tuning in from asheville, north carolina this week which is why our regular programming is off by a few days. the quantity of green is almost suffocating in a pleasure way and my eye has a hard time scrambling for a horizon line among the dizzying parade of pines and mountaintops. there's something about being nestled in a mountain that makes you feel extra sheltered from the outside world, which i am trying to graciously accept for a few days before i'm thrust back into new york.
my cultural reporting is low: lately a deep sense of gratitude for the winding road of life's path: i first came to asheville when i was working with today's push pick, who ran moogfest for years. visiting the moog museum dusted off a dormant pride in working with such remarkable talents and visionaries experimenting in reinventing sound. it feels so appropriate to introduce you all to adam katz while i'm in black mountain college country (although who doesn't know adam katz! come on now).
now adam: he is one of those rare people who simultaneously posseses cerebral contemplation as well as an ability to party. but seriously, somehow he manages to be really heady but also joyful, down to earth, and a pleasure to be around. there are not many people who negotiate these two modes of existing simultaneously. i feel really proud of the work we've done together and also love our casual family hangs (epic beach day in ventura during quarantine, stands out in particular).
before we dive into adam's picks (*the answer to what kind of life do you want to live is particularly moving to me) and i'd like to let you know that there are about 4 push hats left and a new work by Kristina Lee in the push store! now without further ado, adam katz.
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Adam Katz is a community-minded business leader and brand strategist. He currently runs In–Practice, a consultancy dedicated to scaling and sustaining creative businesses and nonprofit organizations. He mentors artists, technologists, and entrepreneurs impacted by the carceral system, and he also serves on the board of Union Docs, a nonprofit center for documentary art. From 2011 until 2023, Adam was Founder / CEO of Imprint Projects—an award-winning post-advertising creative agency. Adam developed long term partnerships with globally dominant brands like Google, Lego, Levi’s, Sonos, Spotify, and Vans, and nonprofits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Museum of Modern Art. This work was lauded by industry arbiters like AdAge (Best Small Agency, Best Agency Culture, Best Experiential Agency) and The Drum (Experience Agency of the Year, Brand Activation of the Year).
Between 2013 and 2018, Adam was President and Creative Director for Moogfest, a 40,000-person experimental electronic music and technology festival in North Carolina. Until its closing in 2021, he was co-owner of Family Bookstore in Los Angeles. Before his professional turn, Adam studied semiotics and media theory at Brown University, organized independent art and music shows, and gigged between a range of museums and arts nonprofits. Adam lives in East LA with his incredible wife, two kids and a dog.
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what kind of life do you want to live?
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My main squeeze right now is In–Practice.
My mission is to weird Capitalism by helping creative, critical, and community-minded people find success in business.
I love being a independent consultant, and I am so lucky to partner with other purpose-driven leaders, founders and CEOs.
Through conversation and co-creation, I help (re)articulate personal and professional goals, align strategic priorities, and adopt plans for growth and community impact.
I have retainer clients that I meet with weekly, supporting their leadership and teams with everything from mission and vision, to org design, operations, and business development.
I also offer hourly consulting on a sliding scale, so that I can continue working with independent artist-run startups, and large corporate clients alike.
I don’t have a website or any socials, but if people are interested in learning more, they can write me directly at adam@i-p.consulting
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adam's social impact project
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For the last 5 years I have been involved with Defy Ventures, a national nonprofit that provides entrepreneurship training and support to individuals who have been impacted by the carceral system. Defy Ventures equips participants with the skills and mindset needed to start and grow their own businesses. The organization also offers reentry support services to help individuals successfully reintegrate into society after release from prison. Through volunteering and working with Defy Entrepreneurs in Training, I have learned so much, been motivated and inspired, and am regularly moved to tears.
Donate! Or Volunteer to attend one of the truly transformative in-prison or community-based events.
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If you’re in New York, go see “Light from the Other Side” with Zoe Beloff on May 9 at Union Docs. I haven’t seen the two films she’ll be screening, but they are stereoscopic black-and-white 16mm, and everyone gets 3D glasses! Both films explore the origins of cinema from a feminist and psychological perspective. I’ve followed Zoe’s work since being entranced by her 2017 installation at the Coney Island Museum which presented the Coney Island Amateur Psychoanalytic Society, 1926-1972. Much of her art playfully, critically, provocatively walks the line between truth and fiction, and I love that this media artist also holds a faculty position at Queens College in the Communications and Marketing department – what is real anyway?!
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adam's article of the week
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Why Read Peter Drucker? by Alan Kantrow
From the HBR Magazine (November 2009)
I’ve become a little obsessed with Peter Drucker, the most famous thinker in business and management – and nobody I know seems to know who he was or what he wrote. I think he is especially relevant for artists who are engaged in any kind of commerce.
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Salad For President - Toppers! My wife and I are just launching this new food product that she developed. We have two flavors available: Thai Coconut Crisp, and Parmesan Pizza Party. Currently only in “sneak peak” mode, distributed to specialty markets around LA and NY, but planning to have larger scale commercial production before the end of the year. We’re also developing salad dressing packets. Our mission is to get people to eat more salad, and to feel more creative and confident in the kitchen.
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I love all bread. I’m a total carb face. But I recently discovered Stecca which means stick in Italian. Somewhere between a small baguette and a focaccia. I love these pocket loaves.
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and a few picks from push...
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for my fellow gluten consumers- apparently this was voted best baguette in nyc
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i'd always choose maple over honey so this had me clicking to learn more about decolonizing maple syrup!
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everything about this song.
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we hope you are warming up and that you enjoyed another installment of push picks. as always, if you like what you read, forward it to someone or encourage them to sign up. it would mean the world to us 🌎
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