About Mindmarrow | Catherine Haley Epstein

Mindmarrow is an arts and culture blog launched in 2012 by Catherine Haley Epstein. This blog represents the vital space for slower thinking necessary in the vertigo of today’s “information” tsunami. The thoughts expressed here are a way of grounding, a way of questioning, and an attempt at brave thinking in the face of fast, bite-sized thoughts.

While the topics are mainly contemporary visual art and art practice, they are presented in a way that connects them less to the ‘Art’-specific world, but to the outside world of education, industry and community. What does it mean to think visually everyday? How do we learn through our eyes? How can contemporary visual arts be a powerful tool for discourse and movement through challenges? How is contemporary art similar to ancient art? What does it mean to be an artist working professionally? Isn’t everyone an artist?

The thread pulling the blog together is the emphasis on art as a verb, and art as a tool in learning and communication. You will not find party reviews, or gala reports here – there are many other sites doing this with aplomb. Here is sacred ground to ask the unquestioned, to explore the why not’s, and to uncover the simple and profound implications of visual art today whether the art is in the studio, a gallery, a museum, in a classroom or your kitchen sink.

Catherine Haley Epstein is a full-time writer, artist and curator. She serves on the Board of Directors of Visual Thinking Strategies, a non-profit based in New York City that has developed a proprietary program to teach children to think critically using fine art.   She is a lifelong advocate for arts in schools, and has worked with organizations such as Right Brain Initiative, Levi’s Strauss Youth Arts Program, the De Young Museum and Southern Exposure, on projects and in advisory roles to advance learning through the arts. As a gallery owner she was featured in the New York Times about her change of direction from a successful management-consulting career. As an artist she has exhibited throughout the US, and has attended residencies at Vermont Studio Center, the Headlands Center for the Arts and abroad in Montespertoli, Italy. She is a member of the Long Now Foundation and Americans for the Arts, and she continues to collaborate with artists and writers here and abroad on unique initiatives that explore intersections between art and other disciplines.

 

I am an artist and mother by nature and have had many callings:
Arts advocate
Lifeguard
Copy editor
Runner
Curator
Sales associate
Management consultant
Board member
Ice cream scooper
Triathlete
Producer of new media
Interior designer
Project manager for branding and major marketing deals
Art dealer
Soccer player
Writer
Public relations associate

I believe:
Art is a verb.

I wish:
All children have an education in arts, urban development and agriculture
There is peace in the world
Women start taking more leadership positions and stop imitating men
People are not hungry, in a food way
People are hungry, in a compassionate and engaged way
Artists may be supported in a philosophical and financial way so they can do the work they have been given to do

I love:
Art, books, community, kindness, nature, learning, music, beautiful hearts and minds, looking at things in 360 degrees, painting, travel, drawing, sunshine and rain

Contact: catherine@mindmarrow.com

CV here.

Portfolio here.