Horcelie Sinda in Conversation with Manuela Seve and Renata Thome
Alphaa Inc focuses on different aspects within the art world, most importantly, working with local and global artists to customise any space with artworks.
Founded by Manuela Seve and Renata Thome, Alphaa Inc acquires artworks through a range of sources to also tackle environmental and societal issues in the art world.
Renate Thome and Manuela Seve come from different educational backgrounds. Thome studied Art Business at Christie's and worked at Christie's auction, which gave her the pragmatic skills she needed for the art world. Seve studied Finance but got interested in art when working at her father's art gallery. Seve was always critical about the lack of opportunities in the art world and wanted to change it. They met in 2014 in Art Rio at the most significant art fair in Latin America. It was a teaching initiative in partnership with all galleries in Brazil. With like-minded ideas about partnerships and businesses in the art world, they started Alpha'a Inc. in Rio, Brazil, at the end of 2014. They expanded the company to the US in 2016 to attract a new market segment and, most recently, to the UK.
As an 80% female-led company, they differentiate themselves from other businesses in the art world. Besides working with local businesses to make art profitable for artists and consumers, their objective is to tackle the art world's environmental and gender equality issues. According to the businesswomen, the art market is 85% white males represented by galleries. There are two million artists in the US. Most of them do not have gallery representations, and 13% of living artists represented by galleries are women; 47% of those artists are highly discounted compared to their male counterparts. They looked at how they could improve conditions in the market and are consciously focused on placing females in the center of their projects. For instance, in their recent exhibition with Brazilian artist Alexandre Rehder, artworks were significant to oceanic issues on climate change. The collaboration sought to bring forward female-led from Latin America and their impact in the world.
For Thome and Seve, art is a universal language, and one does not need to speak to observe the message. They began to incorporate such philosophy as a form of "Artivism". It started in 2017 as a challenge when they partnered with oceanic global and tackled social and environmental issues. Since then, they have run campaigns for artists to collaborate and respond to a given topic. Artivism is a way to work with artists whose work brings some optimism, offers solutions, and brings awareness to the viewer. With presented artworks, their objective is to leave people with a deep appreciation of nature and a desire to change the things around them and make a difference. They ought to look for the viewer to establish a deeper connection and a stronger reaction. They want the art to create empathy; once the viewer connects with the work on a different level, the person sees the work differently.
Despite the rollercoaster of running a business, with their team they work with artists from underrepresented or less privileged backgrounds to create diversity and visibility. For the businesswomen promoting a collective of upcoming artists means less individual success or seeking the next Damien Hirst or Jeff Koon. It demonstrates that everyone can participate in these changes. Moreover, they introduced and launched Alpha'a Inc. Connect, where every artwork has a QR Code, with video content of the artists talking on their own. It puts a face behind the painting, creates transparency and diversity, such an approach facilitates the participation of communities and those who wouldn't otherwise appreciate art. Video content, for example, may enable those that are illiterate to gain an understanding of the artist's work.
Alpha'a Inc. uses blockchain to certify their artists and assists them in producing prints for businesses or clients. Artists give their reproduction rights for art pieces, and the company does the work through a supplier in Latin America and now in the UK and America. Alpha'a Inc. supports artists in every step and deals with the pricing. These artworks are produced explicitly in the country where the client is based, rather than shipping the work abroad. By doing so, it works to customise artworks sourced through local emerging and known artists. It is a new way to customise business spaces with affordable art. By working with local businesses, artists contribute to the e-commerce of their practices while also contributing to their communities. It provides artists with knowledge of the art world and a space to sell their works.
Finally, Alpha'a Inc. also focuses on how reproduction affects the environment by reducing its carbon footprint. Their method is different, and they are considered a business with the most extensive inventory-free art collective in the world. However, Alpha'a Inc. is not trying to compete with other businesses; they improve the production economy with their unique technique.
Images courtesy of Manuela Seve and Renata Thome.
Horcelie Sinda,
Contributor, MADE IN BED