Danielle Glosser is the founder of Client Raiser, which helps to advance artists' careers, for example, by obtaining gallery representation, exhibitions, grants, and new sales opportunities. The D.C. business, launched in 2014, also assists homeowners and businesses with purchasing art.
How does Client Raiser support artists? Client Raiser supports artists with their business development in three ways. We start by assessing the business side of an artist’s practice, including reviewing their marketing materials and a one-on-one interview to understand their goals and how to reach them. We also represent the artists on our roster to assist them in obtaining new opportunities and contacts, which may include selling their work, securing exhibitions, or creating a community with other artists. Finally, we offer artists workshops on business-related topics and build interest in collecting art through educational events for the general public.
What was your previous career and how did it translate to the art world? My previous career was in the social justice arena. I worked in the private, nonprofit and government sectors primarily on race issues. My expertise in strategic planning, project management, research, writing, and networking came from years of working and building relationships, including work with schools serving low-income communities of color in Oakland, California and The White House. These professional opportunities — coupled with my personal belief that the arts are central to igniting conversation and enhancing human understanding — have translated into my ability to help artists with the business elements of their practices and to share their work with the world.
Have you found artists to be business savvy? Or are those two sides of the brain incongruous? The savviness of artists on the business front is as diverse as their fine art itself. Some of the 150-plus artists that I have assisted come from a corporate background with Fortune 500 companies, while others received their MFAs from the best art schools in the country. The skill sets developed along their varied paths are beneficial in different ways and, therefore, not incongruous. However, I think the most important business skill for artists to develop and master is networking.
Do you recall, even as a child, the first piece of art that made your jaw drop? The first piece of art in which I experienced utter delight was in my high school’s photography lab. The teacher had a small wall filled with self-portraits of what seemed to be his favorite students. They were all black and white shots taken on the campus of our boarding school in Northern California. I became enamored with photography at that moment which has been an everlasting love.
What’s on your museum bucket list? While I’ve had the opportunity to travel extensively, I missed the Ufizzi Gallery in Italy as well as the Prado Museum in Spain, and I’d love to go to Russia to see the State Hermitage Museum. Domestically, I hope to visit Crystal Bridges in Arkansas, the Norton Simon Museum in California (his granddaughter is a client), and I still must hit the New Museum in New York City. However, my ultimate dream is to see the CIA Museum which is less than 10 miles from my home, but it’s not accessible to the public.
Locally, what’s a great off the beat museum or gallery that our readers might not know about, but should? I love the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Their mission is to present “art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself." The eclectic nature of this museum always provides something surprising, provocative, and fun. On the gallery front, I am currently collaborating on an exhibition with HOMME which showcases more than 30 exhibitions annually with local, national, and international artists at various stages in their careers. In addition to their flagship location, they host pop-up shows around town and the current one is at 2000 L Street NW through Jan. 9.
You were your town's Pac-Man champion in middle school. What’s the longest you’ve ever played a single game? In middle school, I remember telling my mother that I was going ice skating and spending all of my time at the rink playing Pac-Man. I don’t recall the length of any one game, but I certainly spent many hours and hundreds of dollars in quarters gobbling up yellow pellets.
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