The Art World Has Changed - So Have I

So what was the Nordic Art Agency? The Nordic Art Agency began as something quite simple.

I wanted to connect exceptional international artists with collectors in Scandinavia.

Over time, it became much more than that.

We represented an international group of artists.

We organized solo exhibitions and curated group exhibitions.

We participated in art fairs.

We collaborated with other galleries.

We worked with interior designers and architects.

We built an online platform.

We launched this podcast.

I created and ran an accredited internship program for art and design graduates.

And later we developed video and studio content.

And eventually we had this extraordinary 1,200 square metre gallery space in Malmo.

It was enormous and I loved it.

There was something incredibly special about having that physical space.

Artists arriving with new work, opening crates, hanging exhibitions, watching an empty room completely transform.

People walking through the door who knew exactly what they wanted and people walking through the door saying, I know absolutely nothing about art.

Those were often my favourite people because I would say, perfect, what do you like? And suddenly the conversation wasn't about whether somebody knew enough about art.

It was about looking, responding, being curious and trusting yourself.

That has always been incredibly important to me.

The art world can make people feel that there is a secret language they're supposed to understand before they're allowed to participate.

there isn't.

You don't need an art history degree to respond to an artwork.

You don't need to know what everyone else thinks about an artist.

And you certainly don't need permission to fall in love with something.