Samantha Katz

Samantha Katz
Samantha Katz
Born (1985-10-14) 14 October 1985 (age 39)
New Haven, Connecticut
Alma materPratt Institute
Occupation(s)Graphic designer, entrepreneur, writer
Notable creditGallery Glass
WebsiteCreated Here

Samantha Katz (born October 14, 1985) is a creative director and curator best known for developing innovative community and technology based arts projects. She is the founder of Created Here,[1] an online platform that empowers creators by bringing them together with local consumers and art enthusiasts, and the co-producer of the Created Here TV series,[2] presently under development. Another notable project was Gallery Glass,[3][4] a YouTube based series of interviews with artists employing the wearable technology Google Glass.

Education and early life

Samantha Katz was born in New Haven, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut. She went to high school at Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, Connecticut. Katz is a graduate of the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and did graduate coursework at Columbia University and New York University.[5] Her parents are Joette Katz and Philip Rubin.

Career and Projects

Samantha Katz was formerly a Senior Art Director at Duarte,[6] the largest design firm in Silicon Valley. Prior to this, she was the Associate Creative Director at Sideways NYC[7] leading the digital design for client Arcade Creative Group,[8] a Sony Music Entertainment company.

In parallel with her career in the design field, Katz has followed her passion for curatorial work and arts advocacy. She has worked in a consultative and directorial capacity with a wide variety of artists, art professionals, and vendors to produce contemporary art exhibitions and creative platforms that appeal to a range of audiences. From 2008-2011 she managed installations at Art Basel, Miami Beach,[9] including the urban contemporary fair Graffiti Gone Global.[10] Katz is the co-founder of REPUBLIC Worldwide[11] (formerly, REPUBLIC Brooklyn), a Brooklyn-based art collective, and founder of Hello Good Design,[12] an art and design consultancy. In 2013 she assumed the role of lead organizer of Arts in Bushwick, which hosts Bushwick Open Studios,[13] New York City's largest open studio art event with over 600 local artists and galleries welcoming the public into their studios.[14] Katz has also written exhibition reviews and artist profiles for art publications Whitewall Magazine[15] and Paper Magazine.[16]

The Gallery Glass's channel on YouTube was the first art interview project using Google Glass and has received extensive media coverage, including: About.com Fine Art,[5] Arte Fuse,[4] Business Insider, DNAInfo New York,[17] Native Underground.,[18] and other stories. Katz hosted a workshop for Google Glass at the 2013 TED Women's conference in San Francisco, where she spoke about this project and the intersection of art and technology.[19]

Most recently, Katz launched Created Here, an online platform that features local artists and makers in various creative communities around the United States.

Recognition

In March 2014 Brooklyn Magazine selected her as one of "The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture,[20]" citing her work as co-organizer of Arts in Bushwick, and the Gallery Glass series. Brooklyn Magazine then interviewed Katz in 2015 about the past, present, and future of Brooklyn culture.[21]

In April 2014 Katz and Peter Rynsky,[22] her former boyfriend and then lead-singer of the pop band Darlings, were selected as one of "10 Bushwick Power Couples" by the Bushwick Daily.[23]

References

  1. ^ "About - Who is Behind Created Here". Created Here. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Created Here TV series". Created Here. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Gallery Glass's YouTube user page". YouTube. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Gallery Glass: Artist interviews and Studio visits by Samantha Katz using Google Glasses". Arte Fuse. 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b Kendzulak, Susan (4 September 2013). "Interview with Arts Entrepreneur Samantha Katz and her Google Glass Project". About.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Samantha Katz - Sr. Art Director". Duarte. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Sideways NYC". Sideways NYC. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Arcade Creative Group". Arcade Creative Group. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  9. ^ "Art Basel - Miami Beach". Art Basel. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Graffiti Gone Global". artdaily.com. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  11. ^ "REPUBLIC Worldwide". Republic Worldwide. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Hello Good Design". Hello Good Design. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  13. ^ "ArtsInBushwick". ArtsInBushwick. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  14. ^ "Arts in Bushwick". Brooklyn Arts Council. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  15. ^ "Whitewall Magazine". Whitewall Magazine. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Paper Magazine". Paper Magazine. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  17. ^ Hoffman, Meredith (30 August 2013). "Brooklyn Artist Uses Google Glass an Inside Look at Works in Process". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  18. ^ Cooper, Ashton (3 October 2013). "Native Underground: Art Through Google Glass with Samantha Katz". YouTube. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  19. ^ "TEDWomen 2013". TED. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  20. ^ bkmag (11 March 2014). "The 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture". Brooklyn Magazine. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  21. ^ "Talking With Samantha Katz, Co-Lead Organizer of Arts in Bushwick". Brooklyn Magazine. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  22. ^ "Darlings". Famous Class. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  23. ^ Gotay, Maria (10 February 2014). "10 Bushwick Power Couples". Bushwick Daily. Retrieved 17 March 2014.