EMORY MAGAZINE | WINTER 2024

The Business of Art and the Art of Business

Emory alumna Sarah Arison, recently named board president at the Museum of Modern Art, stands as a powerful champion for emerging artists.

By Andisheh Nouraee

On a sunny afternoon in her native Miami, Sarah Arison 07B is directing movers carrying large paintings around her apartment. “I would say 90 to 95% of the work I own, I know the artists personally. I’ve worked with them — whether through YoungArts or MoMA. My collection almost ends up being biographical, which is really fun.”

Arison smiles as she remembers attending the Frieze Los Angeles art fair when she was seven months pregnant with her daughter. “I was putting together a nursery and had gotten to know an artist who made whimsical balloons that attach to the ceiling with a magnet,” she says. “I bought one to start my unborn child with a collection.”

**SHOW OF SUPPORT** Sarah Arison (left) poses with artists Derrick Adams and Mickalene Thomas, along with art collector Craig Robins, at the 2024 YoungArts Miami Gala.

**SHOW OF SUPPORT** Sarah Arison (left) poses with artists Derrick Adams and Mickalene Thomas, along with art collector Craig Robins, at the 2024 YoungArts Miami Gala.

Arison’s art collection embraces the abstract, but her motivation for supporting artists is direct and literal. She cites a public opinion survey showing overwhelming support for the idea of “the arts” but, at the same time, much less enthusiasm for direct patronage of artists.

“It’s incredibly problematic to think of the arts as an industry without recognizing and supporting the artists behind the industry.”

“It’s incredibly problematic to think of the arts as an industry without recognizing and supporting the artists behind the industry,” she says.

At just 40 years old, Arison already ranks among the world’s most influential art patrons. This summer she was appointed president of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

A recent feature in Town & Country magazine compared Arison to legendary arts philanthropist Agnes Gund, with whom she’s worked closely over the past several years. In fact, Arison has been part of MoMA since 2017, when she began serving as co-vice chair — with Gund — at MoMA PS1 based in Queens. She has served on the boards at the Brooklyn Museum, The Kitchen, American Ballet Theatre and many other arts organizations.

A PASSION ROOTED IN FAMILY TRADITION

Supporting artists is more than Arison’s life’s work. It’s a family tradition. She is the longtime chair of YoungArts, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, created in 1981 by her grandparents, Ted and Lin Arison, three years before she was born. YoungArts supports artists across all disciplines with grants, professional development and a prestigious competition whose roster of winners over the past 40-plus years includes several noteworthy names — Viola Davis, Timothée Chalamet, Amanda Gorman, Kerry Washington and Billy Porter, among them.

“My grandparents were always exposing me to the arts. Growing up, we were going to the symphony, the ballet, museums. If we were traveling together, we’d explore the cultural institutions where we were traveling.”

Looking back, Arison says she didn’t know when she was younger how meaningful art would become to her as an adult. In school, Arison thought of herself as a math and science kid. She laughs at the thought now and suggests turning to math and science was probably a form of youthful rebellion in a family so focused on art.

**A FAMILY TRADITION** When Arison was still a student at Emory, she attended her first MoMA Party in the Garden with her grandmother Lin.

**A FAMILY TRADITION** When Arison was still a student at Emory, she attended her first MoMA Party in the Garden with her grandmother Lin.

Arison chose to go to college at Emory, where biology served as her initial major. She envisioned a career in genetics. However, art began to reassert its primacy in her life during her sophomore year, when she attended a YoungArts gala with her grandmother. “It wasn’t that I was particularly knowledgeable about or even interested in YoungArts at that point,” she explains. “It was just a way for me to spend time with my grandmother.”

At the gala, she remembers, the mother of a past YoungArts competition winner thanked her for the organization’s work.

“She told me she used to yell at her son when he’d come from school and sit on the floor and draw instead of doing his ‘real’ work. YoungArts had offered him creative support and mentorship, and he was being offered college scholarships for art. With tears in her eyes, she said she realized that art was his ‘real’ work. The next day, I said, ‘Grandma, I want to help with YoungArts.’”

Arison returned to campus and switched her major from biology to a business and French double major with a minor in art history. She also joined the YoungArts board.

“Emory has a phenomenal business program, and I figured the skills I’d learn would be applicable whichever direction I ended up going in.”

LIFE-CHANGING FELLOWSHIPS

In addition to her role at YoungArts, Arison has also served since 2013 as president of the Arison Arts Foundation, through which she has provided financial support to emerging artists across the globe, including at Emory.

For the past four years, Arison has provided funding to the Emory Arts Fellows program, which seeks to cultivate artistic talent in a setting that allows fellows, faculty members and students to reimagine the influence art can have on the world around them. This year, the Arison Arts Foundation’s initial support for two fellowships annually was expanded to three.

