Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Priftis.
Hi Ann, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey in the fine art industry started when I was 18. I interned at a 19th/20th century art gallery in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. I loved being an Assistant Art Handler so much that I started working there full time 2nd semester of my freshman year in College as an Art History major and became a full time employee. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to hold positions at some incredible organizations including Director of Over the Influence Gallery in LA, Principal Business Development for Amazon Art in Seattle, Head of the Faberge Big Egg Hunt in NYC and Art Advisor to a private family office in the MidWest. In 2005, I launched Clark Priftis Art, a full service art advisory firm offering USPS-compliant appraisals, corporate collections management, private art acquisition and family office art advisory services. When I learned about Off Piste Fine Arts, I was instantly intrigued and impressed by their business model that prioritizes both the Collector and Artist experience. As CEO, I’m proud and excited to help continue the growth of our company across North America.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I always describe my professional journey as resembling a hockey stick when viewed from a distance but, if you zoom in, it’s more like a jagged set of stairs, gradually trending upward. The art industry is a tough one – it can be volatile and exclusive. When you’re just starting, it’s tough to make in-roads within a field that’s so insular. Many of the roles I’ve held require a broad skill set, including project management, sales, high level relationship building, event planning, technical skills including fine art packing, lighting, and curation, etc. While some of this is learned in school, most of it is learned on the job. Failing is part of the journey when you’re fortunate enough to be offered exciting roles and bold enough to take them on … even when you don’t yet possess all of the skills that are required. When I started working in galleries, my first manager required me to wear a suit. I had no money so I borrowed a suit and wore the same one every day (just changing my shirt) until I got my first paycheck and could be an additional jacket. When I took on my first Sales Director role for a gallery in NYC in 2003, I couldn’t afford to live in the City so I commuted 2 hours in each direction every day for two years. When you feel that you’re pursuing your dream, you can tolerate a lot of discomfort to reach your goals!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Off Piste Fine Arts Ltd. owns and operates 7 art galleries across Canada and the US. We specialize in original Contemporary art spanning all mediums including painting, photography, sculpture and mixed media. Our galleries operate under 3 different brands: Whistler Contemporary Gallery, Sun Valley Contemporary Gallery and Mountain Galleries. In the next month, we will be adding Aspen Contemporary Gallery to that list. We carry work by leading like David Yarrow, Brendan Murphy, Hunt Slonem, Jane Waterous, and offer a suite of art-related services including artwork installation, crate building and art delivery. Our team at each location is really the secret to our success. We have an incredibly knowledgeable, hard-working and caring group of people at Off Piste whose collective goal is to always deliver the highest and best experience to our Collectors and our Artists. We believe in meeting people where they are on their collecting journey. Our galleries are warm and welcoming environments and our Consultants are just as excited to work with first time buyers as they are to advise seasoned collectors. We know art collecting is a relationship-driven experience so we educated Collectors on our artists’ practices, host special Artist in Residence programs when Collectors can meet artists in person and better understand their process.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I have 2 pieces of advice regarding mentorship:
1) Just ask! If there’s someone you’ve met at a conference, in an off-site meeting or in a networking group whose career you admire and who you think you could really learn from, just ask them if they’ll mentor you. I’m always incredibly flattered whenever someone approached me about mentorship and, if it seems like they’re eager to learn, it’s a pleasure to work with them.
2) Be prepared. Before looking for a specific mentor, try to define a few key areas where you’d like advice, pull case studies you’d like to discuss or present specific scenarios you need assistance with navigating. This demonstrates your seriousness to a potential mentor and also gives them more context as to what you would like to focus on. Your mentor likely doesn’t have a ton of free time, so you want to be sure the time you get with them is being leveraged to the highest and best use.
Pricing:
- Prices in our galleries range from a few thousand dollars to $200k USD
Contact Info:
- Website: https://whistlerart.com/ https://www.sunvalleyart.com/ https://www.mountaingalleries.com/
- Instagram: @mountaingalleries @whistlercontemporarygallery @sunvalleycontemporarygallery
