow, we have started and sunsetted
other sorts of programs.
Liability insurance orbusiness insurance, for example.
We had an online ticketing andCRM software for artists called Artfully.
(11:51):
And we had a space finderprogram which was kind of a marketplace
for unique spaces that artistscould use for things like rehearsal
or exhibition or performance space.
But the emphasis was really onunique spaces so that you don't have
to break the bank renting outa Lincoln center or like the Disney
(12:12):
center in LA or something like that.
It allowed for a lot more foryour money to go a lot farther when
looking for space.
And unfortunately, we've hadto sunset some of those programs
not because we didn't thinkthey were valuable, but because the
business couldn't support them anymore.
And that has led to a lot oflearning opportunities for us.
(12:32):
We're at a point now where wecan start thinking about what is
it that we can bring to thesector in the future and think about
that really intentionally gointo those intentionally with the
goal of sustainability in mindso that we don't end up in a situation
(12:53):
again where we, you know, wehave to sunset some programs that
are really valuable to the, tothe sector.
Unless of course, there's asystemic solution for that.
That that can means that itdoesn't need to be there anymore.
It doesn't need to be the gapthat nonprofits have to fill doesn't
need to be there anymore.
(13:14):
But I could, I could go onabout that for hours and hours and
how the government could,could provide more, more tools for
artists, more things for artists.
But that's a completelydifferent conversation.
Right, right.
That, yeah, that's talk about,talk about a long conversation.
Right.
Like that would be, that wouldbe that there's a lot to, to mine
(13:35):
there.
Well, you know, one of thethings that I love about the story
you're telling is just, youknow, trying to meet artists where
they live, you know, liketrying to, you know, identify pain
points.
Right.
In artists lives, careers,practices, and trying to figure out
products or services thataddress those pain points and experimenting.
(13:59):
Right.
And trying different things.
And now after, you know, allthese years, it feels like Fractured
Atlas while it continues to bea fiscal sponsor for artists.
But you also have almost likea crowdfunding Kickstarter platform
as well, which is remarkable.
(14:20):
Talk about that.
That's right, yeah.
So, you know, whencrowdfunding became really popular,
it was something that ourartists came to us and said over
and over again that theywanted to use.
And so we sought relationshipswith crowdfunding platforms.
We had, we had a long standingrelationship with Indiegogo many
(14:44):
years ago and also with acrowdfunding platform called Rocket
Hub.
I Believe it was.
Which I don't actually thinkis a crowdfunding platform anymore.
Yeah, I don't know.
But it was really awesome because.
Or both of them were.
These partnerships were reallynice because it allowed for tax deductible
donations to be processedthrough these crowdfunding sites
(15:09):
that were very popular.
You know, we had conversationswith Kickstarter too, and recognized
that Kickstarter is a reallyvaluable asset for artists in getting
their work funded.
But just with like the natureof how fiscal sponsorship works and
the tax deductible donations,Indiegogo's flexible funding model
was one that was reallycompatible with our program.
(15:33):
Fast forward something likeseven years or so and the partnership
was ready to retire.
And we realized that there wasa hole that was being left by that.
And so we made the decision toactually build our own.
To say we are going to build acrowdfunding platform that is created
(15:55):
for artists, buy artists, andseeks to serve our fiscal sponsorship
program so that our projectscould have a way to actually use
crowdfunding tools without andstill access the benefits of their
fiscal sponsorship.
So that, that's really wherethat generated from.
(16:15):
And what it kind of grew intowas a full fledged fundraising platform
for our fiscally sponsored projects.
So in addition to thecrowdfunding tools that have discrete
goals and timelines and, andare usually suited to a specific
project, they also have an ongoing.
(16:37):
The fiscally sponsored artistsalso have ongoing crowd fundraising
pages where they maintain aprofile that can be a little bit
more evergreen and collectdonations, tax deductible donations
through that, that page aswell, that profile page, so that
there are options for bothevergreen ongoing fundraising and
(17:02):
goal specific, time specificcrowdfunding campaigns.
Yeah, it's, it's so wonderfulthat you guys did that because, you
know, artists are unique intheir needs, you know, and one of
the things that I know youguys do, which is super helpful is,
you know, artists get to keepall the money they raise and they
(17:23):
can access the money the firstweek of the raise.
