What if an artist treated her project like a project, her business like a business, and became the CEO? Vanessa Diaz is an interdisciplinary artist specializing in sculpture and site-specific installations created from discarded furniture. She reimagines architectural pieces to distort conventional perceptions of how rooms and physical spaces should be used. She is also a 2015 CHF Business Accelerator Grant Recipient. The Clark Hulings Fund is funding and supporting her work “Possibility of an Exit” – an immersive installation that re-contextualizes a house impacted by natural disaster in the upper half of a 5,000 sq. ft. room provided by ArtsUP!

Neil Ramsay the head of ArtsUp! says the artist is the “CEO of the project” – specifically that the artist – in this case, Vanessa – is coming in and designing the whole environment. We found that idea so intriguing that we devoted almost the entire show to it. Topics include:

• Scaling an artist’s business at the pivotal career moment.
• What does it mean to be the CEO of an art project?
• The path to being a self-sustaining artist.
• The bottom line business impact of an art project.
• Creative control as the CEO.
• Collaboration as the CEO.
• Collaboration and branding.
• Installation art in particular.

For more information on Vanessa Diaz, visit vdiazart.com, and be sure to check out ArtsUP! as well