I founded McCall Art Advisory in 2010 to provide focused consulting services for private clients interested in building carefully curated art collections. Projects include residences throughout the United States. Previously, I was the owner and director of Tinlark Gallery, Los Angeles, which provided the opportunity for leading-edge emerging artists to show their work and curate programming while also interacting with the community through neighborhood events and family-outreach programs. In 2001, I founded FRESH START, the semi-annual art event in Los Angeles that raises funds and awareness for art programs for children in underserved communities. By uniting hand-picked young collectors with carefully curated art from emerging and mid-career artists for a one-night art sale and event, we've raised almost $2.2 million to assist organizations such as HOLA, Free Arts for Abused Children, Para Los Niños, My Friend's Place, LA's BEST, and A Window Between Worlds. I have a degree in Art History from UCLA and have served on the Advisory Committee of the Los Angeles Art Association and the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. I'm a member of the Association of Professional Art Advisors
What drew you to the arts and founding McCall Art Advisory? Previously you ran a gallery. Why did you decide to transition to being an art advisor? Tell us about FRESH START.
Although my mom and aunt are hobbyist painters, I didn't grow up going to museums or galleries. But my first quarter at UCLA, I decided to take an Art History course to satisfy a general ed requirement. I'd always enjoyed studying history, but the addition of visuals brought everything into focus for me. I couldn't believe Art History was a major - I felt like the luckiest person in the world for discovering it. I declared my major by the end of my first year and loved my art history classes throughout college.
I had a circuitous route to founding MAA that included 8 years in Film and TV in NYC and Los Angeles. When I left that world, I founded FRESH START to fund art programs for kids in underserved neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The efficacy of arts education could not be better documented, and yet arts programs are the first classes to be eliminated in the public schools. So I committed myself to helping arts programs broaden their availability for the communities where access was most limited. The secondary mission of FRESH START is to help introduce folks to collecting in a warm and friendly environment. I found that Los Angeles was full of creative people who wanted to support artists and collect art, but they didn't invited into the art world which can feel exclusive and closed. I knew if I could create a warm and non-intimidating event where carefully curated art was for sale, with the beneficiary and the artists sharing in the proceeds, and where our guests could buy what they loved without fear of "making a mistake" since a team of curators had vetted the art, that we'd be able to do a lot of good. That was 2001 and we've had 13 events so far. And then, when my daughter started kindergarten, I realized I wanted to open a gallery with the same concentration on emerging artists as FRESH START. I ran that for 3 years until lots of clients started asking me to advise. And to me, advising was the best of all worlds. It's a great job.
fresh start · Photo credit: Amy Williams
Tell us about some of your exhibitions/projects/creative collaborations that are most representative of your work?
As an advisor, I work primarily with private clients. This means I help individuals and families create collections for their homes. Since advisors don't represent artists, I get to find the exact right artist and artworks for each client, allowing me to work with artists and galleries throughout the US and abroad. FRESH START is my main opportunity to curate large exhibitions, which is something I miss from my gallery days. While always working on my advisory clients, I'm also highlighting and saving artists I'm interested in who will be a great fit for the next FRESH START event. I try to do at least one studio visit per week, and am out at galleries 3 or 4 days weekly. I'm constantly filing away names and visuals in my brain. Which explains why I can't remember almost anything except artists and details from the last art podcast I listened to.
In terms of collaborations, my gallery's mission was to give artists their first shows and have them be as close to the artists' dream show as possible. The artists created a kids' craft for the opening, so it was a place that families felt welcome and kids got to be inspired by the art they saw and made. We always invited neighborhood school groups to the gallery and opened the doors for anyone who wanted to host a community-centered event. And I that level of engagement continues to be part of the ethos of my advisory, and certainly of FRESH START. Although advising, of course, involves an exchange of funds and is based upon art purchases, I do draw a direct line for my clients between their purchases and the gigantic effect their support means to an artist. Patronage of artists is a wonderful use of resources - the ripple effect throughout the community is profound.
fresh start committee · Photo credit: Amy Williams
What do you feel is the importance of learning about The Creative Process and leading an examined life?
