Jun 08, 2015 8 Questions with: Sketchbook Project
I don’t recall exactly where I stumbled upon the Sketchbook Project, but I do remember being very inspired with the concept and impressed with what they have achieved. I had the opportunity to chat with one of the founders, Steven Peterman, and he explained the evolution of the world’s largest collection of sketchbooks. The Sketchbook Project is a crowd-sourced library that features nearly thirty four thousand artists’ books contributed by creative people from 135+ countries. The Brooklyn Art Library is their storefront exhibition space where the collection is on view to the public. In addition to events in New York, the Sketchbook Project takes its collection on the road to share with communities. Check out their 2015 summer schedule.
Describe your vision for the Art House Co-op and how the Sketchbook Project began.
My co-founder and I, Shane Zucker, started the Sketchbook Project in 2006, while we were in college and without a care in the world. It was a fun endeavor to try to create art that leverages public interaction. We began having small events in the local community in the Atlanta area, creating projects and securing gallery spaces, starting with photography and then sketches. With sketches, we realized that there was a huge untapped community. We began capping event participants to 500 for capacity reasons. Then, within three more years we were at 2500 attendees, and in 2010 we had 28,000 participants (a peak). This was the point in time when the crowdfunding platforms began to thrive, and there was broad enthusiasm for communities and individuals to create, produce, and be a part of something interesting. We’re currently at about 14-18,000 attendees/year now, which is much more manageable.
How is the collection curated?
Artists, whether professional or casual, can request a blank book. This vessel can be filled with doodles, collages, comics, and infinite ruminations. The completely filled, physical sketchbook is sent back via mail in analog fashion, and it becomes part of the formal sketchbook library. The detailed elements are catalogued to be searchable. Community visitors are allowed to freely flip through the sketchbooks to their heart’s content, immersing themselves into the artist’s personal reflections.
Talk about your project evolution, and where do you hope to take it in the near /long-term future?
This will be our last year as a tour. Now, going forward we will have a book that can capture the essence of this movement.
“When the Sketchbook Project first started, we never imagined where it would take us….We now have a place where anyone is accepted, and a community is created along the way.”
– founders Steven Peterman and Shane Zucker, from the introduction to their new book, The Sketchbook Project World Tour, published by Princeton Architectural Press.
With the largest collection of sketchbooks in the world, I sense that I have the duty to do something special with this. So we will engage in museum tours and brand sponsored content as well.
What insights and lessons can you share about managing this project/business?
The biggest lesson is to pace yourself, amidst exponential growth. To be so young in age and experiencing huge momentum was very exciting for me. We invested a lot into the growth of this project (dollars and ourselves), and we hired a lot of people pretty rapidly. We had to react quickly to needs. For example, we created our library simply because the need emerged to house large volumes of sketchbooks. We’re still learning about how to make a viable business out of this crazy idea.
Describe your typical day.
We now have an office space in the back of the library, and all day long we can hear the interesting conversations that come from our visitors. My day involves everything from planning logistics for our future tour, to planning marketing, to managing sponsorships, to conducting media interviews. We often have spontaneous team brainstorms where we come up with a constant stream of ideas. But it also involves rolling up sleeves to do the necessities such as selling furniture.
What is your favorite post-work destination?
I enjoy Radegast Hall and Biergarten in Williamsburg for fun and live music.
Were do you personally find inspiration?
I actually find that retail environments are very inspiring, and I love to analyze some of the small shops in the neighborhood to examine what they could do better and assess the effectiveness of interaction. I could almost become a consultant to small businesses to ensure that they create the best consumer experience possible.
As a kid, what did you want to be?
When I was very young, I wanted to be a teacher. As I got older, my focus became a pattern of doing my own thing and being a self-starter. For example, I played guitar and would book my own shows at a young age. I became experienced as a DJ and began working Bar Mitzvahs. I thrive on side projects and freedom. Our generation, more than any other is about making things and starting things.