Conversations with Meg Linton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Meg Linton.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Lately, I’ve been calling myself an Artworker because I wear so many hats as a curator, writer, studio manager, legacy planner, documentary film producer, fundraiser, brainstormer, and an all-round champion of artists and designers. I’m often the one behind the scenes facilitating creatives getting their work from the studio to some type of public arena, whether it’s an exhibition, publication, or program. Then, I flip the hat and bring the audience in and engage with them in moments of discovery, critique, scholarship, community, and hopefully joy.

Over the 20 plus years in my former roles as Executive Director for the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum (which is now the MCA – Museum of Contemporary Art), and later as the Director of Galleries and Exhibitions for the Ben Maltz Gallery at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, I developed two operating slogans working with the organizations’ respective communities which have become personal guiding principles about art’s transformative power for inviting dialogue and expanding circles of people, ideas, and action.

The first is “Yes, As a Matter of Fact, We do Call It Art,” followed by a softer ‘let’s talk about why.’ It began as a jovial “bumper-sticker” response from staff and our artist board members to start a conversation and create a learning moment with a visitor who came in seeking to understand what they were looking at but were completely mystified or intimidated. The second, “Open to the Public,” was a marketing campaign for an art school gallery wanting to reach across and beyond the campus into the surrounding neighborhoods. For me, it is a simple, expansive phrase conveying art’s ability to welcome everyone into an arena of curiosity and exploration.

As I continue to evolve from running exhibition spaces and nonprofits into a project-focused existence these days, my interests and experience have led me to managing Steve Roden’s studio inbetweennoise.com. I’m also working with The Falkenstein Foundation – a private foundation dedicated to honoring the artistic legacy of Claire Falkenstein, one of California’s premiere sculptors; and I’m the lead producer for ACTING LIKE WOMEN, a feature documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker Cheri Gaulke about 1970s-80s feminist performance art in Los Angeles and at the Woman’s Building. As I said, I wear many hats including that of guest curator, and I recently worked with Library Director Jill Thrasher and organized a show called “Unseen Ties: The Visual Collection of Sherman Library & Gardens,” on view at the Laguna Art Museum through June 4, 2023.

Art mixed with curiosity means education for me and during the pandemic, I was invited to create an online program for the Brentwood Art Center. Conversations on Art is an ongoing free series of virtual studio visits with creatives, and we discuss the state of making on the first Friday of every month. Like exhibitions, participating in these types of programs is a great way to learn about the artists working in our communities and everyone is always welcome to join the circle of conversation.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The roads I travel on in my various pursuits are peppered with moguls, blind curves, and speed traps. I was fortunate enough to have a major catastrophe hit me early on in my professional career and since then, I compare every bump in the road to that day. While I was running a modest, beloved, cash-strapped, nonprofit art space and fearing every day for its survival and ability to meet is meagre payroll twice a month, my office ceiling literally separated from the exterior walls and collapsed. Luckily, my spidey-senses were working, and I leapt up from my desk to the doorway before a steel beam landed right where I was sitting. The collapse triggered the water sprinklers, and it was raining all over the computers, filing cabinets, and desks. 25 years of exhibition archives were drowning in 8 inches of water. You can imagine my shock and the expletives. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the galleries were not seriously impacted. It turned out to be an amazing personal and professional educational experience.

First thing I learned is how much the board of directors and the artists in our community loved this organization. Community is everything. I only had to make three phone calls and we had 25 volunteers on the scene within 40 minutes, helping us figure out next steps, moving the artwork to a safe place, responding to our business neighbors, and then dealing with the aftermath of inadequate insurance, forensic architects, demolition, and rebuilding. While it was absolutely devastating to go through, it was a phoenix-rising moment. From the ashes, this organization found a second life and was in a stronger position to fulfill its mission than ever before and I found out new capabilities I never knew I had.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In working with artists, writers, and designers, I am always the proudest when our work together leads to their next opportunity. Facilitating, stewardship, and collaboration are core values of mine. Whether I’m organizing an exhibition, editing a publication, or leading an arts or humanities-focused organization, it is about care and supporting the evolutionary process of an artist’s (or artists’) pursuits of material, ideas, and forms of self-expression in understanding what it means to be human.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I’ve learned along the way that the creative process is always a tumultuous journey and if it’s not, then you aren’t doing it right.

Also, that the best way to support creatives is to engage with their work. For writers read and buy their books; for actors, buy tickets and attend their performances; and for visual artists, go see their work and collect it if you can. It amounts to showing up and if you can do more, then do more.

Lastly, always be gracious and thank those that helped you realize your dreams, ideas, or goals in meaningful ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://actinglikewomen.com/
• Instagram: @meg_linton
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhS6Q6FzZwtnm9zCgzEjT46TFRW0F3g5U

  Image Credits
Colleen David of Wandering Free Photography, Anne Gauldin, Eric Stoner Photography, Sari Roden