Giving Thanks

Yesterday evening we celebrated an Italianized Halal Thanksgiving at the University, making this the 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Celebration planned and organized by yours truly!  We were able to secure a halal turkey from the local butcher which was cooked by the family that runs the café under the castle.  The funny thing about ordering a turkey in Italy is that since it's such a rare request they are ridiculously expensive, (we're talking 50-70 euros) and they seem to interpret "stuffed" as "meat-stuffed" so our turkey had A LOT of halal sausage inside.  So that was fun.  And delicious.

italian sausage-stuffed halal turkey

green bean casserole

One of our administrative staff was in the States last week so I asked her to bring me back 2 boxes of Stove Top, for authenticity's sake, you know?  Ok, last year I made stuffing from scratch and that was a huge commitment so believe me with my schedule that wasn't happening again.  (In fact the President thanked me for the Stove Top because he said his mom used to make it when he was a kid.)  Seriously though, 5 minutes and you've got stuffing.  A Thanksgiving miracle!  What I spent most time on was my green bean casserole.  Green beans, cream of mushroom soup, but French's french-fried onions are non-existent here.  Hence I spent about an hour slicing, breading and frying those little buggers, but I must say it was a big hit at dinner.  One of my friends at school, an Iranian MBA student, was assigned mashed potatoes but he'd never made them before, so I made sure to send him an informative youtube video and they turned out great!  Oh, and the university's founder made a speech thanking me for my initiative in putting the party together.  *Blushes*

(back) Lindsay, me, Taraneh

(front) Javad, Fatemeh, Jennifer

our pilgrims and indians

roommate pic!

I'd definitely say it was a success -- another year of students, staff, professors and administration from all cultural backgrounds coming together to give thanks and share a meal.  It's a beautiful thing.   Really though, there's something inexplicable about the ability of food to bring people together, to make someone feel at home, to bring back memories, to create a family atmosphere, to inspire camaraderie.  I find it fun to share our staple cultural celebrations and traditions with people who have never experienced them before.  For instance my roommate Lindsay and I were invited to our neighbor's place for coffee this week.  There is a Moroccan family living on the first floor of our apartment building and they're some of the nicest people we've ever met.  Their daughter was mesmerized when I told them we'd be celebrating Thanksgiving, a holiday they'd only ever seen on TV and in movies.  

feeling like we're in Morocco.

They invited us to come over today and have cous cous with them, as the mother prepares it every Friday afternoon.  (How great is that?? It's like Spaghetti Thursday or Pizza Fridays in American families!)  Let me just say this was hands-down the best cous cous I've ever had in my life.  Not to mention that being in their apartment is like stepping into an exotic oasis with floor-to-ceiling tiles, colorful textiles and pillows on a wall-length couch, a running fountain and several stuffed pheasants mounted to the wall.  

north africa, just south of our apartment

cross-cultural gluttony.

The mom brought out a HUGE bowl of cous cous with veggies and lamb and everyone ate from their own corner of the cous cous mountain with big spoons.  In a way I felt like this was another sort of Thanksgiving meal, coming together with our neighbors that hardly knew us but wanted to share their culture with us without asking anything in return.  I'm feeling very thankful these days, for family and friends that support me (and take time to read my blog), for the opportunity to be living and studying in Italy, for getting the internship in New York.  Oh, and getting an email from my professor today stating his mother will be happy to host me for 4 months in NYC rent-free in her Central Park West apartment.  I am further convinced that there are an abundance of gracious individuals in this world, many of which I've seemed to find in the most unexpected places.  Yes, I'd say thankful would be the minimum expression of the way I'm feeling right now.

The Gamechanger

There comes a time in everyone's life when something absolutely unexpected happens. Actually, life is full of these little twists and turns, some larger than others, and the true test of our will is how we react and what we choose to do next. Maybe a loved one passes on, a baby comes into the picture, or, in my case, a badass internship somehow presents itself to you. That's right everyone, this week I accepted a position as a Spring intern for Christie's in New York, the #1 Auction house in the world!

© TripAdvisor.com

Now let's quickly rewind to this summer: *insert harp chords to signal memory sequence* It's a swelteringly hot June afternoon in Turin, I sit in my un-airconditioned room hoping for even the slightest breeze to enter through the open window. A frown has positioned itself upon my face along with a vacant stare through watery eyes. It's official. I've now been systematically rejected from three internships in the past few months. My irrational thought process is as follows: I'm a failure, I suck at life, I have no friends and family around, ergo I will never get a job and clearly no one will ever marry me. When it rains, it pours, and this summer it may have been hot outside but I had a raincloud over me, Eeyore style. I was lonely, homesick, dejected/rejected and working as a glorified personal assistant.  Ugh.

© Kippreport.com

Fast forward to today: *harp music* I am decidedly awesome. I got paid (a pittance) to work at an international art fair with a Dutch gallery in which I ended up successfully selling the 2nd edition of the artist's video work to an Italian collector (in Italian!)  I was still getting off that high when last Monday I received an email from Christie's about working in their Old Masters and 19th Century Art Department. I'd applied for the internship back in September on a whim (half expecting it'd be like the last THREE that have flat-out rejected me) because it was a "Winternship" so it would've been for 6 weeks over my Christmas holidays. Meaning if they were offering, I wouldn't be able to come home at all. Despite me being unsure about the timing, I decided it would be worth the experience.  

