We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Keidrick ‘Sensei’ Alford. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Keidrick ‘Sensei’ below.
Alright, Sensei thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Every executed creative project or curated art exhibition we deploy, we attempt to make our most impactful. So we believe our most recent artistic deployment is our most meaningful. In January 2024, we began a student art exhibition program, in collaboration with Louisiana Art & Science Museum, called The STEAM Gallery. The initiative was designed to provide student artists with the opportunity to showcase their work in a manner consistent with the standards followed by art industry professionals. Programs of this magnitude are vital because it gives student artists the opportunity to see that many career paths can fostered in the artis. They also gain insight that art is at the core of many, many career paths they may have an interest in pursuing. Our vision is to guide each artist through the vital steps in seeking opportunities to display their work, creating a cohesive artwork fit for gallery or museum representation, preparing their artwork for installation, and presenting themselves as working artists among their peers, community supporters, and art patrons.
Sensei, 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?
At the core, the founders of ELLEmnop.Art are, two art lovers, committed to fostering the art careers of emerging artists. Both, Elle and I, grew up surrounded by the arts: Music, literature, dance and visual arts. Our admiration of creative energy and love for visual art brought us to serving in the art industry as curators and creative engineers.
Elle is an artist that specializes in gallery curating, digital art, and photography. Sensei serves as a gallery curator and creative director/creative engineer for the artists ELLEmnop.Art works with on a daily basis.
One of the main areas we excel in, is helping artists understand how to create multiple streams of revenue with their artistic gifts; as well as, how their art impacts the world around them. Most artists need a reliable sounding board to bring their ideas from conception to execution, and that’s one of the most important core competencies of our company. Creating great art is one thing, executing great business strategy to obtain your full value as an artist is another…And we do a really great job at both.
Our unorthodox approach to curating spaces and developing campaigns to tell the artist’s story is what we are most proud of. Every artist and every project is different; this allows us the freedom to generate a unique approach to every space we curate and every artist’s project we oversee.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The opportunities to forge our own path. When you are dedicated to serving the needs of artists and art lovers, there is unwavering drive to do everything you can to provide the entire culture with elevated art experiences that are lucrative for the creators and enjoyable for lovers of the arts. Earlier we spoke about unorthodox methods of creating experiences; I love the fact that nothing inhibits our imagination from creating unique, one of a kind experiences. No idea is the worst idea you can have. Knowing we have the liberty to do things our own way and those ideas be received and appreciated by the arts & culture scene is one of the most gratifying feelings.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
We have published resources that have and continue to make an impact in our entrepreneurial journey, but every individual we come in contact with has a well of knowledge and wisdom that we apply to our creative pursuits.
What’s extraordinary about the art industry is that its, the source, the backbone of everything that exists. Everything encompasses art, so outside of art/creative publications we spend a lot of time studying Urban Planning, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Psychology, as well as Physiology. These areas are important because they naturally dictate how ecosystems operate and function. We view the art industry as an ecosystem and its vital that all artists/creatives understand how to build their own ecosystem where it can function as a living organism that continues to impact the world around it. We are often asked, “Where does the inspiration for our creative ideas come from?”…That’s the answer.
One of our favorite online resources is Tetragrammaton.
One of our favorite podcast is Hidden Brain
One of our favorite youtube channels is Local Project
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ellemnop.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellemnop.art
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ellemnop.art
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellemnopart
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ELLEMNOPART
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ellemnop6435
- Other: email: [email protected] phone: 225.364.9246