“My guiding principle is..” — Gioia Fonda

“My guiding principle can be summed up in the four words ‘Make Shit and Show Up’. Here’s what that means: I believe the studio practice component is essential, people need to just get in there and make stuff and not really question what or why they’re making it. Don’t keep talking about what you’re making, just make it, make a lot of it, and get better at it, AND, make stuff that’s important, meaning challenging to you and intentional. No phoning it in. The show-up part is the part that I didn’t do well in college. Now, I understand you have to be part of the community. No one’s going to care about what you’re doing unless you care about what other people are doing. You have to go to other people shows and go to the galleries. You need to get to know the galleries before you approach them. You need to participate, you need to help other people, and you need to let other people know what you’re doing because they’ll invite you to participate in things.” — Gioia Fonda