So if you're right, if you'retrying to raise 10,000 bucks for
a project and you raise 1,000bucks the first week, they can act,
they can access that money inreal time.
Because of course we know thatthe work must go on and there's things
that we're doing and forartists to.
(17:43):
Artists need that money to,to, to develop the work.
Right.
And it's just those littledetails, I think, that really speak
to your understanding ofartists needs.
I don't know if you heardthrough the grapevine or not.
But we are involved in alittle crowdfunding initiative of
ourselves, for ourselves, fora little project that we're excited
(18:04):
about called Art House.
And I'm joking with you, ofcourse, because you know very well
what Art House is.
Before we get into it, I justwant to thank you for your support
of Art House.
And, you know, havingFractured Atlas involved in this
project just is such a hugevalidation for the project itself.
(18:29):
It obviously means the worldto us because of the halo effect
that it creates, having such astoried, trusted, beloved organization
like Fractured Atlas involvedin the Art House project.
And so, before we get into it,I just want to thank you for throwing
(18:50):
in with us, because it means a lot.
Thank you.
Oh, yeah.
Thank you for thinking of us, too.
These partnerships, thesecollaborations can be so valuable
in the art sector because, youknow, we can't do everything alone.
We can't.
We can't respond to everything alone.
(19:13):
And sometimes thesepartnerships are really essential
in helping nonprofits achievetheir mission.
So.
Right back at you.
Thanks for thinking of us.
And we're really excited to be involved.
Well, fantastic.
And, you know, I'm so glad Ithought of you, too, because it just
(19:37):
makes so much sense.
Right, because it's a one plusone equals three kind of scenario,
I think.
Because part of the challengefor organizations like ours, yours,
mine, et cetera, is that whenwe're trying to serve artists, artists
are not a monolithic community.
And more to the point, I mean,there's a diaspora of artists all
(20:02):
over the country, all over theworld, and it's like herding cats
sometimes.
It's like, how do you get infront of the artist?
Because many artists, ofcourse, don't want to be necessarily
called.
Maybe they don't have a phone.
Maybe they don't, you know,deal with email.
You know, some artists arequite recluse.
(20:23):
Other artists are very different.
I mean, artists are not amonolithic community.
And so when you're trying toserve artists, sometimes it makes
sense to team up with otherarts organizations, because also,
it's very regional sometimesas well.
And the artists that FracturedAtlas serves are very different than
the artists that we serve,maybe here in Southern California.
(20:45):
And so teaming up allows us tojust cover more ground and work smarter.
Absolutely.
And Fractured Atlas is anational organization, and we are
also fully distributed, so wedon't actually have an office anywhere,
which sometimes can result infeeling a little bit ungrounded.
(21:06):
And so a lot of what we'rethinking about right now is how do
we feel more grounded incommunities and how do we partner
with other organizations tohelp them amplify their own mission?
Because we have this nationalspread or reach.
(21:27):
And so this.
You're absolutely right.
We're not going to have thesolutions for every artist because
artists are not a monolith,but because we are but one organization.
And so sometimes it is rare,really important for us to think
about these creativecollaborations in order to reach
all the artists we want toreach, but also so that artists can
(21:49):
find us and the services thatwe can offer through these partnerships,
100%.
And with this project inparticular, it's interesting too
because listening to theevolution of Fractured Atlas and
seeing these pain points inartists lives, right?
(22:11):
Whether it's, you know,affordable health care or whether
it's, you know, services thatthey might need, you know, for insurance
or business or what have you,you know, in terms of us and sort
of our journey.
And I, you know, come frommore of a background in advertising
(22:32):
and marketing.
And then when I got involvedin contemporary art and my partner
and I had an art gallery for10 years dealing.
So I've dealt with artists,both commercial artists and contemporary
artists in many ways over the years.
And one of the things that Inoticed that was a pain point was
(22:54):
that artists, many artistsreally want and need help telling
their stories and promotingtheir work.
And I just said to, I said,well, I can help with that with my
advertising marketingbackground, you know, I can help
with that.
We can help with that.
