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

Xuezhu Jenny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

As people often say, working in the creative industry is not just a job but rather a lifestyle. When most of your friends are artists, gallerists, and writers, it’s really hard to find the right balance between work and life. Fortunately, I knew very early on that I was drawn to roles with a creative component, so I’ve never had a single moment of doubt that another field would be more suitable for me. However, there are definitely moments when I wish there were a more predictable or straightforward path in this journey.

Back in college, many of my friends working in consulting, IT, or finance had job offers lined up months before graduation, while most art jobs don’t necessarily have a recruiting cycle/timeline like that. It was almost impossible to not compare yourself to others and feel lost, especially when you don’t know what you will be doing next month: You could be working at a gallery, as someone’s studio assistant, or be unemployed. I don’t think there is any easy way to reckon with this reality, but it’s important to constantly remind yourself why you made this career decision. The uncertainty is part of what makes this journey so beautiful and full of adventure.

Xuezhu Jenny, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was trained as a painter but never really felt 100% about becoming an artist. During COVID, I had an existential crisis and eventually decided to pursue art history in my education. Naturally, I went through the rite of passage in the art world, dabbling in galleries, art-related non-profits, and artist studios, before eventually deciding that I wanted to write about art. I freelanced for a bit, writing art reviews and artist features for publications such as Art Spiel, Whitehot Magazine, ArteFuse, and Cultbytes before participating in a writing residency at The Immigrant Artist Biennial 2023.

The TIAB residency was truly transformative for my career. I worked with many immigrant artists from diverse backgrounds and wrote about their practice. As a result, I started IMPULSE Magazine to highlight the achievements of international talents and offer a global perspective to contemporary art discourses. Right now, as the Editor-in-Chief of IMPULSE Magazine, I write, edit, and publish exhibition reviews, personal essays, and interviews. We are steadily growing our brand and hope to sponsor residencies and curatorial projects in the near future.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has been central to our brand and the work we do. Platforms such as YouTube or Instagram make it much easier to consume information. A few years ago, I was an art history influencer on Bilibili, which allowed me to learn a great deal about how to create engaging content, grow your audience, and pursue collaboration opportunities on social media. With IMPULSE Magazine’s social media presence now, I’m constantly thinking about how to make content digestible, how to quickly grab people’s attention, and how to optimize your place in the algorithm. I work with a team of amazing graphic designers who give me amazing advice, for which I’m incredibly grateful. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s to be consistent but not be afraid to try new things.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn the “hustle mentality.” I’ve always loved working, putting in late nights, and handling every detail myself. At one point, I was juggling so many things that I felt lost—I would constantly miss out on get-togethers with my friends; I’d feel burned out and unproductive; I also neglected to take care of my mental and physical health.

The turning point was when I adopted my kitten. She is really young and requires lots of attention, play, and proper socialization. For two to three weeks, I was unable to handle both my work at the magazine and taking care of the kitten. I was constantly anxious about whether I could keep her healthy and safe, while work really started to pile up. I had lots of teary breakdowns.

Eventually, I learned that I really had to delegate, and of course, things didn’t fall apart. In fact, our editor, Jubilee Park, has been amazing and really stepped up when I was the most overwhelmed. Now, I’ve unlearned the need to be constantly in “hustle mode,” but instead focus on building efficient systems, prioritizing high-leverage tasks, and trusting my team. I still work hard, of course, but I learned that it’s unrealistic to do 20 tasks at the same time by myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: jennywang.org AND impulsemagazine.com
• Instagram: x_jenny_wang ; impulse_magazine_

Image Credits

Eris Spirollari