Latest news with #creativeprocess
Entrepreneur
4 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Curating Genuine Creativity: In Conversation With Ellen Sheidlin
"For me, the virtual world is not a replacement but an extension—a natural continuation and complement to my creative process." Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Creative Journey & Artistic Evolution Let's start at the beginning—what inspired you to merge photography, painting, and and other mediums art into your signature "Survirtualism" style? I never saw boundaries between mediums. Photography gave me the stage and perspective, painting offered color as a form of thought, and sculpture brought materiality and resistance. It was important to me that an idea could evolve on multiple levels at once. Survirtualism emerged as a way to bring all of that together—a cohesive system where the physical and digital interact without being in opposition. Image source: Ellen Sheidlin How has your artistic voice evolved from your early work on Instagram to your current gallery exhibitions and projects across the globe? My early experiences on Instagram trained me to react quickly—to capture fleeting moments and respond to the world with immediacy. But creating paintings and sculptures requires a very different approach—one of slowness, contemplation, and inner dialogue. Since I create only a few works each year, I can feel how each of them unfolds gradually, becoming more structurally complex and richer in meaning. What once began as a spontaneous impulse has evolved into a sustained, reflective process. In the past, I was drawn to form; today, I'm more interested in constructing a deeper conversation with the world—one shaped by reflection on what I see, what I feel, and how those perceptions shift over time Do you feel pressure to keep reinventing yourself, especially as your audience grows? Sometimes—yes. But I don't see it as an obligation. I have an internal sense of when something old no longer works, and that's when something new begins to emerge. I don't feel the need to constantly surprise anyone—what matters most to me is being in a place where I genuinely feel something that needs to be expressed, something I want to speak about, something I want to look at more closely. Entrepreneurship and Brand Building You've successfully turned your creative vision into a global brand. What have been the most challenging aspects of navigating the business side of your art? The most challenging part was finding the right team—one that allows me to remain an artist and dedicate all my creative energy to making art, while entrusting the business side to professionals who truly understand it. I really appreciate that I've managed to preserve my creative autonomy while building a system that runs efficiently and without chaos You've worked with major fashion and tech brands—how do you choose who to collaborate with, and how do you maintain creative control in those partnerships? I'm inspired by collaborations that feel like genuine creative dialogue, where I'm recognized as an artist with a voice—not just as a "cover." When there's a strong connection with a brand's team, our shared energy leads to memorable projects that engage audiences and feel meaningful. Fortunately, I now have the opportunity to choose projects with brands whose vision truly resonates with me. I don't participate in projects unless there is a shared understanding of the creative goals. As for creative control, it comes from having a clear concept—something I've learned to develop through my extensive experience working on commercial and advertising projects. What does "entrepreneurship" mean to you as an artist in the digital age? To me, entrepreneurship in the digital age means building my own system—free from intermediaries—where I have full control over what I produce and how I produce it. It's about discipline, structure, and respect for my time and ideas. Image source: Ellen Sheidlin Innovation and Technology Your early adoption of NFTs and digital art has been bold and pioneering. What excites you most about the future of digital ownership and the metaverse? This experience opened up something entirely new for many artists: a direct connection with their audienceand the chance to share and sell their work, bypassing traditional institutional filters. It's important to understand, however, that these new opportunities don't simplify digital art or remove the requirement for artists to deliver quality work. This can sometimes come as a surprise to those initially drawn in by the apparent simplicity of the crypto-art environment. In some ways, this situation has unfortunately discredited those who approach their art with genuine dedication. It's crucial to remember that whether in the physical world or the metaverse, art is still evaluated by real people based on criteria established long before Web3. How do you balance the tactile, physical elements of your work with your presence in the virtual space? For me, the virtual world is not a replacement but an extension—a natural continuation and complement to my creative process. Every project I undertake begins in the physical realm: with tangible objects, sketches, and set designs. Even when I work digitally, my creations are always deeply rooted in a material foundation. Image source: Ellen Sheidlin Personal Philosophy and Influence You've described your work as "emotional surrealism." How much of Ellen is in @Sheidlina—and where do the two diverge? They are one person in different states. Ellen is the personal "I," while @Sheidlina is the external, public persona. I'm not playing a role—I'm simply switching between layers of myself, like between subpersonalities. Sheidlina is one of them, not a mask but an interpretation of my identity You have millions of followers. How do you stay authentic and emotionally grounded in an era of constant visibility and feedback? I don't read