Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Ruocco Bachrach

Hi Elena Ruocco, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

For over twenty years, I have served in a variety of executive and senior level roles in the arts, arts administration, and higher education spaces. In 2022 I founded Writing Art offering writing and editing services (among others) for individual artists and arts and culture organizations.

Several years ago, to develop an admissions viewbook, my team and I told the stories of individual students thriving at a very special liberal arts college. Many among these students dreamed of becoming successful artists, and we counted on the prospective students seeing themselves in their stories.

Stories.

Stories have become integral to our contemporary lexicon.

Why?

We connect with each other when we tell our stories. We all have one. In fact, we have several. As time passed, I was gifted a variety of experiences—professional and personal—which have brought me to Writing Art. I have identified a need, which if met on its own terms, I can help address. Many artists are gifted writers. Others, however, know they need the written word to tell the story of their art but do not have the temperament, inclination or bandwidth. Arts & culture organizations often are producing inspiring work with a poorly resourced infrastructure—maybe if they had someone to whom to handoff a discrete project, the team might breathe a little easier. That’s where I come in.

I thrive where art and business intersect. The space at this intersection is where the artists, or arts & culture organizations, must sometimes reside to celebrate their art & work to make it more available to the world. The reach and visibility an artist or institution seeks for the art, for the work, can be achieved through the written word, alongside the wonderful images of art (still and moving)—with an artist statement, a book project imagined, accessing funding for artists to help propel them to their next project or afford them more time with an existing project, polishing website content, developing a blog or newsletter for collectors or potential collectors, crafting strategic planning and/or visioning documentation, project management and so on. I will bring to the work curiosity, sensibility, empathy, respect, awe, and a capacity to see what is possible and how to get there. Working with the client’s budget, I will help to organize ideas and project(s). Together we tell a story, the story of art, the story of work, and we create formidable results. Clients can rely on my ability to be both a self-starter and a team player. And all with humor tossed in to keep us grounded.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

In late 2022, in the midst of an exhilarating book project with a sculptor, I realized that I wanted to do more of the same kind of work. I reached out to about twenty or so in my professional and personal circles and vetted the idea of Writing Art. I decided at that time that I would act on my longtime admiration for the artist’s courage, and try a little courageous act myself. I formed Writing Art and put it out into the world in early 2023. I was terrified, this vulnerable act was new to me. My prior work life had been lived within the confines of institutions built by others, I was comfortable in those spaces. Now I was feeling uncomfortable and decided to live in that space and see what could happen. The variety my clientele offers is itself a challenge, but it is the challenge I was seeking. I am asked to meet each new client where they are and in so doing my work broadens and deepens. While there are periods when I might be busier than I would like, there are also lulls and of course those periods are anxious ones, but I move through them. And now I find that I am more comfortable with the unknown and that around the corner is a new project bringing with it new horizons to reach.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

The rich and varied professional experience I bring to my work at Writing Art distinguishes my style and approach. I remain open to difference and possibility, and I believe clients enjoy the comfortable space I create for them as we work through their projects and realize their aspirations. This is true for the individual artist as well as for institutional clients. The Writing Art menu of services includes: project management, artist statements, content for print and online marketing materials, book projects, blogs, newsletters, strategic planning and visioning documents, editing, funding research and grant applications, as well as coaching. Clients retain Writing Art for discrete projects (i.e. an artist statement) or for ongoing, longer term assignments.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?

Trust your instincts and be prepared for the possibility that it might not work out – don’t let the latter consideration stop you, just be prepared. Being scared is a good thing! I did not know that when I founded Writing Art, but now I think it is a requirement to establishing a business, especially a creative one.

Pricing:

• Varies
• Upon Request

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.writingart.net
• Instagram: @writingarterb
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088838397409

Image Credits

Photo of me by Eva Timothy, illumea.com