AD 252 | Christine Kuan

Christine Kuan is President & Executive Director of Creative Capital, a nonprofit grantmaking organization funding artists creating experimental and groundbreaking new work in the visual arts, performing arts, film, technology, literature, socially engaged, and multidisciplinary forms. Before joining Creative Capital, Kuan was CEO & Director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, and held roles as Chief Curator & Director of Strategic Partnerships at Artsy, Chief Curatorial Officer & VP for External Affairs at Artstor, and Editor-in-Chief of Oxford Art Online/Grove Art Online at Oxford University Press. She has also worked at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and taught at the University of Iowa, Peking University, Rutgers University, and Stanford University Arts Leadership program. Kuan holds an MFA in Creative Writing Poetry from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA in Art History and English Literature from Rutgers University.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

• Intuition (0:09:49)
• How Creative Capital fosters the careers of multi-disciplinary artists (00:13:43)
• How Creative Capital supports diversity and equality within the arts (00:16:30)
• How Creative Capital is often the first organization to fund artists (00:21:18)
• The “Wild Futures” grant cycle (00:22:23)
• Jordan Weber’s “4 MX” project (00:25:11)
• Early funded projects including Lynn Hershman Leeson‘s “Women Art Revolution” (00:28:08)
• Christine encourages people to pursue a career in the arts (00:33:24)
• Creating harmony between the arts and institutions (00:36:18)
• Focusing our attention towards quality time and experiences (00:40:11)
• How artists are selected by Creative Capital (00:48:36)
• Christine’s advice for artists and creatives (00:58:04)

Books Referenced:

• “Deep Work” by Cal Newport
• “The Kybalion” by The Three Initiates

People Mentioned:

• James Baldwin
• Angela Merkel
• Spike Lee
• Jibz Cameron
• Titus Kaphar
• Cassils
• Jordan Weber
• Jesse Krimes
• Lynn Hershman Leeson
• Samora Pinderhughes
• Simone Leigh
• Lorraine O'Grady

artistdecoded.com
creative-capital.org
instagram.com/kuannyc