Favorite Parts Of Working In Multiple Fields As A Visiting Assistant Professor And Artist
Patrick's career is defined by its fascinating diversity, encompassing "radically different materials, problems and people," from gallery shows and nonprofit work to creative direction at an AR/VR firm and curating the Auschwitz Study Foundation's archive of Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein's artwork. This variety allows Patrick to apply their creativity to meaningful work across multiple sectors, juggling projects ranging from intense cultural shadow work to futuristic fantasy world-building.
Creative Direction, Cultural Work, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Nonprofit Engagement, Arts Administration
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Patrick Michael Ballard
Visiting Assistant Professor
Artist
CSU Long Beach (2011)
California Institute of the Arts: MFA in Fine Arts
Fine Arts, Music
Arts, Entertainment & Media, Education
Education
Video Highlights
1. Patrick enjoys the diversity of his work, moving between fine arts, nonprofits, and creative direction at AR/VR firms. He appreciates the ability to apply his creativity to radically different materials, problems, and people across various sectors.
2. He highlights his role as creative director of the Auschwitz Study Foundation, where he works with the archive of a Holocaust survivor, showcasing the intensity and depth of his work with culturally significant materials. This contrasts sharply with his AR/VR projects, emphasizing the range of his creative endeavors.
3. Patrick values the challenge of juggling diverse projects across different industries, seeing it as a key aspect of his career satisfaction and a means of applying his creativity meaningfully across various fields. He actively seeks this variety and complexity in his work.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your industry?
It's funny because I feel like I'm in a lot of different worlds. I'm working on gallery shows or with nonprofits in the fine arts sector, and then I'm doing creative direction at an AR/VR firm, doing world-building.
What I love about not having a singular industry is that I get these back doors from one dimension of culture to another. I have the key to them and get to enter these different spaces and work with radically different materials, problems, and people.
I'm also the creative director of the Auschwitz Study Foundation. This involves working with the archive of Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein. He returned to the site of his internment and salvaged materials to make sculptures. These serve as teaching tools and storytelling objects about his Holocaust experience.
In my industry, I go from opening boxes filled with sculptures made from human hair of Holocaust victims. This is intense and involves deep cultural shadow work and facing trauma. Then, I'm imagining gang archetypes for a futuristic fantasy world at an AR/VR firm.
I like juggling these increasingly difficult differences. I've always wanted to be in many different industries and apply my creativity to all these fields, doing meaningful work within them.
Advizer Personal Links
https://www.patrickmichaelballard.com/, IG: @patrickmichaelballard, Bandcamp: LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-ballard-6742221bb