Ruth-Ann Thorn has over 30 years working in the fine art world. She is a Native American woman, art dealer, curator, agent, and documentary filmmaker. Ruth-Ann has been solidified by her ability to continually find unique artists and bring them to an international audience. She combined her expertise and love for art to produce Art of the City, a docuseries, which explores the lives of the most influential living artists today.
Art of the City brings exposure to artists through Ruth-Ann’s travels across the United States interviewing known and famous artists who have resided in a specific city for 20 plus years. The focus of the docuseries is the impact that nature versus nurture has on an artists’ work. Ruth-Ann explores the story behind each artist, how they arrived at their home city, what is extracted from their surroundings, and what they’re giving back to the world.
For Ruth-Ann, Art of the City is a passion project. She says, “I have always wanted to do a documentary series on artists that are making an impact on the world. I have chosen cities that have a unique cultural quality to them as well. Beginning in my hometown of San Diego, I interviewed prominent artists from diverse backgrounds; James Hubbell, Victor Ochoa, Michael Flohr, and Gloria Lee.”
She then traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico because of the indigenous artists that reside there. Santa Fe is a mecca for Native American collectors. The Indian market runs for one week and produces $1 billion in sales annually. She chose artists Nocona Burgess, Roxanne Swentzell, Georgia Rivera, and Raymond Nordwall to interview.
“New Orleans has been my favorite city so far! New Orleans has such a cross cultural environment and rich history that it was hard to choose what artists to interview. Artists interviewed are Willie Birch, Michael Guidry, Molly Maguire “Magwire”, James Michalopoulos, and Brandon “B-Mike” Odums.”
The premise behind her interviews and the question most asked is “why did you choose to live in this city for over 30 years? And if you chose to live somewhere else would your artwork look different?” Her docuseries can be seen on YouTube here.Â
