Sometimes, it's nice to know that we're not alone. In my own case, I always felt like existing in that world between the arts and entrepreneurship made me something of an anomaly, and it was often a little bit lonely. Happily, over the past two years since opening Chicago Art Leasing, I've found that I am anything but alone in this space and surrounded by brilliant, creative and innovative art entrepreneurs – so many so that I've decided to start featuring some of these truly remarkable individuals and their businesses. I couldn't think of a better person to start with than Fear No ART Chicago's Elysabeth Alfano, and I am indebted to her for her time and insight.
Elysabeth is a true art/business hybrid, with an MBA and experience working at Fortune 500 companies, and a background in the arts having run her own art gallery as well as her clothing design (textiles) company. At a time when virtually every television station, newspaper and magazine is cutting coverage of the arts, she is building a successful show on WTTW called Fear No ART Chicago, which goes behind the scenes to explore and share with the public a wide range of local creativity.
She chose the expression “Fear No ART” from a button she donned in high school and a phrase that always stuck with her. The show casts its art net far and wide, ie. don't be afraid of any type or form of art, even if it's tango dancing, performance or the culinary arts, and don’t be afraid of not being an insider in the art world.” The show aims to be inclusive, opening up the arts to a wide audience.
When I asked her about how she arrived at the idea for the show, she explained that it grew out of a common need and desire she found while working in both the art and fashion worlds. “Not everyone can collect art or wears haute couture, but everyone wants to hear the story about how the artist, or designer, or dancer came to be who they are and how they create. Everyone wants to go into the artist studio, behind the scenes. ”
So, without any previous experience in television, she began to develop the idea of an interview show and began pitching it to different stations. She was shocked to find that not only were the stations receptive, but several of them began to make offers. She decided to go with WTTW based on their strong distribution.
“I wanted it to become sort of a public 'Art 101' for people who don't get regular exposure to the fabulous arts in Chicago” She explains that this not only helps fulfill a real need in people's worlds, but it also helps to cultivate the next generation of people who will appreciate and collect art, thereby helping to keep local creativity alive at a time when support for the arts is facing massive budget cuts and funding shortages. Her experience owning a gallery helped her essentially become a bridge between the world of the artists and the world of both private and corporate collectors – a skill that she continues to hone and develop as the host of her show.
“I really never expected it to get picked up,” she says, “but I took the risk and with essentially no contacts and only a shoestring budget, it began to take shape.”
Her own exposure to the arts began at a young age, with her parents going to local secondhand shops and fairs. “They weren't what we would think of as fine art collectors,” she smiles, “they were looking for the diamonds in the rough – those creative gems in the back of consignment shops.” It was this sense of adventure, treasure hunting, and passion that stayed with her and continues to inform her choice of artists to feature in the show.
The first episode reached roughly 50,000 people and the second full show, which just aired for the first time, is expected to reach even more. The learning curve has been sharp, she says, but having the right team of people has been a major factor in the success of the show. “Dan Soles and everyone at WTTW have been amazing. Also Scott Silverstein and the HMS Media team have been tremendous! Tim Baron who helps create the webisodes for the website has been fantastic.” Currently the show airs quarterly on WTTW and bi-weekly webisodes are available on the website. The next airing on WTTW is October 18 @10:30pm, October 24 @ 5:30 pm and October 31 @ 12:30 pm.
What does the future hold for Elysabeth and Fear No ART Chicago? Her focus is twofold – on one hand it's developing relationships with core sponsors who can provide the ongoing funding and who want to reach an educated market and show their support of local arts. On the other hand, it's continuing to seek out innovative and unique local creativity.
“The biggest challenges are making sure that we have the support in place to begin having more regular episodes, and finding enough hours in the day.” Unquestionably, Elysabeth is one of the most dedicated artrepreneurs in town, and I was thankful to have her share her insights.
If you want to learn more about Elysabeth and Fear No ART Chicago, visit the website at: www.fearnoartchicago.com.