everything. I'm not dependent on likes. There are just a few people whose opinions truly matter to me—everything else is background noise. I know why I do what I do. If I feel I have something to share, I share it. If I don't, I don't. At the same time, I've met some truly amazing people among my followers, and I genuinely appreciate that part of being visible. Women in Art and Business As a female artist and entrepreneur, have you faced any unique challenges breaking into traditionally male-dominated creative or tech spaces? Yes, there are typical expectations—that you'll be 'nice,' 'pleasant,' or visually 'polished.' People sometimes try to frame you or fit you into whatever feels more comfortable for them. But I don't shape myself to meet someone's expectations—and I create my art by the same principle. What advice would you give to young women who want to follow an unconventional path and turn their creativity into a business? Start. Don't wait for anyone's permission. Don't be afraid to be different. Be clear about what matters to you. And don't waste your energy on those who aren't ready to take you seriously. Image source: Ellen Sheidlin Future Plans What's next for Ellen Sheidlin? Any new projects, exhibitions, or entrepreneurial ventures we should watch for? I'm currently working on several exciting projects. My main focus is a new series of canvases for an upcoming show in Asia next year. These are unique works, each with its own distinct message and meaning, and I find immense joy spending hours working on each one. Beyond this, I'm contributing to an institutional public art project emphasizing ecology, a cause I care deeply about. For this initiative, I'm developing a sculpture planned for exhibition in the Gulf countries and Europe. Three of my new canvases will also be shown at Kiaf in Seoul this September. And a special surprise awaits my collectors at Art Dubai next year: in the studio, we're developing a unique product that combines glass and digital technologies, and I can't wait to present it to the public. And of course, my sketchbook constantly gathers and holds fresh ideas for photography and video art.
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
You Want Bold Work? Rethink Your Creative Review Process
Flavio Vidigal is Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Rise New York & Partners. Most creative reviews are still stuck in performance mode: An agency performs, the client reacts and everyone nods. As a creative who's sat on both sides of that table—pitching, judging and nodding politely—I've experienced the flaws of this process firsthand. We say we want brave work, but then we build review systems that quietly kill it. Work gets evaluated like a school project: It's passable, polished and safe. But what if we've been reviewing the wrong thing all along? I've advocated for this shift for years, and Graziela Di Giorgi, founder of the Human/Rise consultancy, has been pioneering it for over a decade. Di Giorgi is the creator of the 'Human Pitch' method—a philosophy and practice she's developed over years of helping brands and agencies connect beyond decks and deliverables. Instead of boardroom performances and choreographed calls, Di Giorgi proposes something more straightforward and far more honest: What if creative reviews worked more like chemistry sessions—not evaluations but auditions for long-term creative partnerships? In this context, a chemistry session isn't a polite meet-and-greet. It's a live, unscripted creative exchange. You're not presenting slides—you're revealing how you think, work and show up under pressure. You're not pitching polish. You're showing conviction. I've seen this approach work. We've used it at my agency to forge some of our strongest client relationships—not by wowing them with polish, but by letting them feel who we really are and how we think. That's what the Human Pitch approach is all about. It's not about showmanship. It's about chemistry, clarity and creative guts. It's about choosing the person behind the idea, not just the idea itself. Because the best campaigns don't come from clean decks—they come from people who give a damn. If you're a modern chief marketing officer, you're not just buying execution. You're probably looking for creative partners who move with urgency and speak with soul—the kind who can take your brand somewhere it's never been, but always belonged. That kind of work doesn't survive a review process built to avoid friction. It needs friction. It needs belief. It needs space for something unpolished but undeniably true. The Human Pitch mindset gives you what traditional reviews can't: a read on voice, a sense of instinct and a glimpse into the people who will build the thing together, not just sell it. Here's how to bring this mindset into your next review: • Ask for the talent, not just the pitch team. You're hiring minds, not decks. • Look for truth, not safety. Are they showing what's expected—or what's unignorable? • Read the energy. Who's in it for real? Who's still got fire in their voice? • Pick the voice, not just the execution. Slides can be rewritten. The right creative voice? That's rare. As Dan Wieden used to say, "Walk in stupid," meaning be curious, open, humble and willing to be surprised. We use this phrase at the agency to remind ourselves and our clients to leave the ego at the door and make room for something better than what we expected. Remember, you're not just choosing a campaign. You're casting the voice of your brand's future. So drop the performance act. Make space for conviction, for tension, for the kind of creative friction that changes things. Walk into the room ready to be moved, not managed, because safe work doesn't get remembered. And if no one feels it, it never happened. Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for executives in successful public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. Do I qualify?
