The Next Gen Creative Entrepreneur: Vincent Uribe
open more doors and allow everyone to engage; The more the arts industry can do TO welcome others the better.
5 QUESTIONS WITH Vincent Uribe
Art Director, Arts of Life; Founding Director, LVL3; Committee Member, Equity Arts
Chicago, IL
Vincent Uribe is a creative entrepreneur based in Chicago, IL. Vincent is the Founding Director of LVL3, an artist-run exhibition space and online publication platform he established in 2010 while attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). LVL3 is dedicated to fostering creative networks for emerging to established artists from around the world. In addition to running LVL3 Vincent is the Art Director at Arts of Life, working to advance the creative arts community by providing artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a collective space to expand their practice and strengthen their leadership. Motivated by his passion for art, music, fashion, design, and travel, Vincent works as a tastemaker, connecting and promoting creative entrepreneurs and artists across the globe. Vincent holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies from SAIC. Images of Vincent’s exhibition follow this interview.
1. As director of three exhibition programs LVL3 and Arts of Life’s two Circle Contemporary galleries, how have you adapted your model throughout 2020 to support artists?
The blight of 2020 has been a constant challenge I’ve been figuring out how to roll with. Luckily my teams at both LVL3 and Arts of Life have helped me charge forward. For LVL3, we had to push back all of our programming and reconfigure all planned exhibitions. We did our first-ever open call exhibition, Direct Sunlight, to try and provide some relief for canceled exhibitions of local artists. While we desperately miss the opportunities to congregate and socialize around art in large groups, I think we’ve adapted more easily than I expected as we continue to exhibit in our physical space. We no longer have loud, busy evening openings, but instead, host physically distant weekend-long receptions. Concurrently, LVL3’s interview series is thriving as we’ve ramped up our publishing in order to continue to raise awareness of creative talent online.
Similarly, with Arts of Life we’ve focused our efforts on engaging folks virtually. All of our in-house exhibitions in our Circle Contemporary galleries have been canceled for the foreseeable future; instead have implemented monthly virtual exhibitions. Since switching to remote programming we’ve been able to work more broadly with guest curators and artists from across the country to further integrate our studio artists with disabilities into the larger contemporary art scene.
2. We are witnessing profound calls for systemic change, specifically with regards to wealth, power, and equity. What is the best role for the cultural sector as we re-imagine these systems?
Get creative, be open to - and welcoming of - change, and begin acting upon ways to create that change indefinitely. Access, inclusion, funding, and equity are more critical than ever.
3. Your role with Arts of Life is to align the organization with the contemporary art scene of Chicago and beyond. These collaborations articulate how the arts sector is so much bigger than the traditional museums, operas, galleries, and art fairs. How can we better champion and create these connections that impact lives in profound ways?
First, we need to stop marginalizing individuals who are different from us. I think the connections that create the most profound impact come from a true appreciation of one another.
4. We know that rising generations want to be involved with entities that champion community, social justice, diversity, and equality. In your view, what must the arts industry do to attract the next generation of arts funders, collectors, and advocates?
Instead of fostering spaces of class and privilege, open more doors and allow everyone to engage. The arts community is often exclusive to those on the “outside”. One of my favorite things is seeing unconventional people engage and enjoy art on their own terms or selling a piece of work to a first time collector. I think there is often a preconceived notion that a formal education or lots of money might be required to engage with art, but that is not the case. The more the arts industry can do to welcome others the better.
5. Arts Funders Forum (AFF) research shows that the cultural sector has been experiencing a crisis of relevancy, and there is a belief that this is a result of underdeveloped narratives. What stories should be told about the importance of art in society?
I think we can start by broadening the term art and what we think of as art. Art is all around us every day, and being able to recognize the nuances to better appreciate the depth and value art holds is significant. I want to see more stories about those on the periphery who are not being seen; the artists who are making work today in a basement classroom or studio and are dedicated to their practice. Too often prolific artists are only truly recognized at the end of their life; we should really be celebrating their work with them before it's too late.
Vincent Uribe is a creative entrepreneur based in Chicago, IL.
Vincent is the Founding Director of LVL3, an artist-run exhibition space and online publication platform he established in 2010 while attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). LVL3 is dedicated to fostering creative networks for emerging to established artists from around the world.
In addition to running LVL3, Vincent is the Art Director at Arts of Life, working to advance the creative arts community by providing artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a collective space to expand their practice and strengthen their leadership.
Motivated by his passion for art, music, fashion, design, and travel, Vincent works as a tastemaker, connecting and promoting creative entrepreneurs and artists across the globe. Vincent holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Critical Studies from SAIC.
Photo: Vincent Uribe and dog Milo @ LVL3
https://www.instagram.com/LVL3official/
https://www.instagram.com/circlecontemporary/
LVL3 Echoes In Rain opening reception, from L->R: Kaitlyn Albrecht (LVL3 Communications Manger), Vincent Uribe, Emily Endo (featured artist), Maddy Olson (Gallery Manager), Hyun Jung Jun (featured artist).
Arts of Life's Circle Contemporary gallery Entrelazar 8.30.19 – 10.11.19. Guest curated by Edra Soto. Featured artists: Candida Alvarez, *Renata Berdes, *Aria Carter, Dianna Frid, Diana Gabriel, Maria Gaspar, Melissa Leandro, *Susan Pasowicz, *Linda Ruzga, Edra Soto, *Maria Vanik, *Debbie Vasquez, Vanessa Viruet, Allison Wade, *Jean Wilson. *indicates Arts of Life Studio Artist. 8.30.19 – 10.11.19
Echoes In Rain, a two-person exhibition at LVL3 featuring work by Emily Endo and Hyun Jung Jun. 10.17.20 - 12.20.20
LVL3 featured in Artist Run Chicago 2.0 @ Hyde Park Art Center 9.01.20 - 11.1.20: an exhibition celebrating the work of fifty artist-run spaces and organizations that fuel Chicago’s independent art scene.