Meet Ellen Greenberg

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellen Greenberg.

Hi Ellen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in the ‘burbs of Philly. My career began with fashion and interior design. When I moved to LA, it evolved into production and costume design for TV, film and theater. I’ve also been an instructor at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) and a guest lecturer at UCLA.

Established in 2005, I founded Quick Culture, a company that was conceived to provide entertaining and informative small, custom, private art tours and unforgettable global journeys. I have curated odysseys that span the world from Avignon to Zhongshan Lu for both casual travelers and seasoned explorers.

Now that the pandemic is somewhat under control, I have resumed curating distinctive art-themed excursions to Europe, Asia, India and beyond as well as continuing my private museum tours at The Getty, LACMA and the Norton Simon Museum. I’ve recently added a contemporary galleries tour that expresses the distinctive elan of our great city…only in LA!

Notables I have toured range from Judge Merrick Garland (U.S. Attorney General) to Max Getty (J. Paul Getty’s great-grandson.) Corporate clients include Google and Netflix. Women’s Painters West, UBS Financial Services and, the always rewarding, Match.com. From team-building activities to meeting “the one”, art unites us all.

Quick Culture’s mission is to provide tours that leave you amazed by the unfamiliar, carefully ponder the unusual and laugh out loud. Sometimes simultaneously.

My team and I are inspired by emerging artists and are eager to share new discoveries and quirks by established masters. Our mission is for the content to never be boring or elitist. We encourage an exchange of new ideas and perspectives with art-lovers even if the work of art is hundreds of years old!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not always smooth…thank goodness. If it were, I’d really be worried I was not experiencing life. I have a saying, “Once you stop growing up is when you start growing old.”

When I first moved to LA as an art director and costume designer, I wanted to stand out from all the other film hopefuls that were deluging production companies with resumes. So, I bought individual goldfish that come in clear plastic bags. I attached my resume to the bag with a note that read, “Fishing for a job!” and dropped each of them off at every production company where I wanted to work. I got my first job within a week!

Here’s another tiny LA Story behind my philosophy on life:

When I moved to LA I had to defend my clueless, apparent accent. Not hesitating when accused, I would defend it and declare “But I’m from the 13 original colonies!” No one laughed or took the retort seriously. Defeated, I relented to the cliché, “When in Rome…” and practiced saying “tahk” instead of “tawk” and “cahffee” instead of “cawfee”. But then, one fortuitous day, a stranger told me that he loved my accent. Whoa! I had an epiphany (albeit a small blip of one.) I stopped changing my pronunciation. Therein lies the beauty of art and life — all people are different; yet fundamentally the same. The unique and varied cultures of humanity are to be celebrated and embraced with wonder, wit and wanting more. I endeavor to uncover that for all culture vultures. Accents and all.

Confession: However, as much as I love LA, I still occasionally get a kick out of saying “wawder” instead of “wahter”.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Here’s my credo: “Great Art is a fragrant, complex stew of creativity and skill. Without creativity, you can only copy; without skill, it’s locked in your mind!”

And I share and share and share — and listen, listen listen.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I’m a voracious reader…of books. All kinds from the novel to political to psychological…and, of course, art. I continually find inspiration from not only reading the written word but also reading works of art…and people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.quickcultureinsider.com/ AND https://www.quickculture.com/