Are you a painter, filmmaker, dancer, chef, musician or writer? A manager or funder of the arts?

You have company! This coming February, the Wharton Arts Network (WhAN) has its inaugural event in an intimate and, of course, beautiful setting in Manhattan.

WhAN is co-chaired by three alumni — Neil Blumstein, W’78, Tricia Taitt, W’00, and Jill Krutick, W’84 — who professionally work in the arts and are intrigued by the idea of coming together with other like-minded alumni. Neil is the Director of DAG Modern’s gallery, located in the iconic Fuller Building on 57th Street in Manhattan. DAG Modern is devoted to Indian modern art. It was established in New Delhi in 1993, with galleries in New Delhi and Mumbai.

The three alumni held three prelaunch meetings in 2015 to understand members’ ideas for the group and to plan its inaugural meeting. As Neil explains, the group’s initial intent as artists, arts managers, art funders and supporters is to:

• ”Promote freelancers and entrepreneurs across six artistic disciplines: performing, media, literary, applied, culinary and visual arts. We want to involve all the arts in the broadest sense of the word.
• Highlight artists and creatives to the Wharton and larger Penn community who are making great strides in their disciplines.
• Educate fellow Whartonites on issues affecting the business of the arts.”

Tricia is a former Wall Street professional turned professional dancer and financial consultant to the arts. She provides financial education and accounting and financial management services to creativeprofessionals and their businesses through her company, Art & Money Matters. As Tricia says, her hope for WhAN is “that it grows into a great network of people with an affinity for the numerical and the creative; that we serve as a resource for one another.”

Jill grew into her calling as an artist after a full career as a top-ranked equity analyst at Citigroup — followed by a senior corporate role at Warner Music. She produces beautiful oil paintings on canvas that can be found in corporate and private collections across the country and at jskartstudio.com. Jill: “The WhAN is an energetic group of individuals who bring their talents and interests to a group that shares a common thread — love for the arts. This passion is what will help us design and create innovative events.”

To get involved or obtain information about the February event, please contact Neil at whartonarts@gmail.com.