Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jordan Martins. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Jordan with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I get my work ethic from being the oldest son of an immigrant parent. My dad emigrated from Cape Verde, West Africa in his late teens. My maternal grandma emigrated from Trinidad. As an older brother and third culture kid, I have always been relied upon since an early age. I also grew up poor in the inner city (raised between Brockton, Fall River, and New Bedford, Mass.). Those weren’t the easiest or safest places to grow up, so a lot of my hustle and grit comes from the circumstances I was born into. I had to get it by any means, and most times relied on myself to get it done.
I am also inspired by the work ethic of my mentors and the people I keep around me (“Birds of a feather flock together”). One of my good friends, design mentor, and collaborator, Mike Toney, has a phrase, “Draw every day.” He keeps his Cintiq drawing tablet with him at all times and even draws during the previews at the movies. I got an iPad Pro in Fall 2019, and it changed my workflow. I have carried it everywhere ever since. I am always ready to work or at least capture ideas during downtime. Myself and Mike call it, “the time in-between.” Especially when taking the train in the NYC area or while traveling via train or airplane. I get a lot of work done and some of my best ideas come while in transit. Now I catch my assistant working during train rides, I’m rubbing off on her.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I currently develop and teach workshops on financial literacy and college readiness through my strategy and design company, Screens Shift Culture LLC. I have partnered with community organizations, schools, colleges, and municipalities across the East Coast. Screens Shift Culture does strategy, business development, and grant writing for artists, business and non-profit organization clients. In 2023, we raised $100K+ in grants between clients and our organization. In 2024, we are working closer with the artist community, and have grant clients across the East Coast, North Carolina, and soon West Africa. I currently manage and execute a wide range of projects, including large-scale art events and educational programming. A lot of that is done business-to-business, or client-facing work. Our most public-facing project is called The Pop-Up Art Fair.
The Pop-Up Art Fair is an art event series spotlighting a diverse array of artists and uplifts and celebrates the unique cultures found throughout the New York metro area. We have done a variety of artist vendor markets (“Pop-Up Bazaars”) and gallery shows (“Pop-Up Galleries”) with an intergenerational and multicultural group of artists. The platform is built on blending art and entrepreneurship, and we offer training, resources, and workshops to our participants.
In 2023, we did several large-scale and community events. At Newport Centre, we did a store takeover, transformed a former Coach location into an art gallery, and ran a two-day artist and apparel market at the mall. At our Fall Festival event, we converted a 4600 sq. foot warehouse in Williamsburg into a gallery and wellness experience, along with a vendor market with wellness and plants.
For 2024, we are working on new partnerships with art institutions and spaces, expanding our support for artists in the NYC metro, and expanding programming across the East Coast. We will also do open calls for collaborative art projects, along with producing products alongside artists and like-minded brands.
I started the Pop-Up Art Fair in 2019, with the pilot event in Gowanus, Brooklyn, at a community space. The first event was with a group of young artists 16-24 who worked in art programs I used to manage. They generated close to $4000 in sales in 3 hours.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Humility. Can you humble yourself to evaluate your shortcomings? Can you admit what you do not know? Some of the smartest people are honest about what they do and do not know. By being open about what you do not know, and being someone eager to learn, you can find the answers to most questions. Are you comfortable being the least educated in the room? That’s how you learn. If you’re the smartest in the room, it’s time to find a new room.
Eagerness to Learn. We live in a time where most answers are at our fingertips. If anything, the hardest thing is discerning which things are true and not true (especially with artificial intelligence scraping data with a lack of fact-checking). If you search hard enough, there are videos or recaps on tons of topics. Or low-cost ways to read the information yourself. It’s never been easier. I’m a millennial, so I remember when the Internet and social media were young. I had encyclopedias as a kid (physical and CD-ROM versions) and used my library card a decent amount. When I design programming for young people, I encourage them to do research with books and sources besides Google or social media searches. I also encourage writing things out versus strictly digital.
Passion and Lack of Fear. I am pretty fearless in pursuing my goals. I think it comes from being broke early on in life, and knowing I have the skills to build something from scratch. The confidence you get from creating something by yourself is something that no one can take away from you.
I always look for passion in the people I work with. Most other things can be taught along the way. Are you eager and passionate about what you do? Will you actively work towards that? Do you view it as a pursuit and core to your identity?
I got my start doing college radio at 17 years old. One year into my college radio career (at WRBB 104.9 FM), I interviewed famous rappers like The Clipse. It came from networking with label contacts, being consistent and breaking new music with a quality show, and doing favors for one of my mentors at our station, Stephanie Officer (who now works for Inside Edition and NYC’s 92.3 FM). You have to love what you’re doing enough to do it unpaid or low-paid. My first big internship was at COMPLEX as an editorial intern. I started unpaid before becoming a staff writer while still an undergrad.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am for sure looking to work with more artists on Pop-Up Art Fair-related projects in 2024. I am a big fan of zines and want to do quarterly art projects along those lines. They will likely have a digital and physical element. We also collaborated on apparel last year, I am open to Creative Direct on some projects alongside brands.
We are also looking to host Pop-Up Art Fair events in more spaces this year. We are open to doing this on the East Coast and beyond. We are having conversations with various art institutions and even some internationally-based artists about events. I would love to do more store or space takeovers, we have taken meetings along those lines as well.
I design educational programming through Screens Shift Culture and would love to do more curriculum design work on anything related to art, social justice, entrepreneurship, or financial literacy.
I was the Creative Director of a mural project alongside 8 other artists in 2023, but unfortunately, the corporate sponsor pulled out of the agreement at the last minute. We use a technique that allows our murals to be mobile and fit into unique spaces. If you would like a mural and want an artist-led project, please reach out to Screens Shift Culture. The past mural is for sale and centers around trains and transit in the New York metro (MTA + PATH). I do not believe in generic or cookie-cutter projects, and always tap into local communities when doing work. So please be aligned if you are reaching out.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://campsite.bio/popupartfair
- Instagram: @Jordan_Martins
- Other: Instagram: @PopUpArtFair
Image Credits
All photos taken by Reena Rose Sibayan, Jennifer Brown, Nylah Hindsman or Jordan Martins for Pop-Up Art Fair.
