Meet Flip Sarta | Artist/Development Executive

We had the good fortune of connecting with Flip Sarta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Flip, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Like many kids, my childhood was full of cartoons, comics, and games that meant the world to me. Of these, the most significant to me was the fantastical animated series by Thurop Van Orman, ‘The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack’. The mixed media aspects and interesting visual style captivated me, and I was struck by this kind-hearted protagonist existing in a harsher world.

I only later realized the power behind this philosophy:
Kindness is strength. I believe that lessons and examples of compassion as power through children’s media can change the world. We connect with stories and characters in deep ways. When we see empathetic and loving characters as heroes, even if they are struggling, it makes us want to be a little more like them. It gives us hope, especially children who don’t see these traits being celebrated in their day-to-day life.
Cultivating a kinder generation through art is one of my greatest missions and I am happy to work towards it every day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Professionally, I work as a Development Manager for Fred Seibert at FredFilms. I got my start at his previous company, Frederator, where I had the opportunity to intern throughout college. My role as Development Manager is to find projects/creators with potential and help them develop their show to pitch to major networks. I get to wear a lot of different hats and have a hand in the art, story, and the actual pitching process.

To me, Development is a kind of secret gem in the animation industry. Before discovering it, I felt lost. As much as I wanted to work in animation, nothing felt like quite the right fit. I bounced around majors, tried different focuses, but nothing had the right mix of art, story, and curation that I wanted. Then in my last year of college, I was lucky enough to meet Jan Stebbens, a professor at SVA and a working professional in animation development. She opened my eyes to the world of development and became an incredible mentor to me. I later went on to work under Nikki Price at my first development internship and learned an incredible amount. I am insanely lucky for all the amazing mentors who have supported me and nurtured my growth as a professional and as an artist.

In my personal work, I am more of a multidisciplinary artist. I have been working on rediscovering art as play, and focusing more on the process of art-making, and less on the final product. How does it feel to make this? What senses does it excite? Am I having fun? The act of creation itself is art, and I want to celebrate it. Creating childlike art is new for me, but has been the most rewarding art I’ve ever made.

I feel powerful making childlike, whimsical art. I want to be able to talk about important or heavy things through a playful and colorful lens. It took me a long time to accept the kind of work as legitimate after spending years trying to achieve “production quality art.” I delight in seeing how my work has changed over the years and look forward to how it will change some more.

What matters across all of my work, both professionally and personally, are the values of compassion, community, and conservation.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Moving to LA from NY in January 2022 without knowing anyone here was really daunting. Now there are so many places in LA that fill my heart with joy, despite being homesick for my hometown in Upstate NY from time to time.

The Atwater Farmers Market and LA Zoo hold a very special place in my heart. They were where I first began to build my LA community and I’ve had the pleasure to work with both on smaller projects.

However, I met most of my community at Heavy Manners Library attending Mikey Heller’s ‘Comics O Clock’, a monthly live comics reading. He inspired me to host my own comics readings! Most recently I co-hosted and organized Out Loud Comics, an LGBT charity comics reading at El Cid with Jared Corwin.

My local coffee shops are Regent Coffee on Brand or the Glendale Commissary – both delightful.

Bird watching by the LA River followed by a trip to Spoke Bicycle Cafe is a must. They have the best vegetarian food and nice big tables to draw with friends.

I’m a new patron to the Bob Baker Marionette Theater but it has quickly become one of my favorite places in the city!

The Walt Disney Concert Hall has the most stunning organ I’ve ever seen. It is such a treat in the winter to have a night out listening to music.

While all of these places are great, my absolute favorite place in all of LA is the passenger’s seat of my partner’s car. Weather driving though the city, down to the beach or up to the mountains — it is the best place to be.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am so lucky to have an incredible amount of wonderful people in my life who support me, mentor me, and love me. Knowing that I can’t possibly name everyone, the one I would like to focus on is my grandfather, Dick Sarta.

My grandpa was from an Italian immigrant family living in New Jersey. He did a lot of different odd jobs, until one day his uncle took him to the golf course for the first time. He was so impressed with how beautiful the grass looked on the course and fell in love with the game. He decided he would become a golf pro — and so he did. He dedicated himself to the game and had such wonderful opportunities to play at courses all around the world. He later became the golf pro at Preakness Hills Country Club where he stayed for many years working with his incredible wife, Dee.

My grandpa was a risk-taker. He believed that you could follow any path and dream any dream, as long as you were dedicated to it. He encouraged my dad and uncles to follow their passions — and imparted the same to me.

Not only did he support me as an artist but also as a human. My grandfather was the first in my family to accept my queer identity. It was very unexpected but meant the world to me. I am grateful for the confidence and determination he helped cultivate within me and I am proud to be his grandson.

Website: https://www.flipsarta.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flipsarta/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/flip-sarta-026a55157/