I define myself as a neo generalist. I am both specialist and generalist, as I master several disciplines while still having an eclectic and generalist outlook.
I work in the field of contemporary art, I work in the field of craft beverages and I work as a foresight researcher as well as a creative content strategist.
Being a generalist today is a new form of knowledge brokering.
In a historical context, clusters of knowledge formed around a craft or discipline have played a major role in the development of societies. Murano [a group of islands north of Venice, ed.) became a center for glassmaking in the 13th century when the Venetian Republic ordered glassmakers to settle on the islands, fearing that fires could destroy the inner city’s wooden buildings. It is, however, not the hoarding of knowledge that produces important innovations. It is when ideas are shared, discussed and built upon in a diverse network of individuals and organisations that breakthrough innovations happen. The invention of greenhouses, spectacles, microscopes, telescopes and the camera all depended on utilising glass in new ways. But it was not the glassmakers of Murano that came up with these innovations. They did not have the imagination, ingenuity or skills to apply their specialised knowledge to other domains. The lesson to take away, is that information spillovers depend on people who can cross boundaries, bring a broader perspective into consideration and apply existing knowledge in a different context.
The Neo-Generalist, by Kenneth Mikkelsen and Richard Martin, 2019 (English Edition)
I build bridges between people, ideas, concepts. I inhabit the space between particular fields — a vulnerable position filled with precarity, yet richly rewarding and advantageous for my clients. There are fields I know well already, others I need to discover totally. I pull together fragments, assemble puzzle pieces and cast nets over multiple topics according to the challenges my clients bring to me.
CRAFT BEVERAGES
I am passionate with everything and anything liquid and hence started a trend and education platform on liquors named Spiritsfully whilst organizing lectures and masterclasses for Craft Spirits Berlin or podcast series for Artisan BarCamp as well as a growth hacking consulting company for craft beverage producers with the Beverage Bureau.
FORESIGHT STUDIES
In 2018, I started Mycelium, a Neo-generalist creative studio to strategically position my wide network of experts, my eclectic education* and my capacity to create connections to service foresight and prospective teams. Today we help our clients define their research directives and methodologies, lead research and develop compelling ways to convey results to their stakeholders.
ART AND IDEAS
I am developing curatorial (Pro-Choice, Momentum) and discursive (Goethe in the Skyways) events as the co-editor-in-chief and the co-founder of Petunia, a feminist and intersectional magazine on art and culture that has been operating since 2009. I am also the co-founder of the think tank Making spaces, which gathers networks of women in architecture and urban development, among other.
*MA in Political Sciences, MA in Sociology (DEA Sociologie Economique), MA Certificate in Museum Studies, BA in Art History, a WSET Diploma Level 4 in Wines and Spirits, certifications in Design Thinking, Market Research and Strategic Foresight, both in France (Science Po, EHESS, Lilles 3, CNAM), Great Britain (WSET) and the US (NYU, Darden, Davis University)