We were lucky to catch up with AMY MITCHELL recently and have shared our conversation below.
AMY, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
I believe it is to share what you have that is most valuable with others…whether that be money, time, kindness or in the case of our nonprofit (Museum of Make Believe) shared storytelling through arts. Artists by their very nature are generous…they want to share their creations with the world! Art not only moves people, makes people pause and think more deeply, but it can also inspire others to make the world a better place. We are proud to be a part of this!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I started my journey on April 5th, 2020 when my husband, Geoff and I, officially announced the Museum of Make Believe. Now is a perfect time to step back and look at how far down the path we have travelled since then. First, we should tell you how the Museum of Make Believe came to be. Multimedia artist, Geoff Mitchell, grew up in the Deep South’s Gulf Coast with a long rich history of storytelling and on hot summer days, it was common to share local legends, tall tales and ghost stories. All of this narrative fueled his imagination and provided an array of subjects for his visual art that includes miniatures, paintings, music, short films, storybooks and more. What he loves the most about making art is that it carries on the tradition of storytelling and bringing out of the ordinary tales to life. Geoff and I founded the Museum of Make Believe as a place to keep this tradition alive. I have been a lifelong storyteller, creating new worlds and a cast of characters by putting pen to paper as soon as I learned to write, weaving ghost stories and fairy tales to accompany all of the artwork. After years of fundraising and hosting lively virtual and in-person events at shared spaces, we are ready to open our inaugural exhibit in Laguna Beach! This exhibit will be an immersive storybook forest setting as an introduction to Museum of Make Believe, featuring our exhibit, “Ghost Stories & Fairy Tales”.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
First and foremost, resilience. Any time you are setting out to develop something creative and new that relies on donations, it takes a lot of hearing no before hearing a yes. You have to be okay hearing that no and staying positive. That leads perfectly to my second quality … looking on the bright side, even when things aren’t particularly sunny. This isn’t always the easiest as it turns out creating a non-profit art museum is a massive endeavor with just about every pitfall you can imagine waiting to trip you up. But taking a deep breath and smiling through it will go a long way towards your path on the road to success. Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Admittedly, this is a hard one for me, but I am working on it! It is so important to be willing to admit when you need a helping hand and hopefully you are surrounded by plenty of good people that want to help!
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We are always looking for wonderful docents, storytellers, and artists to become a part of the Museum of Make Believe team! We believe in the power of telling nostalgic tales through the arts and if you do, too, reach out! Please feel free to visit our website to learn more at museumofmakebelieve.org then email us at info@museumofmakebelieve.org
Museum of Make Believe is dedicated to preserving the timeless art of storytelling within a uniquely creative environment unlike anything guests have seen before. Through entertaining and thought-provoking exhibits that offer a truly magical twist on the idea of seeing contemporary art, our dedicated staff and artists seek to inspire young and old alike with a warm feeling of something familiar and a reminder of childlike mystery; awakening feelings our guests may have forgotten and are longing to remember.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.museumofmakebelieve.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museumofmakebelieve/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuseumofMakeBelieve
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@museumofmakebelieve
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/geoff-mitchell-studio
Image Credits
Copyright Geoff Mitchell
