Q&A: Julia Kaganskiy on the vital overlap of culture, tech, and community
The resume of Julia Kaganskiy reads like a checklist of dream jobs for any young professional hoping to make their mark in the art and tech worlds. Museum curator, editor-in-chief, incubator director, journalist, community builder, event producer, teacher, spokesperson, art producer—it seems impossible to think up a relevant position she hasn't occupied or couldn't effortlessly tackle. And we haven't been the only ones to take notice: Kaganskiy has been named "one of the most influential women in technology" on multiple occasions, and was more recently featured on the 40 Under Forty list at Crain's New York Business, profiled in Protein magazine, and asked to speak on a SXSW Next Stage panel about her development of New Museum's incubator program. Suffice it to say that we count ourselves lucky Julia managed to find time for answering a few questions we had about her work and ideas.
Having previously overseen Vice and Intel's The Creators Project, Kaganskiy now spends much of her time managing NEW INC, the first museum-led incubator for art, technology, and design. This 8,000-square-foot extension of New Museum in Manhattan is a place of learning and collaboration, where "a highly selective, interdisciplinary community of one hundred members [can] investigate new ideas and develop a sustainable practice." Julia is also the founder and organizer of #ArtsTech Meetup (fifth anniversary event pictured below), a nationwide network of innovative individuals whose goal is to explore how best we can spread art and culture through technology and social media. You can imagine the number of things we'd like to pick her brain about, but decided to home in on a few foundational concepts. She was gracious enough to talk about why the overlap of art and technology can be so inspiring, how vital community is to expanding the practices she explores, and what she's learned from the cross-pollination of her varied professional background.
-----
Why is the connection of art and tech necessary for both worlds?
I'm a big believer that the most interesting things happen in the liminal spaces where worlds collide. Bringing different communities, perspectives, and disciplines in dialogue with one another, helping them find a shared language and mutual understanding, is not only fertile ground for new ideas, it can also yield surprising results. As far as art and tech go, I think that art and artists can play an important role in introducing new, sometimes critical, perspectives in the conversation around technology, or translating complex or abstract ideas into something that is emotional or visceral.
What does community building do to foster that connection?
It's funny because I never set out to "build communities." I just had things that I was interested in and sought out other people who were also interested in those things. I was looking for someone to have a conversation with, someone smarter than me, someone I could pose questions to, because that's how I learn. I put this inquiry process on the internet—via Twitter, Tumblr, Meetup.com—and ended up connecting with a much bigger group of people than I initially imagined. But what was most valuable, and something I didn't plan for, was that I became a catalyst for those people to connect with one another. Community building is about bringing groups of people together around a common interest and giving them an opportunity to build relationships. Those relationships then go on to take on a life of their own and produce collaborations, projects, maybe even businesses.
What do you look for when accepting artists into NEW INC?
A clear vision and sense of purpose. A proven track record of artistic excellence and the ability to execute ideas at a high level. Curiosity and the willingness to learn. Generosity and a desire to teach others.
How has your #ArtsTech Meetup influenced your work at NEW INC and elsewhere?
In some ways, NEW INC (pictured above) is like a never-ending #ArtsTech Meetup. The meetup taught me how to bring people from different groups together and facilitate connection, collaboration, conversation, etc. Now I'm doing that on a much, much bigger scale with NEW INC. #ArtsTech also equipped me with a great network, but that was something I built from scratch by doing the meetup. More than anything, it taught me that you should never be afraid to ask. Often times, you end up being surprised with how willing people are to contribute to something they believe in.
Where do you see the connectivity of technology taking art and artists as it evolves?
Technology is just part of our everyday now. It's ubiquitous. It's pervasive. It will continue to evolve, of course, and certain artists will continue working at the experimental fringes of art and tech. But I'm less interested in technology for technology's sake, and more interested in broader conversations about its cultural implications.
