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

Alright, Samara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

There wasn’t a single turning point—it was more of a steady realignment. I studied neuroscience at Columbia, went to med school, then dropped out when I realized medicine would soon be deeply shaped by AI. I pivoted to working in healthcare AI, and while I found the work intellectually engaging, it lacked the emotional depth I needed. I began splitting my time between AI, hospice care, and event production. That combination—of systems, death, and experience design—eventually led me to the art world. Somewhere in that tension, I found the feeling of being a fully awake human that I was craving. Art became the only container big enough to hold the contradictions. I didn’t “choose” a creative path. I just stopped pretending I could do anything else.

Samara, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the founder of The Locker Room, a contemporary art space based in Tribeca. We operate at the intersection of cultural production and creative strategy. Our public-facing work includes exhibitions, performance, and artist collaborations. Some of our past projects have gone viral (like New York is Dead. Don’t Come Back.), but at the core, we’re always trying to hold up a mirror—or throw the first punch. Behind the scenes, we also consult with brands, build campaigns, and help shape cultural narratives. Think of us as a gallery with an R&D lab built in.
Our mission is to reflect the moment while it’s still unfolding. We work with artists who are rigorous, conceptually sharp, and emotionally fearless. And we build programming that respects unseen labor—the practice, preparation, and persistence behind every finished product.

What sets my work apart is probably the willingness to blend highbrow and lowbrow, sincerity and satire, the deeply personal with the aggressively public. We don’t draw hard lines between art, commerce, and storytelling. One week we’re curating a group show, the next we’re developing strategy for a brand or producing a performance stunt designed to go viral. We’re comfortable in ambiguity, and we know how to turn cultural tension into cultural currency.
At the core, The Locker Room is a space for change. A place for those who play hard, shift roles, and leave it all on the field. I’ve lived a few lives, and I think people can feel that in the work. There’s a pulse under it.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Start by not expecting artists to make work that’s safe, polite, or instantly monetizable. Artists shouldn’t have to justify their work in corporate language or academic jargon to receive support. And stop confusing visibility with support.
We also need funding for experimentation, space for failure, and infrastructure that supports sustainability—housing, healthcare, and long-term investment. We need a new operating system. Creative ecosystems thrive when artists can focus on the work, not just survival.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

To build a platform that reflects culture in real time and to create work that helps shape how this moment is remembered. I’m interested in art as a record, a mirror and a pressure valve. And I’m especially interested in honoring the people and processes that usually go unseen.
My goal is to show and to make the kind of work that gets remembered not because it was pretty, but because it made someone feel seen, or implicated, or like the floor just shifted slightly beneath them. Mostly I want to remind people that humanity—strange, sensitive, messy, tender— still matters.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thelockerroom.nyc/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelockerroomnyc/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samara-bliss-6509385a/

Image Credits

The Locker Room NY
Mikhail Mishin
Matt Weinberger