For the next installment our Women Working in the Arts series, Create! mag is pleased to be profiling Angeliki Kim Jonsson, who we’ve followed for several years via her inspiring art account @dynamisk. She is a multifaceted artpreneur whose work spans being an art historian, curator, art advisor, writer, and public speaker. Working in the arts has also led her to become an avid collector of contemporary art! Read her interview to learn more about how she got her start in the industry, tips for working in the art world, and the projects she’s focused on at the moment.

Angeliki is the founder of Dynamisk Independent Curating and Art Advisory. She works as an Independent Curator and Art Advisor on a multitude of curatorial and art advisory projects, studio visits, workshops, art talks, and tours. Angeliki runs Give Me A Break: Dynamisk "In Conversation with..", an ever-growing series of vibrant and unique conversations with pioneering individuals from the art world. She is the co-founder of The Art/choke a London-based organization that hosts art events in addition to being a Future Contemporaries member at the Serpentine galleries as part of a new generation of philanthropists. Angeliki is based in London in the United Kingdom and she is currently co-writing her first book.

When did you first begin your career working in the arts? What kind of work did you do?

I moved to London in 2014 and started University (as a transfer student from Lugano, Switzerland where I had previously studied Art History at an American university, Franklin). In 2016, while still at university, I took on a part-time role with a contemporary art gallery in Soho. I then left to spend the summer in Los Angeles, which I absolutely loved. I think the time I spent there really opened my eyes to the art world. The following year, I started to curate art talks and workshops at the Soho House. I’m naturally very outgoing and I always loved to meet new people! So the very first art projects came so naturally, really just wanting to connect the dots. I did my first big project in 2018 once I officially had launched Dynamisk, which included commissioning ten contemporary artists to create new work for a private collection space. It was super exciting, I remember going to all the graduating shows in London that summer. It was a great experience and ultimately also a really great way to start my art career.

You're a curator, art advisor, writer, public speaker, and more! How did you carve your own path as an 'artpreneur'?

It all comes so naturally and it is all entwined somehow. I guess I started off as a writer and a public speaker. I started a conversation series, Give Me A Break: Dynamisk “In Conversation with..” during my last year of university. Since then, I’ve sat down with Hans Ulrich Obrist and we spoke about Homogenization and the art world from a ‘glocal’ perspective (global and local). I also met with Matthew Slotover and we had a conversation about curating within an art fair context. With Francesco Bonami, I had questions about the Venice Biennale, as he directed it some years ago. I flew to Stockholm to meet with Daniel Birnbaum, who was then still the Director of Moderna Museet; we spoke about its collection and history (He told me Andy Warhol had his very first show there, how cool is that!). In London, I’ve had coffee with Kate Bryan, who’s the Global Curator of the Soho House, and the list goes on. I’m so lucky to have met with multiple artists, art dealers, curators, museum directors, and entrepreneurs from the art world. Every single story has affected me in some way so I am really grateful to all of these people for saying yes when I asked them to sit down for a conversation with me.

I always wanted to be a curator. To be the communicating link between the artist and the audience. The way I see it, it really is an honor to curate, so I take it very seriously. My curatorial projects have always brought me closer to the artist(s) and that’s why I love curating so much; because I want to work with artists.

Art advisory on the other hand brings you closer to the collector. One could argue that there are two main ways of working, suggesting artists or souring specific artworks. I find both really intriguing and I am always up for a challenge! I think collectors come to me because I am a young art advisor whose main focus is on contemporary and emerging, but because I have a degree in Art History and come from a family of collectors and collect myself, I have a knowledge and respect for the past while being fully immersed in the art world right now. That is the best thing about living in London, you have galleries, museums, and artist’s studios right at your doorstep.

What advice would you give to others who want to work in the arts?

Network! Don’t be shy because in order to be seen you have to get your work and ideas out there. There is always something to learn even from our mistakes (at times we learn the most from them). Another thing I think is important, and something I live by myself, is to question who you are and what you can bring to the table. So rather than asking for favors, become a source of inspiration. I think it is important to be a team player, no one likes a big ego and I am a firm believer in karma: “do good and good will come to you”.

Speaking as a curator, what attracts you to new talent? What tips would you suggest to artists to get the attention of important curators?

You do you. I am always on the lookout for coherency and an artist that is confident in their work. All successful and celebrated artists have found their signature style, from Joseph Alberts to Robert Rauschenberg, Agnes Martin to Julie Curtiss, or Toyin Ojih Odutola.

Always being surrounded by art, it's no surprise you're a collector as well. Tell us about some of the pieces you've purchased over the years and why they're meaningful to you!

I collect together with my partner and it’s the art that really makes our home. All the pieces in our collection are meaningful. There is a wide range of mediums, from work on paper to paintings and sculptures. One of the first art pieces we bought when moving to London was by the Scottish artist Jim Lambie - we saw his mirror piece at Frieze Art Fair and were absolutely stunned. The following year he had a big solo show at the Royal Academy and the stairs were dressed in his colorful stripes. Other artworks in our collection are not as bold, we have a great passion for minimal and abstract art too. With art collecting, I find that many times it’s the actual sourcing of the art that is fun, we once fell in love with a piece we saw at a gallery in Norway and now we have a two-meter brass sculpture by the Norwegian artist Ann Cathrin November Høibo hanging in our living room.

What projects are you currently working on? Are there any exciting plans for the rest of 2020 or into 2021 that you'd like to share with us?

So definitely the best part of 2020 has been that I started to work closely with a small number of artists. I call it ‘Dynamisk Projects’ and the artists are Berit Louise Sara Grønn, Johan Deckmann, Johannes Holt Iversen, Morten Rockford Ravn, Andreas Dolk, and David Donald Sutherland. I have so many exciting plans for the new year, as I think many would agree, I cannot wait to turn the page. This summer I happened to speak two words with Sir Norman Foster, who rightfully pointed out that from “uncertainties also comes opportunities”. I guess it always depends on how you want to look at things.

To close the year, I am curating a solo exhibition of Johan Deckmann’s work at G/Art/En a contemporary art gallery in Como, Italy. I’ve been working closely with the gallery director Camilla and we make a great team. The curatorial concept of the exhibition is really ‘spot on’ so stay tuned if you want to know more!