And so I guess because of mylived experience, I try to think
(23:17):
about opportunities and waysof serving that are not just relevant
and meaningful, but that arehopefully novel and innovative.
Right.
Because at the end of the daywe have to innovate.
We have to come up with newsolutions to old problems.
Absolutely.
And so one of the sort of, notonly did I sort of observe that,
(23:40):
you know, a lot of artists,most artists want help telling their
stories and promoting their work.
I sort of also looked at italmost from an economical, like a,
like a, well, an economicalperspective, which is like, okay,
if, if artists are strugglingfinancially, right?
And they are, many of them are.
(24:01):
Thus the phrase starvingartist, right?
That comes, you know, that'srooted in a trut.
And the truth is that artists struggle.
And so it ends up being aneconomic problem of economics, right?
So it's like supply anddemand, right?
And so as I sort of looked atit, it was like, well, you know,
(24:21):
we're never going to managesupply, nor should we.
I mean, artists are going tomake it work, they're going to make
art.
That's what artists do, youknow, and they're not.
Right, right.
They can't, they don't have achoice, Right.
And they just want to make thework they don't necessarily want
to worry about.
And many of them do take onmarketing and advertising and promotion
(24:42):
because they have to.
Right.
They're a small business orwhatever, they have think about that
stuff.
But you know, given a choicethat you know, they would, they would
really love to just focus onthe work and let somebody else deal
with the promotion, thepublicity, the storytelling, the
marketing, what have you.
Right.
And so, so that for me startedthis, this, this thought process
(25:04):
of like, okay, well how can wehelp artists amplify and if we're
never going to control supply,you know, the only way to put more
money in artists pockets is tostoke demand, right.
And, and then that's wheremarketing and promotion and publicity
and storytelling comes in.
(25:25):
Because you know, the only waywe're going to stoke demand is by
getting the stories out thereand animating and empowering the
general marketplace.
Right.
Because the first world of artthat we love, the first world of
art love going to a fancywhite cube gallery and seeing an
(25:49):
amazing one person show.
But generally speaking, Ican't afford that artwork.
Right.
Who can?
And also those environmentscan feel very exclusive and very
stuffy and kind of pretentioussometimes and people are intimidated
to go in there.
And so what ends up happeningis so many people end up buying mass
(26:13):
produced kind of home decor ormass produced prints and art.
And that's a $7 billion category.
I mean the so called homedecor sector, the prints, the art
prints that people buy atTarget or you know, name your store,
(26:34):
that's a $7 billion category.
And I just, you know, startedsaying to myself that, you know,
I bet you many of those peoplewould buy original art, would spend
more money buying original artto have a one of a kind piece to
support local artists, tosupport their local economy.
(26:57):
If only they knew how, right?
If only they knew, like howcan we connect?
It's almost like a dating show.
Like how do you connect thebuyer and the seller?
Right.
How can we match make true love?
Right.
And that was the kind of theinspiration for Art House.
(27:18):
And you know, as you know, youknow Art House is an unscripted television
show about real people meetingreal artists to buy real art without
breaking the bank.
And we're not going to go toNew York or Miami or Chicago or.
Well, I wouldn't say we aregoing to Chicago, but New York, Miami
or la.
We're Going to go to Toledo,Ohio, we're going to go to Madison,
(27:40):
Wisconsin, we're going to goto Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Right.
And try to connect artistswith our buyers who, they may only
have 500 bucks, they may onlyhave a thousand bucks.
You know, maybe they only got100 bucks.
What do you do when you onlyhave 100 bucks and you're looking
original art?
(28:00):
And so for me, Art House wasjust born out of this need and this
passion to try to solve thisproblem for artists.
How can I find more demand formy products?
How can I put more money in mypocket and make ends meet?
And having a television showon a national platform like an HGTV
(28:22):
or a A and E network or, oreven if it's on YouTube, because
by the way, everybody's onYouTube now.
If we can get a show out therethat helps artists get more eyes
on their work and moreimportantly, helps regular folks
really understand that, yes,they can afford original.
They can go to artist studios,they can meet the artists, they can
(28:44):
buy directly from artists andlargely in their community or in
their region.
And that's, for me, what hasbeen so inspiring about this project
and why I want it to succeed,because it truly would be a game
changer for how artistsconnect with would be buyers.