Arison says working with Emory on the program is fulfilling because it’s not typical for universities to understand the importance of arts fellowships and residencies. “I was thinking a lot about how to support artists at critical junctures in their lives,” Arison says. “The concept of a residency is hugely important for artists and can be life-changing. To be able to do that with Emory is very exciting.”

**PROUD PATRON** Arison poses with $wagfuture 2812, a work created by David Correa and Alberto Checa, two artists she helped support through YoungArts.

**PROUD PATRON** Arison poses with $wagfuture 2812, a work created by David Correa and Alberto Checa, two artists she helped support through YoungArts.

A fellowship offers artists time, space and resources to develop their artistry and build their portfolios. According to Kevin Karnes, divisional dean of arts in Emory College of Arts and Sciences, the benefits go both ways. He says undergraduate creatives welcome getting face time with and mentorship from early-career artists whose experiences in contemporary art marketplaces aren’t far from their own.

Along with helping artists develop, the program is also a gateway for them to enter the academy. Karnes notes that four of the six Emory Arts Fellows have gone on to careers in college and university teaching.

That the fellowship program catalyzes career development alongside artistic development is no accident. The program was designed to help them support their art careers as well as develop their body of creative work. The fellows have access to mentorship from the Goizueta Business School, where they can develop skills to advance their business acumen.

ART TOUCHES EVERYTHING

“I love that Emory is thinking about trying to break through the silos of ‘business over here, art over there,’” Arison says.

She rejects the widespread belief that art and artists operate in a world distinct from business or commerce. Art shouldn’t be confined to rarefied spaces, or what she dubs “ivory towers” of museums, galleries and Broadway.

“Go buy a poster you like, buy something that makes you feel something and you want to see on your wall. Something that you want to live with.”

Everyday business, Arison says, is driven by artists and their art. “Look at the world around you. Everything has been touched by an artist,” she says. “The car you drive had designers. The clothes you wear, that’s a fashion designer. The shows you’re watching, those are actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, costume designers, set designers. Art affects everything in our world. I think that once you understand that, you understand the importance of supporting artists.”

She hopes that people and institutions interested in supporting the arts will think about individual artists and not just galleries and museums. She draws from her art history education to point out that the Italian Renaissance relied on the Medici family’s support for a culture of mentorship and apprenticeship among individual artists.

“That’s something that’s been lost,” Arison says.

Her advice to people who want to support artists and art but don’t know where to begin: See as much as you can. “Take advantage of all the opportunities you have to see art,” Arison says. “The better your eye gets, the better your understanding will be. And when you go out, you’ll meet interesting, exciting people.”

Her other advice: Ignore art trends. “Go buy a poster you like,” she says. “Buy something that makes you feel something and you want to see on your wall. Something that you want to live with.”

Photography by Nick Garcia and Courtesy of Sarah Arison.

Meet the Emory Arts Fellows

With support from the Arison Arts Foundation, the Emory Arts Fellows program was recently renewed. The Emory Arts Fellows have been catalysts for creativity, curiosity and growth. The program has hosted six fellows in its first three years, and each has made a powerful, unique contribution to the Emory community.

2021–2022
Inaugural Fellows

Masud Olufani

Multidisciplinary artist Masud Olufani produced a body of work inspired by the Gullah Geechee communities, descendants of the enslaved Africans who lived on the Sea Islands along the Georgia coast. Incorporating Spanish moss, wood and sand from the islands, he created a dialogue across time. His teaching cultivated both expertise and character, brought history to life and drove home the fundamental truth that we are all students.

Tom Zhang

Writer and actor Tom Zhang developed a new performance exploring how bad-faith actors can derail conversations about race. They also collaborated with Emory students and faculty members on work examining how political divisiveness shaped narratives about the United States. As a teacher they shared the power of the arts to broaden perspectives and strengthen critical thinking.

2022–2023

Tamika Galanis

Tamika Galanis, a documentarian and multimedia artist, created work considering the realities of living in a tourist destination — her native Bahamas — during the climate crisis. In the classroom, she introduced students to experimental filmmakers, particularly artists of color.

Davor Vincze

Composer Davor Vincze combined pieces for voice, percussion, cello and electronics in a “portrait concert,” a get-to-know-the-artist performance in which he talked about his approach to sound. He also taught a composition course exploring the music of science fiction and experimental sounds for film and television.

2023–2024

Annalee Traylor

Choreographer and director Annalee Traylor, who tells stories at the intersection of dance and theater, created a performance that transformed ordinary movements like bathing and hugging into dance. As a teacher, she encouraged students to make bold, thoughtful choices in their academic lives and communities.

Theodosia Roussos

Theodosia Roussos, a composer, singer and musician, created an interdisciplinary collaboration exploring questions of gender and women’s rights. In the classroom, her background in comparative literature, neuroscience and experimental music gave her a unique approach to the science and art of learning.