PR for the People Spotlight: Jean Chen | Inkblot Gallery

This is a series of interviews with participants in PapaLoDown’s ‘PR for the People workshop’. Hear first hand from amazing people and organizations, who are learning how to amplify their stories in the news, grow their visibility and attract new opportunities.

Meet Jean Chen, artist and co-owner of Inkblot Gallery in Alamada, CA

Inkblot Gallery Team - (L-R) Chris Rummell, Emily Brock Lewis, Jo Anne Yada, Jean Chen, Marcy Voyevod

What is your background and experience?
I’m one of the owners and artists at Inkblot Gallery in Alameda, Ca. We are a small independent gallery and we showcase art by local and upcoming artists. We’re in our 4th year and it’s been really fantastic to have a space that brings together artists and folks in Alameda. I was a tattooer for 10 years prior to running Inkblot and before that, I was a youth media website editor. I also majored in biology in college. So I have a pretty diverse and varied background! I’m a former board member of Kearny Street Workshop, the oldest multi-disciplinary Asian American arts organization in the country, and I was one of the co-founders of their APAture arts festival. 

What is the current Public Relations (PR) campaign you're working on about?
The shelter in place due to the COVID-19 virus caused us to temporarily shut our gallery. But then we realized that we could still show art in our storefront windows! So we moved our gallery from the walls to the windows. We’re really excited to continue showing art, especially because it’s something people need right now. We have a lot of folks walking by the gallery, looking for a connection to the larger community.

What goals do you hope to accomplish through this PR campaign?
I would like people to find out about our art gallery and feel inspired. Things are hard right now for just about everyone, but maybe if people see that artists are still creating and our little gallery is still able to show art, they won’t feel as hopeless. We’re still chugging along, so can you. Things are still happening! Positive things are out there.

How has the experience of pitching and working with media to amplify the stories in your PR campaign been like so far?
The shelter in place forced me to pivot and figure out not just a new story angle to pitch, but a new business model for our gallery. It’s been a little bit of a rollercoaster, but I’m hanging in there and was successful in getting it done. As a result, I’m a little behind in our schedule and I’m still working on writing a press release. But learning how to put together an effective pitch has been really satisfying.

What are a few things you know now about PR that you didn't know before you started?
You have to be super organized! It makes sense now, but it wouldn’t have occurred to me before to use a spreadsheet to keep track of contacts and pitches. And I’m using new tech tools that I hadn’t utilized before, like Google Alerts, Google web analytics, Slack, and Zoom. I’m still working up the nerve to be on Twitter on a regular basis because now I know that’s where the journalists are.

What other projects are you working on that we should have on our radar?
It’s all about Inkblot Gallery right now! I’m excited about our window art shows. We have a really excellent line up of artists coming up, like tattoo artist Rocio Arteaga. In September I’m planning to curate a show of comic artists, which will include work by me. In the meantime, I would encourage people to come to our gallery and see what we have going on in our windows. Alameda is a great place to walk and bike, so stop by on your outing. We’re open 24-7 now!