Yeah, I completely agree.
(29:04):
And one of the things thatreally inspired me about the work
was this idea of bringing artbuyers, art patrons, into the community
with artists and helping themfoster relationships with one another
so that, you know, there's thepotential for word of mouth so that,
(29:26):
that the buyer can say, canhave a discussion piece in their
house and somebody says,that's cool.
Who is it by or where did youget it?
And the answer is not going tobe home goods or target.
The answer is going to be, Imet this really cool artist, and
if you're interested, I'mhappy to introduce you to them.
(29:48):
But even if you don't, ifyou're not interested in this specific
artist, I met two others whoare also doing really cool work that
I could put you into touch with.
And before you know it,hopefully you have a whole new community
for these artists to reach andsell to and not have to worry about
(30:11):
commission fees or, or galleryfees or, or anything there.
It is real organicrelationships that they are building
with real people who recognizethat original art can take your.
It can make.
Can make a house, a home.
It can make it feel morecomfortable and homey and not to
(30:35):
mention, and maybe this issort of a byproduct, but art is a
really important way for us tobuild wealth in our society.
And so by investing in art,you are also investing in your own
future and your own own wealth.
And I love that.
And let's unpack that a littlebit, because I think what you're
(30:57):
getting at is wealth ofspirit, wealth of mind, wealth of.
I often say, for me, art isnot an economic asset that I expect
to appreciate because largely,art is a horrible investment economically.
(31:18):
But it's soul food.
I want art.
You know, I love art in myhome because it feeds my soul, it
feeds my spirit, it makes methink, it makes me feel.
And that's, you know.
You know, so many artists,like, they just.
They don't want you to that artist.
I know.
(31:39):
And I think you probably havethe same experience.
Artists are not saying totheir buyers, oh, buy my work because
it's going to appreciate someday.
They're saying, buy my workbecause you love it and you want
to look at it every day.
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
And because it makes you feelsomething, because it makes you ask
questions, because it revealssomething about your life that maybe
(31:59):
you didn't know about before.
Yeah.
And you're right.
It's not.
It's not the best investment monetarily.
But we also, you know, we know that.
How do I want to say this?
There's some art that makes itit, and you never know who that artist
is going to be.
(32:20):
100%.
I just.
Let's be clear.
It absolutely does happen.
I have art that's appreciated.
You know, I did.
But that's not why I bought it.
Right.
No, exactly right.
I bought it.
That's.
It's about intent.
Right, sure.
Like, we're not intending tobuy art because we think it's going
to increase in value.
We buy because we love it.
But.
Oh, by the way.
Oh, and five years later, yourealize, like, oh, actually, it's
(32:42):
worth a lot more now.
And that's a beautiful thing.
But that's not the intention.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, you know, so.
So it is.
You know, as I think about ArtHouse and I think about, you know,
the show, and as it will cometo life and as people will watch
(33:04):
it, it's like one of thethings that I get excited about is
that people will just start.
Well, there's a couple things.
One is people will just startbecoming empowered.
It's like, oh, wait a minute.
It.
I. I could go visit an artistin their studio.
I can go visit this exoticanimal in this exotic place called
(33:28):
an artist studio, you know, and.
And.
And start to build thatrelationship that you talked about,
you know, because having thatone on one relationship with the
artist is the best.
It's the, it's just the best.
It absolutely is.
And you know, one of myfavorite parts about going to a museum,
for example, is reading the plaques.
And you know, obviously it'sgoing to, to take you a while to
(33:49):
read all of them, but there'ssomething so enlightening about what
went into the creation of theart that you're looking at and getting
some insight into the mind ofthe artist who created it and where
they were in their life andwho they were interacting with.
And this gives thatopportunity without needing to go
(34:11):
to a museum, without needingto go to a gallery.
It gives you firsthandexperience talking to the artist,
knowing them, knowing wherethey came from, hearing from them
firsthand what theirinspiration was and what they're
trying to communicate throughthat art.
And that's unparalleled.
You know, very few people getthat experience.
(34:32):
And it's a really, this isgoing to be a really cool opportunity
to start normalizing that.
