Meet the Host: Sunaina Misra is Teaching Art Management Skills in Khao Lak

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Goa-based Sunaina Misra is the founder of Artiste Culture, an agency that works directly with artists around the world to help them make the connections and develop the skills they need to take their creative careers to the next level. This summer, she will be bringing her knowledge to Nurall’s Art Unbound Residency in Khao Lak, Thailand. The 10-day event will give artists the studio time they need to create great works while exploring Thailand, making valuable connections, and picking up some new skills in our workshops.

We sat down with Sunaina to learn more Artiste Culture and what artists can expect from this creativity-driven residency.

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What is Artiste Culture?

We’re an ad agency that represents artists, galleries, and creative professionals from across the globe who normally work as digital nomads, or like to work in isolation. We create opportunities for them or identify projects and help them facilitate them, so while they travel the world and look for inspiration, we will be there for them on the back end.

What inspired you to start your company?

I studied design management in England and when I came back there were no jobs for art and design managers available. I started picking up jobs with art publications and I was working with a startup where I figured out how to onboard an artist and how to sell their work. That was a great experience as a manager and that evolved into multiple tools for different companies.

In 2020 when the lockdown started, a lot of artists started reaching out to me and they wanted to understand how to navigate this space that we were all in. And then I realized after four or five months that, given my network and skillset, I might be able to find solutions for them, so I formalized it and formed a company around it.

What motivates you to do this work?

Analyzing issues and finding solutions is a huge source of motivation for me, in addition to the responses we get from artists. Because even if you’re able to achieve a teeny tiny milestone for them, the appreciation and gratitude we get are just overwhelming. I think it’s a good balance we have.

What can residents expect from this experience in Thailand?

We’ve designed the workshops to inspire the lifestyle and we’re doing the residency in a place like Thailand so we can show residents how they can live a life where there are lots of cultural experiences and you can get a lot of work done through the day. It’s sometimes really hard for artists to communicate with people so we’re going to design workshops that help them overcome these barriers, so they learn there are effective ways to communicate without having to lose their creativity.

What is the focus of the residency?

We are focusing more on artist management and cultural exposure. The artist group will get time to create works and we will share with them the importance of having a storyline or narrative when you’re creating a piece.

What kinds of participants do you hope to see at the residency?

I’m hoping for new people. It’s always refreshing to explore new talent and new people from different cultures. It will be interesting to have a good mix of people who will be represented versus people we’ve never met.

How much time will artists have for working on their projects?

It will be like a boot camp: you have to wake up in the morning, learn how to journal so you streamline your thoughts for the day, and then we’ll give them studio time between 10 and 4. They will spend time with me and my team one-on-one to discuss their projects, and how they can move forward towards building better connections. In the evenings, the Nurall team has designed these lovely experiences where they will be stepping out to explore Khao Lak.