We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lily Pearsall. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lily below.

Hi Lily, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Oh I love starting with meaning! That’s why I got into the art world in the first place.

I’ve worked as a museum curator, in academia, and in fine art galleries, but what has brought the deepest meaning to my work is teaching and coaching through The Curatorial Method. I’ve seen every side of the art world up-close and personal, and it can be an intimidating place–sometimes on purpose, unfortunately–but I believe everyone can be empowered with access and authority around art and ideas.

After coaching countless designers, collectors, creatives, and even curators themselves, I saw the same struggles folks felt across the board and built a program that takes away the overwhelm. Now I get to support their work and see them successfully navigate the byzantine environment of “the art world” and I’m committed to making it a place of confidence and joy for anyone.

I think what makes this work the most meaningful of all is that I get to see my clients embrace their own aesthetic judgments and ideas–so that they are making meaning with their choices and their work in the world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Absolutely!

For the bit about me, I’m California/art world girl. I grew up in an idyllic hippy town in Southern California, and then lived in LA, London, and New York before landing in San Francisco. I love to knit and I even test patterns for knitwear designers. I organize Peloton workouts for my friends via an epic text chain started during the pandemic. I was a beach-lifeguard and surfing instructor in college and I have 2 awesome kids and a hilarious husband.

And that’s all part of me, but as to the work I do in the world . . . I’m an art curator, speaker, writer, and coach.

Over the course of my career I vaulted into the ivory tower of Art History academia, consulted for museums across the country, worked for galleries in Manhattan, organized major exhibitions for almost a decade at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and directed museum sales for one of the nation’s most prestigious galleries.

It’s been a truly dream career, but it was also full of struggles and insecurities that I am passionate about alleviating for others.

The origin of The Curatorial Method was listening to interior designers and other folks interested in working with art who felt intimidated and locked out of the art world. Some folks had training in fine arts, others were brand new, but everyone felt overwhelmed and stuck and still didn’t want to outsource or hire folks to do the deeply meaningful work of engaging with art.

Some of the folks I work with want to develop an art collection from scratch or change industries entirely. Some are life-long learners who need to get more confident working with art and ideas for their professional or personal lives. Either way, the task seemed too big and intimidating to accomplish alone.

Now, though, they are developing THEIR OWN access and authority in the art world and they know it is not an impossible task, and it doesn’t have to be intimidating.

I’ve taken a one-step-at-a-time philosophy and applied it to create the most efficient and seriously joyful courses that teaches folks how to engage with confidence in the art world. I use the momentum of lessons and chapters to take clients along the path of least resistance so they feel instantly empowered and at ease.

In addition to the online lessons, I also provide live coaching sessions that are lively, fun, and open to any student for the life time of the course. It’s been amazing to check in with students and see them absolutely transform into these powerful art advocates and experts!

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I view NFTs as another art-making material, so just as there are some great and bad paintings, there are some great and bad NFTs.

The market for NFTs, I think, has actually overshadowed the works themselves. Curators who are paying attention are much more interested in the motivations of the artist, the content of the works, and their effective communications of meaning, then what the shifting market landscape might look like.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to democratize the art world and let more folks know how important their own aesthetic experiences are.

So much of the presentation of fine art is about gate-keeping knowledge and making others feel like they don’t know enough to have an opinion about what they see. Part of this is because there’s such a huge focus on the arts as beneficial but not essential, but everyone who studies this knows that when folks can deeply experience art, understand their reactions, and then communicate that to others it changes the way they interact with the world.

My super power is giving people the practical information that they need to truly engage in this world and to make meaningful connections that transform their professional and personal lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.curatorialstrategies.com/thecuratorialmethod
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.curatorial.method/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-mitchem-pearsall/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwsUd7hj3wVZty5jjiwIqUg