And I think another example ofthis happening is, I don't know if
you all have like makersmarkets or, I mean, in la, they definitely
do, but makers markets, theyhave something in New York called
the fad markets.
(34:53):
And you, you go around tothese tables that are, it's just,
you know, a warehouse full ofartists and you, you talk to them
about their work and thematerials that they're creating.
And it's just I, I so preferspending time in those spaces and
talking to the actual creatorsthan a situation where, you know,
(35:14):
you might be in a home goodsor a target or feel like a brokered
record at this point.
But it just makes the art inyour house so much more unique to
you, unique to your experience.
You have a story to tell about it.
I don't know, it's unmatchable.
It truly is.
(35:36):
And yeah, it truly is.
Just knowing that you havesomething that truly resonated with
you in your home that is oneof a kind or maybe limited edition,
but.
And then, you know, the maker,you know, the artist, it's just a
human, it's just a humanexperience, you know, and you know,
(35:56):
the, the words that I like touse when I think about what we're
doing with Art House is, youknow, we're, we're demystifying and
we're humanizing.
Right.
Like, so we're demystifyingthis like art world thing that people
might be confused about orintimidated or just don't know.
So we're Going to pull theveil back and show them a very, very,
(36:19):
you know, very real, true pathway.
Right.
And.
And.
And then.
So we're going to demystify,but then we humanize.
We're humanizing artists and, And.
And.
And the people that makeartists art.
Because I think a lot oftimes, you know, most people maybe
don't know artists, and theythink of them as these exotic creatures
(36:41):
that, you know, you neverreally know.
And turns out they're everywhere.
Oh, yeah, they truly are everywhere.
We even sort of.
We're reluctant to even give adefinition to an artist or a creative
because there's a little pieceof art inside so many people.
(37:04):
And whether you identify as anartist or not, there is something
that still connects you to artin so many cases.
So you're right.
Even if you don't identify asan artist, you might have a little
piece of that artist inside of you.
And it's everywhere.
Well, and it's truly, youknow, I mean, again, the first world
(37:25):
of art, which we love, havedone a great job of sort of making
art a very exclusive thing.
And there are art experts thatyou should consult.
And by the way, there are lotsof art experts that know way more
than I do.
Yes.
But the truth is that with ashow like Art House, we're actually
(37:53):
honoring the fact that beautyis in the eye of the beholder.
And that means that you and I,who may or may not be art experts,
we know what we like, we knowwhat speaks to us or what doesn't
speak to us.
And by definition, that makesus an expert.
(38:15):
Like, we know what we like.
Trust.
I feel that.
And that's one of the thingsthat gets me excited about our house,
because I feel like.
Like that it will teach peopleto trust their instincts, you know,
like, you know what?
Oh, wait a minute.
I. I love red.
I'm gonna go.
I'm gonna go find some artiststhat love red too, you know, Or.
Or I.
You know, I'm a. I'm afisherman, and I love fish, and I'm
(38:38):
gonna find an artist thatmakes fish sculptures or something,
you know, And.
And.
And so this idea that.
That, you know, hopefully whenpeople watch Art House, they're going
to realize that they are anart expert.
They know what they like.
They can trust their taste oftheir instincts because beauty's
(39:00):
in the eye of the beholder.
And I feel like that's amessage that doesn't always get talked
about or shared, certainly inthe first world of art.
But with a show like ArtHouse, it's very Democratic.
It's a very populous mess.
Message.
Yeah, absolutely.
It just took me to a, a momentof decorating a house.
(39:22):
You know, anytime you moveinto a new apartment or, or house
or whatever, you look for thatone piece, you know, there's some,
there's some unique need thatyou have, and you can't find the
specs anywhere.
You can't find it at thefurniture stores or, or online, you
(39:42):
know, through, through your wayfarers.
And you go to Etsy and youfind exactly what you need because
you find that going directlyto the artist, you know, issues with
Etsy aside, you going directlyto the artist, you find they're able
to almost understand what artdoes, the purpose of art in a home,
(40:09):
whether it's fabricated like apiece of furniture or something that
you're going to hang on yourwall, or they understand it in a
completely different way thansomething that's mass produced can.
