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

Elliot, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My folks showed my sister and I what it was like to prioritize friendships and experiences and (perhaps modeled toooo completely) what it was like to have a full calendar. From volunteering for local non-profits, signing up for classes, subscribing to local theatre companies, planning drives up the coast or trips overseas, they really loved to lean in to what the world (locally, and less locally) had to offer.

Weekly family meals, having a sense of duty toward their parents, visiting friends and families when things were good (or not so smooth) – all of it set a baseline that put a premium on caring, and on community.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Mostly, we spend our days at The Nation of Artists conceptualizing and creating media assets – documentaries, series, virtual reality pieces, anthems & campaigns – all with the intention of helping to bring awareness to the efforts of incredible organizations (and individuals) changing the world for the better.

We love collaborating with other agencies, with big companies and large non-profits, on work that can really bring about significant impact. Some people know us for how we helped launch the My Special Aflac Duck (a social robot duck for kids going through cancer treatment), which was named one of the top 25 campaigns of the last decade, and yielded other accolades; others know us for our contributions to widely distributed documentaries like “Queen Mimi,” “Black Boys,” “Little Miss Sumo,” “Unzipped,” or “for Tomorrow.” Of course, personally, I was also proud to produce “140” with Frank Kelly – the world’s first user-generated feature documentary; and to produce “Project Daniel,” the world’s first 3D printed prosthetics lab, which was set in the Nuba Mountains for the children of war-torn Sudan.

With a background in journalism, and degrees in pharmacology & toxicology and law, and all the assets of our collaborators, we really do feel we can deliver impactful human-centered storytelling to any subject, and we’ve been so fortunate that our projects have resonated globally.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Our mission equation is “Ideas + Empathy = Impact.”

The nutshell behind the mission is that we have amazing ideas all the time – and there are other people also with incredibly sharp noggins – but if the setting for the project isn’t aligned, or the people for whom the idea is being activated aren’t aligned, or the context is off, then the idea won’t be able to have impact. Likewise, empathy itself is incredibly powerful, and spending time listening to someone, or to some community, and relating to them in times of need is absolutely one of the right things to do, but if you don’t eventually summon up an idea to move onward, then that can also expend energy for little long term betterment.

This way, we’re purposeful about how we’re listening and who we’re listening to.
We’re thoughtful about how we’re learning, and how we’re generating ideas.
And we’re mindful that our ideas have to be additive, they have to be of value.
This way, we’re always thinking of how projects can move our client’s messaging and/or efforts toward impact. What is impact? Well, that’s another question.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

So many (mostly videos, of course). But Ronald Cohen’s hope-filled book “Impact: Reshaping Capitalism to Drive Real Change” about the Impact Revolution, is a great one from a leader of impact investing. Victor Strecher’s “Life on Purpose” is a great tool for self-alignment. And, perhaps strangely, the poetry of Emily Dickinson has resonated, too, especially in terms of thinking about what you really want to gain, and what it might feel like when you achieve those goals. Of course, a good TED talk every now and then doesn’t go astray, and often provides a nice intro to people with whom you’d like to dive further.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationofartists/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliotkotek/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ElliotKotek

Image Credits
Scott McDermott, Michelle Shiers, Tyler Golden