© MarilynMonroeCollection.com

Friday comes around and I have the interview at 8pm my time, 2pm their time. There were questions about my interests in the company, my master program, my thesis, etc - she was really impressed by my current degree and the international scope. She explained what my role would be and offered me the position with the start date of early January until mid May. There had been a clerical error on their part because I didn't apply for the Spring semester. I asked if there was a chance I could be considered for a Summer or Fall internship but she said if I graduated I was no longer eligible to be considered. Meaning it's now or never. She assured me they thought I was super qualified and they thought I would be an asset to the company. And when Christie's tells you you'd be an asset, well damn that makes you feel like a million bucks. Or pounds sterling, euros, yen, etc.

© elogedelart.canalblog.com

This, my friends, is the gamechanger. I mean, it's Christie's. Just having that experience would be like dusting my resume with powdered gold, you guys! GOLD! But I'll have to move from Torino back to Texas, find an apartment and move to NYC for 4 months, then move back to Torino to finish my thesis and remaining workshops. I talked with the administration at my university and everyone's very supportive and excited (also because it'll look great on their website) and they're going to give me a credit for "Art Market and Art Collecting" just by doing the internship, so that'll fulfill my last course requirement.

© jewelry01.blogspot.com

So, this is my life. It completely shifted directions in a matter of days. In a matter of weeks I won't be studying in Italy anymore, I'll be in New York City, that mythical island in the northeast where all those important people live and work. Consider this an open request for virtually pinching me because I still don't believe it.

Fairs, Festivals and Ferrero Rocher

I realized this week that every shitty job serves a purpose. Even if it teaches you a small, unexpected lesson.  This summer I did an internship in which I was working with an Egyptian artist in a residency program near Torino.  She was a pleasure to work with, even though most of the tasks involved being her personal assistant.  I admit I had hoped for more responsibility beyond translation and transportation.  Luckily she was very open and spent time describing her work to me in detail, explaining the ins and outs of the art market, and she even asked for my research and logistical help in executing the video artwork she completed in-residence.  I'd met an international artist, attended high-profile events and gotten a new perspective on the art world - I thought I'd leave the experience at that.

Artissima! giant fair pavilion featuring hundreds of international galleries

The artist had kept in touch with me over the past few months, and 2 weeks ago she emailed me about her involvement in the upcoming international arts fair in Turin, Artissima.  The fair is in its 18th year and continues to grow in prestige and popularity.  She was invited to participate in a competition among 15 other emerging artists from across Europe by displaying an artwork at the fair.  She wanted me to be there and help with the booth because I knew the work personally and watched her develop it this summer.  I of course said I was interested and her gallerist in Amsterdam said she'd be happy to have me and pay me a total of…. *drumroll please*… 50 euros!  For a whole weekend of work.  Let's not even try to do the math on that, ok?  Believe me, by now I've worked for so long sans payment that somehow pennies an hour seems like a blessing.  And I would have done it for free anyway just to gain some practical knowledge.

Artissima

Thursday I worked all day at the booth.  (Ferrero Rocher was a sponsor so naturally I've eaten at least my age in small spherical chocolate confections over the past few days.)  It was great to see the artist again, and her gallerist was such a pleasure to work with, she was only 29 years old!  I asked her about her education, interests, and how she managed her gallery in Amsterdam.  She happily answered all of my questions further debunked my theory that all for-profit arts professionals are aloof and elitist.  I stayed there talking with passersby who watched the video and held an interest in the artist's work - at one point I was discussing Egyptian superstition with a German collector and at another I was describing the artist's process (in Italian!) with an older couple from Venice.  Crazy!  Amazing!  :)

Artissima

I met an "artist liaison" at the fair who is working for White Cube gallery in London (huge!) and as it turns out she's originally from Texas (well, Dallas, and we all know what that means).  We talked a bit and she told me about working for another gallery in Rome for several years.  Ahhhh, too cool.  Among others I met some Milan gallerists, American curators, a Swiss art critic and a Spanish hypnotist/artist.  There was even a pavilion of designer cakes decorated each as an homage to a specific artist - gotta love edible exhibitions.

Art Cakes!

The judges for the emerging artist competition came by to talk to the gallerist and artist, see the video and her portfolio - it was fascinating to see the "fair dynamics" and the anxiety everyone felt in presenting the works.  By the end of the night, at the fancy invite-only opening party, it had leaked out "secretly" that our artist won the prize!  We were all so excited - this meant the artist would be awarded 5,000 euros by illy (the coffee company) and the opportunity to design a limited edition mug!  This was so overwhelming for everyone, especially the artist because this signals a big turning point in her career to be recognized this way.

Artissima

There was a small press conference the next day, and I made sure to be there.  It's crazy to think that this summer I was toting her around Turin in a car, helping her communicate at events in Italian and collaborating on her video production which was then given the only prize awarded at this huge international contemporary art fair.  How cool is that??  Even today the news just got better because her gallerist sold the first edition of the video to a Dutch collector.  So exciting!  It's great when things come full circle and you can be there to see a project succeed in the most positive way.

And the winner is...

I suppose I could mention that this weekend I've ALSO been volunteering at Paratissima, an "off" festival in an artsy/multicultural neighborhood in Torino that's an alternative response to the commercialism of Artissima.  I figured if I wanted to really learn something I might as well do both, get the experience from the for-profit art market side, then the non-profit grassroots side.  I feel as though these past few days have been very necessary to supplement my theoretical education thus far.  In fact I ran into two of my professors at the show and they were proud of me for taking the initiative to find my own way into these events for the purpose of gaining experience.  One more day of work at Artissima then it's back to the books because I haven't studied all weekend.  Though oddly my biggest worry right now is weening myself off the free Ferrero Rocher...