Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ellie Hayworth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ellie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I am a strong advocate for the “school of life” as a means of continued education. In so many professions, there are requirements in place — accreditations, courses, certifications — but the art world is often a place of self-motivated experimentation and exploration. I have always been a doer, someone who learns through experience and has a strong professional instinct that gives me courage and confidence to launch new creative endeavors.

I was always intellectually curious and restlessly ambitious, and I pursued internship opportunities as soon as I was able to — as early as high school. I gravitated towards advertising, marketing, and journalism in those early days, perhaps as an outgrowth of my interest in how stories compelled people to action.

Fast forward to graduate school where I pursued a specialization in Art Business, marketing still stood out to me as a key avenue for professional growth. When the opportunity arose to work for a public relations agency that specialized in the arts, I saw this as a natural extension of my interest.

Those early years learning under the tutelage of experienced publicists proved invaluable. The access I was granted, and agency to lead robust campaigns for major international museums and art fairs at such a young age, was really transformational. Managing high-stakes campaigns, crisis PR, and VIP liaison on-site was a crash course in professional decorum and polished communications strategies.

After several years working across respected PR agencies, I knew that yet again I wanted to pursue new learnings and branch out on my own, with the goal of furthering my interest in marketing and PR to encompass holistic communications activities.

In reflecting on this career path, I believe that strong communication, the ability to synthesize messages down to their core and to motivate action from one’s audience, is perhaps the most valuable skill I’ve learned. In communications, we are so often caught projecting our message that we may also forget the value of listening — to our clients’ unique stories and to their definition of success.

Beyond this, a less tangible skill that is crucial to success is perhaps the ability to look beyond industry trends to advocate for the long game. Perhaps because of the rise of social media and the instant gratification it espouses, so many creatives focus heavily on short-term gains and immediate wins. I’ve learned to apply patience to my goals and recognize that a career is an evolving entity, something that can ebb and flow, amplify and retract, and experience peaks and valleys. If you hold true to this reality, you’ll never get discouraged — in fact, it will only motivate you to continue to push forward on your guiding principles towards long-term success.

Ellie, 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 am a passionate supporter of and advocate for artistic voices. I was born to a Cuban American family in Miami, and was always driven by an intellectual curiosity and entrepreneurial yearning that eventually drew me to NYC to embark on a 10-year career in public relations and marketing with a specialization in fine art.
After years working for other agencies, in 2018 I was determined to found my own company, Hayworth, an art consultancy committed to promoting intrepid ideas at the intersection of art and design based between Miami and New York. Today we work with a nexus of cross-disciplinary artists, designers, and creators in the capacity of artist management, exhibition production, nomadic curatorial initiatives, communications, public relations, and cultural programming.

Throughout my career, I have produced exhibitions for such artists as jewelry designer Rachel Bu, who debuted wearable sculptures in September 2023 at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, NY. I’ve produced site-specific installations for artist Suzy Kellems Dominik at Ludlow House New York, with Chashama in the Brooklyn Bridge Park, and at the Nautilus Hotel on South Beach. Through Hayworth, I curated a booth and Special Project in the 10th Edition of the UNTITLED Art Fair in Miami Beach in 2021 as an exhibitor in the Nest section, showcasing new works by artists Suzy Kellems Dominik, Lans King, Cassandra Zampini, and designers Atelier Caracas for Studio Boheme. I also contribute time to the Young Collectors Council with ICA Miami and the Miami-based art-and-tech nonprofit, Code/Art. I co-host a series of arts professional practice interviews on IGTV and YouTube with Art Frankly.

In spring of 2024, I launched a new storytelling platform, Haywire, which features a podcast and digital magazine and teases out the through-lines in art and life, with a focus on telling regional stories of lives sustained through artistry. Think “How I Built This” for flourishing local creative businesses.

As a burgeoning art collector, I have a profound passion for the evolving mechanics of the art and design market and for the connoisseurship that sustains it. My art collection has been featured in Artnet News, Il Ore 24, and my work with Hayworth has been published in Miami Magazine, and Cultured.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

So many people are dazzled by the blockbuster art prices fetched at auction or distracted by the melee of sales and big ticket negotiations at fairs like Art Basel and they overlook the reality that many artists live at a more approachable, emerging or mid-career level who are just as meritorious. Collecting art at an emerging level is much like being an angel investor — you’ve contributed to the longevity and success of the artist at a time when they are still actively building their market. Moreover, if you purchase emerging art through a gallery, you’re also supporting the critical infrastructure and ecosystem that sustains the art world.

Art should not simply be quantified by the future value of the investment. It should be about seeking to support and sustain an artist’s career, believing in the advocates (say, the gallery) who are placing their care and faith in an artist’s talent, and celebrating every minute of the artwork once it becomes a part of your collection and/or your home.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Young entrepreneurs are so often pressured to grow and scale rapidly, as a metric of success. We are currently in a market where startups are plied with early venture capital, values are inflated, and accelerated scale achieved, and so many lose their focus or their value proposition along the way.

I believe the lesson here is that size and scale of a company are not simple metrics for success. Sustainability, agility (the ability to evolve through market cycles), and results can be hard-earned indicators of success. My father, a fellow entrepreneur, has long been a professional role model for me and his guiding advice has served me well. He poses this very question to himself and to his clients: What does success look like? And that answer is different for everyone.

A second lesson, one that piggybacks on this, is that we as entrepreneurs peak in our 20s and 30s and can no longer achieve the success we seek later in life. When you take a step back and analyze some of the most successful companies in the world (think McDonalds, Amazon), that groundbreaking idea or entrepreneurial spark can come later in life. I believe we need to reframe these narratives because they can be stifling and discouraging.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hayworth.co
• Instagram: hayworth.co
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-hayworth-a56a7476/
• Other: Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5FQJkcfgHzEpYF0y6ORh5R

Image Credits
Photography credits: Gesi Schilling, Silvia Ros, BFA.com, and Phillip Reed. Imagery courtesy artist Suzy Kellems Dominik, jewelry designer Authorne, Code/Art, Powerhouse Arts, and Hayworth.