ArtStack: Curation and Social Image Sharing Refined. Interview with Co-Founder, Ezra Konvitz.

“It’s as much a research and educational tool as a source of inspiration & a way to keep track of art.”
– Ezra Konvitz, co-founder of ArtStack.

Lately I’ve come to enjoy an image-sharing site geared specifically toward art: ArtStack. To say ArtStack is like “Pinterest for artists and art fans” is at once accurate and also a gigantic undersell.

What you might see in your ArtStack feed once you follow some cool artists.

Yet, I wouldn’t have found ArtStack if not for seeking out artsy images on Pinterest, many of which happen link back to their sources at ArtStack. It’s true that Pinterest,Instagram, Flickr and so many other sites have genuine art mixed in, but that’s not their specific focus. ArtStack fills that niche, mixing an appreciation for the arts with social functionality and discovery.

And here’s another cool thing about getting in on an up-and-coming site like ArtStack: I had a technical question and emailed for help. Who writes me back but one of the site’s co-founders? Ezra Konvitz personally answered my query with a detailed and thoughtful reply (Jack Dorsey of Twitter does not often do this, I would guess). So I took the opportunity to find out more about the site directly from the definitive source. I hope you enjoy our conversation, and definitely encourage you to check out ArtStackfor yourself.

Interview with Ezra Konvitz, ArtStack Co-Founder

rsmithing: ArtStack seems similar to, though not the same as, other image-based curation sites like Pinterest or Instagram. What are the key distinguishing philosophies setting ArtStack apart?

Ezra Konvitz, Co-Founder of ArtStack

Ezra Konvitz: ArtStack is a community dedicated to art – so the content, design and features are all focused on making it the best place to discover, share and remember art. The platform is used by artists and art professionals, so you can follow leading museum directors, artists, curators, gallerists, collectors and other art lovers to see the art they like and find more works by your favorite artists.

A key element of the platform is that each work is categorized by artist – that means you can see all the works by the artist on the platform and stay updated when new works by that artist come onto the site.

Similarly, works are labelled by the community with other relevant art information, like the year, museum, gallery, etc. – giving you infinite possibilities for exploration. It’s as much a research and educational tool as a source of inspiration and a way to keep track of art.

rs: You’re a relatively young destination on the Internet. How have things been going as a new venture?

EK: It’s hugely exciting to see people engaging with art online and often having offline art experiences as a result.

rs: Has public reaction to the site been as you expected?

EK: We’re thrilled that the community is now in 170 countries – art is a fundamental across the world and people love to share and discover new works, wherever they are. We’ve now launched the platform in English, Spanish and Chinese!

rs: Has the backlash to sites like Instagram (Terms of Service issues) or Pinterest (copyright issues) brought traffic to ArtStack?

EK: Yes. More and more people are making ArtStack their daily go-to window for art and inspiration, and we’ve heard from some artists and curators that they now refuse to use any other social platform. That said, Instagram and Pinterest are great generalist sites – we’re simply dedicated to making it easy for more people to see more art and we’re happy to be helping people who are passionate about art. We’ll always do that in the best way possible for artists and the ArtStack community.

rs: What’s been the biggest surprise for you so far with the site?

EK: The popular appetite for discovering art! We set up ArtStack because we wanted to find more art and thought the best way would be through the people we know. We started out by just inviting our friends and it’s really blossomed!

rs: Without giving away too much, what can we look for in the future? Any new features or promotion plans?

EK: We’re working on more languages and seeing huge appetite for our mobile app. You can download it free here:

ArtStack: There’s an app for that.

Thanks, Ezra for an inside look at ArtStack!

What do you think? Ever heard of ArtStack? Have you been turned off/on by image-based networks like Pinterest or Instagram? What are other sites you frequent for visual inspiration & sharing? Let us hear from you in the conmments.

Related articles

• A Thank You From ArtStack (artistmarketingresources.com)
• 100 Magnificent Collages – From Creepy Creations to Collage Art Pieces (TrendHunter.com) (trendhunter.com)
• Can Pinterest Help Your Art Get Better? (willterry.blogspot.com)
• Bring Art into Your Everyday Life: 7 Tips to Art it Up (psychcentral.com)
• ArtStack: making collectors of us all by Matthew Caines (guardian.co.uk)