Superblue
At the height of the Covid-19 Pandemic, we—quite literally—built Superblue from the ground up.
Truthfully, most of us didn’t think we’d ever see opening day. But in an instant, one phone call condensed eight long months of throwing shit against a warehouse wall until something stuck. There’d already been half a dozen fake-outs, too many canceled flights back to NYC, one local government fine so ridiculous in its reasoning (there was a papaya on the ground) and comedic in its cost (add two zeroes to the number in your head). We’d all poured actual blood, sweat, tears, and soluble soap solution into making that space.
And on May 20, 2021, those irreverently heavy, and heavily-debated matte-filmed glass doors were finally made open to the public.
From Concept to Construction
Superblue was presented as a groundbreaking new enterprise dedicated to producing, presenting, and engaging the public with experiential art in response to the public’s rapidly growing interest. It pitched a new business model—one that promised to pay artists a percentage of the profit it made from ticket sales. Though considered a separate entity from Pace Gallery, it was cofounded by Marc Glimcher (President and CEO) and Mollie Dent-Brocklehurst (former Pace London President). Superblue planned to open experiential art centers filled with long-term installations by pioneering artists all over the world.
In August 2020, I joined Superblue’s founding team to oversee Ticketing & Marketing strategy and implementation. I was hired in their global offices, but all ten or so of us had only one goal ahead of us: build and open the first art center in Miami with installations by James Turrell, teamlab, and Es Devlin. There wasn’t a plan—we wrote the playbook as we went, but we were nimble and dynamic, relentless and resolute, fueled by an admittedly crazy optimism and initially-shared vision. From brand identity to website build; pricing strategy to first-year forecast; advertising launch strategy to user-generated content campaign; optimal attendee throughput to visitor services training; bathroom sign language to gift shop setup—we built, implemented, and tested frameworks and strategies from scratch.
Combining strategic vision with pragmatic implementation, I create operational frameworks that are sustainable, scalable, and impactful.
At Superblue, I was responsible for creating the tiered & timed-ticketing structure, pricing strategy, inventory, forecasts & projections in alignment with leadership’s revenue goals. I also led attendee, visitor services, & onsite event ops strategy, training, & implementation.
They’ve since implemented changes, but the original tiering & pricing structure is still intact.
I created, implemented, and scaled the full scope of Superblue’s tiered & timed-ticketing, pricing, inventory, forecast, event tech, and on-site event operations strategies in alignment with leadership’s revenue goals.
I was 26 years old when I was recruited and hired by Superblue. I approached the role with gratitude, grit, and a solutions-oriented mentality.
Title: Marketing & Ticketing Manager
Salary: Offered $86k, Negotiated $94k
In true Superblue fashion, we had less than 24 hours notice. But where there could’ve been panic, there was relief. I’m still surprised we did it—there’s a real fever dream quality to it all. But opening day was laced with camaraderie and a surreal sense of accomplishment I’m thankful for, one that I’ll always carry with me. Serendipitously, fifteen minutes after scanning Superblue’s first patron in, I got a call extending an offer for my next venture from another art & cultural center with just as much chaos, but seemingly much more heart. I didn’t accept the offer on the spot—there’s always room for negotiation—but by the time we’d closed our doors for the day, my resignation had been written.
Truthfully, most of us didn’t think we’d ever see opening day. But in an instant, one phone call condensed eight long months of throwing shit against a warehouse wall until something stuck. There’d already been half a dozen fake-outs, too many canceled flights back to NYC, one local government fine so ridiculous in its reasoning (there was a papaya on the ground) and comedic in its cost (add two zeroes to the number in your head). We’d all poured actual blood, sweat, tears, and soluble soap solution into making that space.
And on May 20, 2021, those irreverently heavy, and heavily-debated matte-filmed glass doors were finally made open to the public.
Make it stand out.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.