And that, I agree, is what'sbeautiful about art house is you
end up going directly to theartists, finding that need that only
(40:30):
you understand because it isunique to yourself and your taste
and your preferences andfrankly, the home that you're in.
You know, every, every homehas different needs, it has different
energies, it has differentcolor scheme, sizes of wall, you
know, everything.
Everything.
Yeah, and, and, and you know,and I'm just so excited too, you
(40:53):
know, for the artists because,you know, the, the artists that are
going to be on the show, youknow, will, will.
Will get, you know, you know,national and, and international,
even exposure.
And, and exposure could bekind of a dirty word.
Somebody corrected me theother day, said, you know, eyes on
the work.
Eyes on the work.
I'm like, okay, want more eyeson the work.
(41:15):
And then somebody else hadsaid to me a while back, said, well,
wait a minute, aren't youconcerned that the other two artists
are.
Because we meet three artistsevery episode we meet three artists,
and the family or the buyer orthe person, you know, looking at
the art will ultimately chooseone artist.
So to go with.
And so somebody was saying tome, well, you know, aren't you concerned
(41:37):
about these other two artiststhat will be, that will lose?
I'm like, no, no, no.
No one loses.
Because, you know, number one,artists are always happy for other
artists when people collecttheir work or choose their work,
number one.
Number two, it's a win, winfor all the artists because they're
(41:57):
getting exposure, they'regetting eyes on their work whether
they're chosen or not in the show.
And one of the things that Iget excited about is this idea of
down the road, we create thisalmost new marketplace for.
For artists to connect withbuyers and people to buy art.
I can imagine that season twoor something, we have a website where
(42:21):
people can go and buy artdirectly from those artists that
were on the show, that kind of thing.
So it's that kind of excitingopportunity that having an innovative,
novel idea like an art housecreates these new opportunities.
And we're just here to serveartists and help them tell their
(42:45):
stories and promote their work.
And, Teresa, I'm just sograteful that Fractured Atlas has
locked arms with us on thisproject, and I'm just so grateful
for that, and I'm thrilled forFractured Atlas artists that will
have the opportunity to be onthe show.
And whether they're visualartists or performing artists, we
(43:09):
want to find opportunities totry to showcase and amplify Fractured
Atlas artists on the series.
So it's exciting.
It's an exciting project.
It is exciting, and we arereally excited to be part of this
for the benefit of our artistsas well, and also to really showcase
(43:35):
the breadth of art that existsoutside of these primary markets.
Because the United States isfull of art.
It is full of art in ruralareas, in smaller cities, in big
cities, of course.
But this is a real opportunityto give, you know, exposure, like
(43:57):
you mentioned, to the artists,but also to the art and the culture
of the city that.
That is being featured.
City or location that's being featured.
And I think that's really,really exciting because that art
is important, too.
And that art, those artistsare important, too, and they deserve
(44:18):
every bit of recognition thatthe artists in the primary markets
do.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yes.
For sure.
I mean.
I mean, there's so many coolcommunities I can't wait to go to.
I know, I know.
It's.
Yeah, it.
All the neat.
I say neat.
You know, just the neatplaces, the amazing art and artists
(44:42):
that we're going to discover.
It's.
It's like part travel showreally, as well.
Right?
It's like part home design,part travel.
You know, something there for everybody.
Fun for the whole family.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Well, Teresa Hubbard, you arethe best.
Thank you so much for takingtime out of your busy schedule.
(45:02):
We're running a $30 millionorganization like Fractured Atlas
to come sit down with me and.
And chat about ourcollaboration on Art House.
Thank you so much.
Much.
Thank you.
It's always a pleasure.
Have a great day.
Thanks.
You too.
(45:25):
Thanks for listening to theNot Real Art podcast.
Please make sure to like thisepisode, write a review, and share
with your friends on Social.
Also remember to subscribe soyou get all of our new episodes.
NARL Art is produced by Crew West.
Studios in Los Angeles, Angeles.
Our theme music was created byRicky Peugeot and Desi DeLauro from
the band Parlor Social.
Not Real Art is created by WeEdit, podcast and hosted by Captivate.
(45:49):
Thanks again for listening toNot Real Art.
We'll be back soon withanother inspiring episode celebrating
creative culture and theartists who make it.
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