Pulling Back the Curtain: Real Encounters in the Art World
Thirty, flirty, thriving — and asking all the right questions.
Next week I turn 30, and I’m really thrilled. They say: thirty, flirty and thriving and in that spirit, I’m doing something I haven’t done… Ever!! For one month, I’m offering a 10% discount on annual subscriptions.
Last Thursday, I went to Art Brussels with a few friends and young collectors.
At one point, one of them said:
"I have to admit, I never realised how many prejudices I had about the art world until we started visiting openings, studios and art fairs together."
He said it with a kind of wonder — as if, after a year of discoveries and buying a few works together with me, he was only now truly seeing how many layers hide behind that first impression of the art world.
"I genuinely thought it was a distant world, a façade for empty sales talk. I thought that gallerists just wanted to close deals quickly, and artists mainly made work for the market. But I'm genuinely surprised by the authenticity and the depth I’ve found, simply by being out there together. It's like a curtain has been pulled back. I’m meeting real people. Actual people.”
I think what he captured so perfectly is what we call the fourth wall. The fourth wall that had always stood between him and that world. And now it suddenly disappeared, and he was no longer an outsider, but part of it.
The fourth wall, a term famously dismantled by playwright Bertolt Brecht, is that imaginary barrier between actors and audience in a theatre. Brecht believed that “the wall” had to go, so that you didn’t just sit and watch passively, but were moved, stirred, drawn into the action and became part of it. Maybe that's what happened here too: the façade cracked open, and real people stepped out. The people who actually make a difference.
So, in this newsletter, I'm taking my paying readers along with me: how I’ve learned to navigate the commercial art world; how to move between bluff and genuine passion. How to recognise a good gallery. And most of the times, it’s not by the art that has steered me into that direction, but the gallerist and the artists themselves. It’s the people that moved me.
But let’s not forget— this lovely human (yes, me, the lovely human) is of course writing all this with love. But we both know love doesn’t make the world go round. (Sorry Bob Marley, I wish it did too.) So, here’s a little reminder of the perks of becoming a paying subscriber, and because I’m in a generous mood, there’s a small gift too (so keep reading!).
There are two options:
An annual subscription for €80
A founding membership for €150 per year
Both give you full access to every written paid edition: my behind the scenes insights into the art world, and access to the Art City Guides — city guides full of places that are genuinely worth your time. Berlin and Madrid are already online, and next up is Antwerp ;)
The difference? If you become a Founding Member, you can experience your trips abroad as you’ve had never before. Send me a message beforehand, and I’ll put together a personal list for you: the galleries you can’t miss, the tiny spots worth your time, and anything new I’ve recently come across that you really shouldn't miss. A way to make sure your trip becomes an unforgettable one! :)
Next week I turn 30, and I’m really thrilled. They say: thirty, flirty and thriving ;) and in that spirit, I’m doing something I haven’t done… Ever!! For one month, I’m offering a 10% discount on annual subscriptions, the standard ánd the founder.
I would love to see you join the community :) It means the world to me :))
xx Emily
