STUDIO NEWS
STORIES & INSIGHTS
OCTOBER 28, 2024
Meet Perri Neri
We were lucky to catch up with Perri Neri recently and have shared our conversation below.
Perri, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. We're really interested in risk-taking, and we'd love to hear your story of a risk you've taken.
I took a big risk quitting my minimum wage office job in Florida at age 63, selling my house, and taking my art practice to a NYC office space in Chelsea and turning it into a creative space I call Living Room – NYC. I had a choice to stay the course and stay miserable or risk it all for even a few years of waking up every day with purpose. I am happy I took the risk.
Perri love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations.
I am the founder and director of Living Room – NYC, a creative space, an artistic laboratory fostering experimentation and collaboration; connecting brilliant, independent, and determined artists, performers, musicians, playwrights, filmmakers, and more, to each other and a community of art supporters. My decision to open my studio doors reflects my passion for fostering creativity and providing a platform for artists to thrive. Living Room – NYC is more than just a physical space; it’s a testament to the power of community and collaboration in the arts! This space welcomes ALL artists, and together, there is inspiration and empowerment to push the boundaries of their creativity. I saw the need for this creative playground and that is why I started The Artist’s Living Room Foundation. I plan to gain funding and more space to give artists the room they need to cultivate their talents, collaborate with others, and contribute to the vibrant cultural landscape of New York City.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
If your business is art-making, my best advice is to find a support system for artists of all genres. Go to each other’s shows and exhibitions, collaborate on projects, and support each other in finding venues and gallery walls where everyone’s supporters show up. It’s a generous kind of love and support and it works. If your business is managing a creative space, then the best advice I have is to say “yes” a lot, expand your idea of what art is, and support those ideas by spreading the word. Here is what I say to the artists I support, “Show me what you make, and I will show the world.”
