Inside Representation: Paths to Working with Dealers and Agents

Attaining representation is a goal for many artists and performers. While it’s seen by many as a marker of success and support, it’s often unclear how to get representation. This panel will focus on how to attain representation with a gallery or agent. In this panel discussion, you’ll hear directly from a visual artist and performing artist on their paths towards reaching this milestone, as well as from the gallerist and agent's perspective on what factors they consider when deciding whether to represent an artist. Time for Q&A will be provided.

NYFA is pleased to present this free online workshop in partnership with the Northern Virginia Local Arts Agencies a special collaboration of the Office of the Arts, City of Alexandria, ArtsFairfax, and Arlington Cultural Affairs.

What: Inside Representation: Paths to Working with Dealers and Agents

When: January 18, 2024, 12:00 - 1:30 PM ET

Where: Online via Zoom

Who: Visual and performing artists, and/or any creative interested in working with a gallery or agent

Cost: Free

Register: Register here. Registrants will receive the zoom link.

Recording: This session will be recorded, and available to RSVPs for one month after the event.

Questions: Email learning@nyfa.org

Panelists
*See below for full bios

Visual Arts
Jen Mazza—Artist, Represented by Tibor De Nagy Gallery
Takako Tanabe—Director, Ulterior Gallery 

Performing Arts
Sophie Myrtil-McCourty—Founder and President, Lotus Artist Management
Shamel Pitts—Choreographer, Performer, and Founding Artistic Director, TRIBE (Represented by Lotus Artist Management) 

Moderator: Kelly Olshan—NYFA Learning Program Officer, Career Advice and Training

Panelist Bios

Visual Arts

Takako Tanabe–Director, Ulterior Gallery

Takako Tanabe is the founding director of Ulterior Gallery located in SoHo. Originally from Japan, Tanabe is committed to exhibiting and supporting an intergenerational array of artists of diverse cultures and backgrounds who explore states of essential in-betweenness beyond borders, boundaries, and categories. Before opening her own gallery, she worked for Fergus McCaffrey Gallery, New York, NY; the Chinati Foundation, Marfa, TX; and Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, TX. Combining all the experiences from the past, Tanabe operates her gallery with the fullest degree of joy and care.

Ulterior Gallery's programs which Tanabe directs were reviewed in the New York Times, Asia Art Pacific, Artforum, BOMB Magazine, Brooklyn Rail, 美術手帖 [Bijutsu-techo] and many other publications internationally. Since 2019, Ulterior has participated in local and international art fairs, including Art Collaboration Kyoto, Dallas Art Fair, Feria Material, NADA Miami, The Armory Show, and Tokyo Gendai.

Jen Mazza—NY-based artist, writer and educator

Jen Mazza (born 1972, Washington D.C.) is a New York based artist, writer and educator. Mazza received her B.A. in Visual Art and Spanish Literature from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia (1994), and an M.F.A. in Visual Art from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University (2001). Recent shows include 'Recurrent at Ulterior Gallery(2022); Attending to Particulars at Tibor de Nagy (2020); and A Light Without Shadow at Artist Alliance Inc. (2020).  She was invited to give a talk on art, collections, and nature at the Getty Museum (2021) and recently took part in a panel at Teachers College at Columbia University. Her work has been reviewed in the New York Times, Art in America, Art News, and Hyperallergic. Mazza is represented by Tibor de Nagy in New York and she teaches at Parsons School of Design and the Pratt Institute.

Performing Arts

Sophie Myrtil-McCourty–President, Lotus Arts Management

Sophie Myrtil-McCourty (she/her) is the founder and president of Lotus Arts Management, one of the country’s premiere boutique dance agencies. For the past several years, Sophie has supported the professional development of award-winning dance companies such as A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, CONTRA-TIEMPO, Reggie Wilson/Fist & Heel Performance Group, and Seoul-based, Bereishit Dance Company through consistent domestic and international bookings. Most recently, she welcomed to her roster the critically acclaimed Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE and mesmerizing choreographer and performer, Shamel Pitts with his afrofuturistic arts collective, TRIBE.

Sophie, a native of Paris, France, graduated from the ISIT, a translation and interpretation school, in the French, English and German languages. She then spent several years working as a freelance translator.  Sophie has always enjoyed the performing arts world, particularly dance, which she has practiced as an amateur for many years. Additionally, her sister, Marlène Myrtil,  is a dancer/choreographer in France and Martinique (French West Indies) and Sophie has frequently helped with her administrative work and international booking. In 1998, Sophie moved to NYC and started working for Marlies Yearby first as her personal assistant, then as the administrator of her dance company, Movin’ Spirits Dance Theater. In October 2000, she joined the staff of Pentacle as the Administrator of the Help Desk program. As she also enjoyed booking other artists on the side, Sophie was promoted to join the Pentacle booking department in July 2004. She became the Director of the Department in 2008, with a successful roster of six artists.  In 2014, she left Pentacle and founded Lotus Arts Management.

Sophie has served on several panels both nationally and internationally. In the US, she was on the committee of the 2015 Wassaic Festival; sat on the board of Tennessee Presenters; and was an Advisory Council Member of the Field Leadership Fund, which is based on the premise that advancements in diversity among leadership will lead to a more equitable arts sector in New York City and beyond. Most recently, Sophie was invited to participate in the Performing Arts Market Seoul program of Korea Arts Management Service; the Project NEXT program of the Korean Foundation for International Exchange; and Ottawa’s National Arts Centre’s Producers Gathering, where she shared her expertise in the booking field. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Dance/USA.

Shamel Pitts–Choreographer, Performer, and Founding Artistic Director, TRIBE (Represented by Lotus Arts Management)

Shamel Pitts (Concept Director, Choreographer, Performer, Founding Artistic Director) 2020 Guggenheim Fellow Shamel Pitts is a performance artist, choreographer, conceptual artist, dancer, spoken word artist, and teacher. He is an adjunct professor at The Juilliard School and has been an artist in residence at Harvard University and New York University. He is the recipient of a 2018 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Award winner in Choreography, a 2020 Jacob’s Pillow artist in residence and a 2021 New York Dance Award winner (The Bessies). Shamel is the Founding Artistic Director of TRIBE, a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary arts collective. TRIBE is a 92Y Harkness Dance Center’s Artist In Residence for the 2020-2021 season. Shamel Pitts | TRIBE is also a New York Live Arts Live Feed artist in residence.