One of the reasons I make time for so many studio visits, and also attend artist talks, walkthroughs, and anything that gives an additional peek into the processes of the creative mind is that these are the moments and insights that are generative to me, that give me hope, that provide a different perspective, and link to me to stories that are not my own but resonate with me and build bridges of understanding and community which I can then pass along to my clients through the art I present to them. Since 1995, I've been based in Los Angeles. This is a vast city of disconnected neighborhoods, so it can be easy for people to stay where they're comfortable. And those micro-communties can really keep one going, especially during something as isolating as lockdown. But, to me, engaging with the broader community of thinkers throughout this gigantic city reminds me again and again that our connectivity is what makes life joyous. My spiritual life is very much about the inter-connectedness of humanity, so every day, every time I meet an artist, it's an opportunity to hear how they see the world, how they are processing the difficult questions, how they maintain their optimism and grace while bravely facing their fears, or how they're doing their best to answer questions and offer solutions for all of us.
What qualities do you look for in an artist? What characteristics do you feel are important for those you represent, the clients you work with, and artists creating work today?
When I'm researching artists, I have this moment where the hair on the back of my neck stands up if there's something new or different there. And by that I mean a use of materials, composition, or something that moves a specific artform or genre forward. Those moments are exciting, but being different doesn't always equal integrity and virtuosity. But that's generally how the engagement begins. As an advisor, I'm interested in cv's and schooling because a level of professionalism is required to gain acceptance to art schools and MFA programs, and that level of drive reflects the self-motivation artists need to make art their careers. But beyond the resume stuff, I personally am drawn to artists with stories to tell through methods they're arrived at by being experimental and courageous. I respond to artists who are versed in art history and understand what came before and how where they're trying to take the conversation in new directions. I find I usually end up working with really nice artists, too, which may be because artists are so often generous and kind souls. But I think also the heart and soul of a person comes out in their art, so it's probably no wonder I am attracted to something unconsciously resonating through their artworks.
What are some ways that the artists you've exhibited or represent engage with the important issues of our time?
And would you or your artists like to participate in interdisciplinary initiatives with some of the filmmakers, artists, museum directors, scientists, writers, actors, dancers, activists, and other creative thinkers interviewed for The Creative Process?
The artist who immediately comes to mind for me is Tanya Aguiniga. I was lucky enough to have Tanya create a stunning installation at my gallery in 2007 or '08. It was this beautiful circle of chairs she threaded through a structure mounted to the ceiling so that everyone was sort of cocooned and connected sitting within this web of white thread. I hope someone shows that piece again someday! Tanya has developed into one of the most important artist-activists in Los Angeles -- she has created stunning activations at the US/Mexico border as well as curating and participating in community-uplifting events and exhibitions throughout the world. To me, she epitomizes what it is to be an artist because the need to express herself and her ideas never faltered despite having to overcome setbacks and enormous challenges.
What for you is the importance of the arts? What teachers/mentors/collaborators have been important to your journey as an art advisor?
The arts are the expression of the greatest gifts of humanity. They remind us what lies beyond the mundane and lift our spirits, create awe and wonder, take us out of ourselves, and connect us to the whole.
I've never had a specific art advisor or gallery mentor, but I do have a community of women including Tiffiny Lendrum, Andrea Feldman Falcione, Sasha Emerson, Nancy Baker Cahill, Sally Horchow, and all of the incredibly generous and talented people who have served on my FRESH START committee since 2001. They are doers who see what needs fixing and improving in the community and use their gifts and talents to create change. Beyond that, I am inspired and buoyed by innumerable gallerists who share their visions and ideas with me. And then there is my daughter who always inspires me to stay curious, do better, and challenge myself. I was pregnant with her when I founded FRESH START, and she is now one of our guest curators who helps bring young artists and supporters to the event.
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