We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Ransom recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jessica, thank you so much for joining us today. There are so many topics we could discuss, but perhaps one of the most relevant is empathy because it’s at the core of great leadership and so we’d love to hear about how you developed your empathy?
Throughout my life, I always knew I had my father in my corner. He had high expectations and expected me to do my best in all situations and to be reliable. As a high school guidance counselor, he knew many teenagers in our community and always stopped to engage with them in public. After he retired, I realized that he engaged openly with every person he encountered in daily life. When he died suddenly at only sixty-six, my world turned upside down. It took me months to feel like I was alive again. But one thing stuck with me. At his funeral I met many of the clients with whom he worked in his post-retirement criminal counseling practice. To a person, they told me that my father was the one who had listened to them or helped them when no one else would. That sounded true to my knowledge of my father. He was the person I would turn to when I wanted to share a story, be it good news or bad. There is still a hole in my heart, but each day I try to listen deeply to my family, friends, and to all the artists with whom I currently work, and I try to make a positive impact on their lives.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I curate and collect contemporary art. That is, art by living artists. Palm Beach County, like nearby Miami, has a well-established and ever-growing group of artists who work in a wide variety of media. I work with many of them in the 16 or so exhibitions that we hold at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County each year. Currently we have the pleasure of galleries full of women artists. Our group show She.Her.Hers showcases the evolution of women’s artwork since the early feminist works of Judy Chicago and other pioneering women artists. All of our six solo gallery artists this year are women artists, and their work includes mixed media assemblage, collage, photography, and sculpture among other media. We champion the artists who live in our community because they are independent businesses who help our community thrive. This year I will be expanding our reach with two exhibitions of Palm Beach County artists at the Miramar Cultural Center in Miramar, Florida.
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?
Reliability, precision, and a particular area of focus. You cannot be all things to everyone, but you can do your work to the best of your ability. Being the person who shows up on time, is prepared, and gets the agreed upon job completed goes a long way toward cementing your reputation in whatever field you aspire to. I spent a little over a decade working in analysis and worked hard to hone my writing skills. If you have twenty words or less to convey the most important information, you have to choose carefully. That goes for your personal bio or elevator pitch as well. Finally, being the expert in your field that people will choose to turn to requires focused research, preparation, and established connections.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always seeking opportunities to curate exhibitions outside of Palm Beach County. In order to build an artist’s career, they need to participate in exhibitions beyond their local community. This helps them build a broader audience of collectors as well as curators from museums that might not otherwise have access to their work. I would be ecstatic to co-curate an exhibition with someone from another part of the country who similarly works with artists based in their community and find commonalities and differences amongst the chosen artists.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.palmbeachculture.com
- Instagram: @palmbeachculture
- Facebook: @palmbeachculture
- Linkedin: Cultural Council for Palm Beach County
Image Credits
Headshot by Annett Meyer All other photos by Jacek Gancarz
