Part 1 Intro
Jessica Arisohn and Rysia Murphy are the co-founders of the art consulting firm in New York — Arisohn + Murphy. Jessica is originally from New York and she studied art history at Washington University in St. Louis. Rysia grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota and she went to college in Connecticut with a double major in international relations and art history. What got both Jessica and Rysia into art in the first place was learning that art was always a representation of times and the historical movements that were happening at that moment. Rysia also realized that in the art world, it is not only about creating art, but there are more interesting facets of art itself and it needs people from all kinds of backgrounds who are passionate about art to make things happen. In fact, Arisohn + Murphy is one such company that jumps out of the stereotype of the limited things people can do that are related to arts and go beyond the more traditional art world path. It offers project management and strategic consulting in the art world, which not only concerns artists and galleries, but it also helps those companies who want to connect with artists regarding art programming as ways of diversifying into the art space and transforming exhibition visitors into potential clients. So, it would not be surprising if Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center ends up becoming one of the firm’s clients.
Their passion and interest in the arts pushed Jessica and Rysia to start as receptionists at the Gagosian Gallery in New York when they were fresh out of college. They both went on to take on more senior positions within the gallery operations and also oversaw pop-up exhibitions throughout the world. Aside from their passion and former experience, however, the most important reason that Jessica and Rysia left Gagosian where they both worked for eight years was that they wanted to be continuously challenged. They had learned so much and they had forged amazing relationships, so it seemed to be a great opportunity for them to evolve and share their “exceptional strategy and project management for art focused projects” with the outside world as well as to expand their own horizons, which is also the vision of the Arisohn + Murphy.
Part 2 Survive in the Uncertainties
Arisohn + Murphy provides different kinds of clients with a variety of services from directorial work programming with artists to the more strategic project management work with artists and galleries for pop-up art fairs marketing initiatives. Their personal values are quite similar to the organization’s values and they also align with the organization’s vision and mission.
Being Confident and Transparent
Rysia and Jessica are really proud of themselves for having a lot of experience and being transparent about what their experiences are and what they’re capable of. Obviously, the proof is that they did a great job every time and their clients have found their work to be incredibly valuable. Aside from being confident and having experience, another critical component for transparency is to show what they are really able to offer and to deliver on. They never guarantee to their clients that having experience in their record can make anyone the next success story and put their names on the Gogasian Roster. But, what they are able to provide is the strategic values that they learned from the Gogasion and the consulting skills that can help the clients get the optimal outcomes.
Variety and Instinct
It was amazing for them to do pop-up art exhibitions for the cozy, however, what they really wanted to gain is the expertise and ability to work with a variety of clients and to apply their knowledge in different ways. They’ve worked with galleries that are based in India and Israel that neither of them were familiar with. Their consulting concept, however, allowed them to dive in those areas that they wouldn’t have had exposure to and learn about it. And, in some ways this makes them become experts in certain kinds of areas that they just never would have experience working at a traditional blue-chip gallery.
Another lesson they’ve learned is to follow their guts and be really upfront about the potential hurdles with the clients. They realized the value that they bring to the table as the consultants are not only there to advise but to really give the clients insights, even where they spot a weak point. Meeting with new artists and learning about what they’re working on and why continuing to learn and keeping themselves challenged really captivate Jessica and Rysia and this has been a very fulfilling part of their job ever since they left the Gagosian Gallery.
Stay Nimble and Maintain Flexibility
When they first started the business, they had grand ideas of being large with many employees and different departments and a vision of providing a really comprehensive offering of services. Working for the Gagosian Gallery gave them a great opportunity to learn and build their own networks but it also made them sacrifice almost all of their weekends due to the heavy workload. In order to have a balance between work and life, they’ve had to stay really nimble in this changing world where they’ve been able to stay afloat and they will continue to be able to stay afloat. One of the learning lessons of having their own business is that being small and having as little overhead as possible is the savviest business decision, as an art consulting company. But why? The answer is that you can’t really make it, especially when you are dealing with unexpected curveballs like a pandemic, which has affected the arts industry significantly. Their strategy to stay nimble and flexible enables them to continue on for as long as possible, not only during the pandemic as they keep adapting to new environments.
Manage Teamwork and Stay Financially Sustainable
Rysia said that they are pretty clear in doing what they are good at and taking turns leading projects. It is a good sign for a start-up that both the leaders have their own expertise — Jessica has been really diving in on social media while Rysia has a lot of background in insurance. Although it is always nice to be well-rounded in every area, it would be more effective and efficient to specialize because understanding every detail and every single thing will actually limit how much they can do. So, finding a balance of where it benefits to have two people bouncing ideas off of each other is how they manage teamwork — by dividing up and conquering tasks.
Financial sustainability is also a big challenge for every art organization, especially in these uncertain times. Rysia joked that they do not have money to advertise their business in a magazine or newspaper but the truth is that it would make no sense. They found that their success and their sustainability as a consulting company don’t only come from each successful project but they also come from the potential growth opportunities that each project brings. Overall, because of the confidence and transparency of their practice and experience, they maintain authentic relationships with their clients and manage their finances pretty well.
Jack Reuler, the artistic director at the Mixed Blood, once said that “money is not the issue as long as you have your mission”. Arisohn + Murphy’s mission is to “strategize, manage, and execute art-focused projects in the digital and physical realms”. The pandemic does not affect Arisohn + Murphy a lot due to their nimble business model, wonderful teamwork, work ethics with clients, and the most critical point is that they stick with their mission and take the setback of the pandemic as an opportunity to improve their business. They even made a little bit of a change to their mission statement by adding the word “digital” in order to adapt to the new environment.
Part 3 Thrive in the future
Transformation to the Digital Form
This unprecedented global pandemic has limited the whole art industry because a lot of what we do depends on people gathering physically in a space. So, what they had really reassessed is how they can now pivot to providing services to clients who can appreciate art in a different medium. In the past, they’ve been able to hone and further their digital skills as it relates to launching e-commerce websites and handling social media. They had always had an eye for the new technologies and digital world but they never actually had to invest their time in it. However, the pandemic has made the world move into digital spaces and this has given them this great opportunity and plenty of time to make it a primary service they offer. So, they have thoughtfully redesigned their website to focus further on these services in a more specific way. The digital arena in all areas of life is growing so much and they think they are finally at a tipping point where the art world is really embracing them. Pivoting to the digital world is the best choice in this current pandemic and in general, although traditional art might not be fully displaced, it is thoughtful for art organizations to interact in the digital sphere in order to survive and thrive in the future.
Social Responsibility
While talking about the role of art in society, Jessica told me that “art is the type of experience that will bind people together when everything is so divisive”. As art leaders, Jessica and Rysia are also acting on their social responsibility as they created a collective of professional women in the arts offering resources, networking, mentorship, and community. Because they realized that networking is incredibly important and the truth was that it’s very hard to gather everybody in one place, they decided to make an organic networking group of all mid-career female practitioners in the art world. It is a mutual benefit for those people who want to advance and promote their careers, and also for Arisohn + Murphy to grow and lean on this network for further and better development.
In the End
During our interview, we talked about their personal and professional backgrounds, how their leadership styles align with Arisohn + Murphy’s vision and mission, and how they deal with all the challenges and uncertainties. They are very passionate about what they are doing and possess a relaxing attitude and an open mind to do what they want and to pursue their dreams in the most sophisticated city in the world.
