We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mark McKinney a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mark, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I studied art history in college while taking as many studio art classes as I could fit in. I had an internship at an art gallery in Santa Fe the summer before senior year, and another internship at an art gallery in Manhattan spring semester of senior year, which resulted in a job offer upon graduation. Getting a chance to jump right into the New York art world at a top-level gallery and working with the artists they represented had me feeling I was right where I wanted to be.

Mark, 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?

My involvement in the arts has gone on a circular route – from studying art in college, to working at an art gallery in NYC, to then launching my own McKinney Arts gallery in the mid-1990s, I had an exhibition space first on the Lower East Side (Stanton Street) and then in the East Village (East 11th Street), where I curated two seasons of art exhibitions. Married life and kids found me shifting gears from the art world to learning web design, where I started my own web design business. I kept one foot in the arts by making websites for artists and galleries in addition to my non-art clients, and later created and launched my own arts site, Artsology, which provided arts-related games for kids and arts education resources for teachers. My own art-making continued on the side, with occasional exhibition opportunities, but my focus was on growing the Artsology brand. After 20 years of growing that business, I recently sold it to an international investor, and am now coming full circle back to a focus on art-making, promoting my art, and looking for curating and exhibiting opportunities. I am also writing an arts blog at McKinneyArts.com and am looking to grow the audience for that website.

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

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial drive, between starting my own art gallery, my own web design business, my own online arts education portal for kids and teachers, and a general interest in business models. I’m looking to build upon the breadth of experience I’ve gain in all of these various endeavors to come back to making art and using those experiences to continue a creative business path revolving around my own art and art writing.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Most of my audience building has simply been a result of content development, and using social media to promote new content as it is released – always linking back to the website which is the core of the business, whichever business it has been (both my own ventures and those for web clients when I was more-involved in web development). Social media for me is less about personal attention but more for marketing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mckinneyarts.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mckinneyarts/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mckinney-6253402/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mckinney_arts
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/mckinneyarts/

Image Credits
All images presented are photo credit: Mark McKinney.