Art. Alarms. Anchovies. Before joining the Lee and London team, I had never worked in the field of public relations. Entering the office as the only male intern they have hired in the last two years seemed intimidating at first, especially in this new area of work. Large assignments were given to me right away, making me realize the importance of focus and multi-tasking in the fast-paced environment of public relations work.
The intimidation quickly disappeared, however, as the intelligent and passionate women of L&L PR immediately made me feel like part of the family. I was able to learn quickly and complete tasks such as press release drafting, graphic design, marketing pitches, and event planning. While I had minor experience in a classroom setting, seeing my work applied in the PR field’s real environment was awesome to witness. The feedback I have been given has made everything I’ve done very rewarding and encouraging as I move forward with this exciting experience.
Lee and London is annually hired to handle the PR outreach for Art San Diego, the largest contemporary fine art show in southern California. For its eleventh annual show, Art San Diego 2019, I was assigned as one of the leads for our efforts.
With the event moving to a new location at the San Diego Convention Center, there was much to be done. Within two weeks, I had received two email responses that thought I was spam, and I arrived to a 6:00am news segment shooting that had actually been cancelled the day before. Not exactly the best start. I knew I should have hit snooze on my alarm.
Despite the unfortunate events, the work I did helped lead to an amazing and successful show. With more than 85 galleries, art publishers, and artists from seven countries and 60 cities across the globe, a vast range of modern art was presented to an exciting crowd of art enthusiasts that raised over $11,800 for local charities.
The craziest thing I saw that weekend (by far) was the Oslo Sardine Bar, an interactive art exhibit that showcases two men serving sardines and Saltine crackers to anyone that stepped into their 8ft. X 10ft. shack in the middle of the Convention Center floor. This experience, along with tremendous wine (not too much) and a buffet of artisan cakes, made for an unforgettable night that made all the hard-work and early morning wake-ups worth it.
I realize that not all of the projects I work on in my career will be filled with as much excitement and unpredictability as the art show provided. However, no matter what I work on, I will always remember my time with Lee and London. Surrounded by talented individuals committed to making my time here a true masterpiece, it has truly been an amazing learning experience with an incomparable group of strong, smart women. I could not be more thankful for my time here so far, and I can’t wait to see where the lessons I’ve learned will take me in the future (hopefully more cake and less fish)!
