Descoveratists Rethinking Creative Entrepreneurship
Rethinking and disrupting the current atmosphere in the creative industry today; Descoverartists promotes collective power, focusing on career growth for artists.
Founded by Christina Zompa Kaloglou, Descoverartists focuses on collaboration, helping artists with their career with residencies and workshops, and services like branding, content strategy, and PR.
Interview with Christina Zompa Kaloglou, Founder of Descoverartists
Words by art writer & curator Katerina Nikolaou
Hydra Residency. Image credit: Descoveratists
How did Descoverartists start? And as young creative, how do you go about starting a project like this?
I had this idea on my mind for a long time since 2015, but last year it was the first time that we interacted officially with the artists in a business sense. I was working with three artists as a case study during my master to test if the idea of Descoverartists is possible. It was, of course, very challenging since the first year we run it was in line with covid-19. Still, it was also very rewarding as it was nice for people to enjoy something you have created. It’s also nice to see some artists who see their art as a career and want to invest in it, time and money, and gain knowledge for that. Greece is not the ideal country to start something related to the arts. One of the biggest problems was gaining funding, as it is challenging if you are not a non-profit.
I would love the retreat to be free for the artists, but for example, being in Greece and being the first year, there are challenges you have to face, but hopefully, in the future, we plan on getting sponsorships and funding from private investors.
As a whole, this experience has taught me to think creatively, find a solution to everything that comes up, but I am still learning so much!
Hydra Residency. Image credit: Descoveratists
Since Hydra residency promotes collaboration, what’s the level of engagement between the artists-in-residence and the local community?
The collaboration in the retreat comes in two stages. One is inside the group of the artists that are participating. We encourage artists to collaborate on projects, exchange ideas, brainstorm things together, and give many opportunities.
For the second stage of collaboration, we want it to be with the island. We have an open studio where people can explore the residency, discover the artists’ work, and interact together in a friendly setting.
We also want to give back to the island, but due to Covid-19 last year, it was challenging to complete all our plans. We had studio visits with one or two people at a time. Some were artists; some were collectors who wanted to see what we do and were curious about the artists.
How did Descoverartists evolve from being an idea to becoming an artist residency program?
Descoverartists is not just the residency program; it started as an artist management idea for emerging artists. The idea came from the lack of resources and support available for emerging artists.
One of the services we provide is the artist residency program in Hydra. Artists can come for three weeks and experiment with new art mediums. They can interact with other artists they can do some workshops or team activities.
Descoverartists very much focuses on collaboration and works with each artist on a personal basis focusing on their own needs.
That’s why we wanted to create something that focuses on each artist we work with and offer something completely different every time.
Why did you choose Hydra as a location for the residency programme?
The reason for the location is because I come here since I was a child and I always really loved it. Hydra has a very big art scene, even though not a lot of people know about it.
A few years ago, I came here to work and met all these beautiful people, most of whom were from the art industry. So I thought It would be a great place for an artist to be here while networking with others.
Hydra Residency. Image credit: Descoveratists
Article written by Katerina Nikolaou
Special thank you to Christina Zompa Kaloglou, Descoverartists
Discover Descoverartists: