The Art Wheel Co: The Business of Creativity
Art and business are two entities that when combined can make for a significant impact.
Farida Abushady, founder of AFH Designs a jewelry brand for the bohemian soul, has ventured off on a project that, we at Radical believe, is on to something huge.
With a background in visual arts and communication, Farida has always had a love for the creative process. For the use of different media in a variety of ways such as painting, sculpture, graphics, design and photography in order to produce artistic pieces that resonate with people.
Upon founding her jewelry label a few years ago, she decided to register it here in Cairo, Egypt as a legal business. However, instead of registering AFH Designs, she decided to name her creative ‘entity’ The Art Wheel Co.
I believe in the power of visualization. In that, if we think about something, really truly work for it and are sure it will happen; then eventually somehow, someway, it will come to life.
The concept behind The Art Wheel Co. is simple and intuitive. The idea is for it to serve as a cultural hub for businesses looking to collaborate with artists of any shape or form, a directory of sorts, a place to find the perfect artist that suits your needs as a business entity. Be it a restaurant, yoga studio, hotel, personal office or other. Designers, photographers, painters and creatives can share their work, sell it online, and allow a trusted team of professionals to manage the ‘business and PR’ side of being an artist.
Currently, The Art Wheel Co. only exists online and through specific freelance bookings. Their first successful event happened a few weeks ago at Andiamo, a 5 star restaurant and bar at The Grand Hyatt hotel where Farida works as a Marketing Executive.
Wanting to elevate Andiamo’s interior art collection, Farida searched for artists in Dubai that could be of interest for the business to collaborate with. She came across Justin Mcmahon, a Dubai based graffiti artist who has previously worked with Chanel and Urban Decay.
Working together under the The Art Wheel Co. Justin was able to produce 6 custom made pieces of Italian inspired graffiti art for Andiamo. You can find the six pieces throughout this article; the project was titled The Italian Job.
The idea is for both the artist and business to mutually benefit from the power of collaboration. Farida is currently based in Dubai, however moving back to Cairo by the end of this year, I believe that The Art Wheel Co. will help further elevate our creative industry through encouraging as well as managing fruitful collaborations between talents in the region.
“Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.”
