Meet Robin Cembalest | Founder, Robin Cembalest Editorial Strategies
We had the good fortune of connecting with Robin Cembalest and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Robin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It was 2014, and I had left my job as longtime editor of ARTnews. My prospects in art journalism, my chosen career, were slim. Luckily, I had prepared for this moment. An avid blogger and Tweeter, I saw the revolution in digital content on the horizon, and how many people in the art industry were struggling to adapt. So I threw my lot with social media. I abandoned writing to focus on my Instagram, and started a professional training business to help institutions and individuals to build their digital presence.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
It was humbling to leave my power job as a magazine editor and reappear as a freelance consultant, offering to teach digital natives social media skills–at a time when I was best known as a print journalist, and many in the art industry considered Instagram a fad.
I stayed the course, using my social media (and experience as a magazine editor) to rebrand. At the same time, I saw my influence rise along with my Instagram following, and realized there was an audience for my particular expertise and independent point of view. Ten years later, Instagram is an essential tool for art professionals, and among my 54k followers I’m better known as an influencer than a writer. Along with my chronicles of the New York art world, I use my Instagram to promote my professional training services.
During the pandemic, I brought my classes online, and I teach now at residencies, schools, and arts organizations across the country over Zoom. My classes include Instagram for Artists, Crafting Your Artists Statement, Crafting Your Elevator Pitch: basically, the things they rarely teach in art school. I also offer online group classes on Eventbrite, as well as coaching to help arts professionals of all levels with everything from websites to press releases to LinkedIn profiles.
However Instagram evolves in the future, the ability to define one’s message and convey it in words and photos is an essential skill, no matter what part of the art business you’re in. Over the last decade, I’ve developed a distinctive mix of coaching, teaching, and mentoring that helps professionals of all levels to express themselves more effectively.
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.
You’ve heard of Museum Mile–but what about the Henry Street Corridor? (OK, I coined it.) This is the stretch of Lower East Side Galleries that span a street south of Canal (SoCan)? where you can find emerging artists and chatty dealers to explain the work. It’s the only gallery district open on Sundays! Some of my favorites are Latchkey, Situations, and 56 Henry, but there are dozens more in the surrounding blocks, along with interesting malls, coffee shops, and restaurants in Chinatown.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve met so many people through Museum Hue, an organization dedicated to advancing Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color in the cultural field.
Website: RobinCembalest.com
Instagram: @rcembalest
Image Credits
Sofía Shaula Reeser-del Rio
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
