Andrea Feldman Falcione ’83 has embarked on a career that has taken her from cataloging at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), to assistant curating at The Broad contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, to curating for Michael Ovitz, former President of the Walt Disney Company. Feldman Falcione now runs her own business as an art advisor, consultant, and curator based in Los Angeles.
“Primarily what I do is work with mostly individuals, and I help them build their art collections. It’s a combination of taking people around to art galleries, museums, art fairs, auction houses,” said Feldman Falcione.
Feldman Falcione’s career began after she graduated from Andover, attended Brown University, and worked at a number of internships. Ten months after graduating from college, Feldman Falcione landed a job as a cataloguer in the Department of Prints and Illustrated Books at MoMA. She credits the experience with being the most influential in her career.
“I never got a Master’s [Degree], but I feel like nine years in that department really covered all my bases when it came to having a really solid foundation in art history and what happened in the 20th century [in regards to art]. What came out of that gave me the most solid foundation to do anything in the arts,” said Feldman Falcione.
Building off her experience at MoMA, Feldman Falcione went on to work as an assistant curator at the Broad in Los Angeles. According to Feldman Falcione, an influx of curators came to Los Angeles following the opening of the Getty Museum and visited The Broad, giving her more networking opportunities.
“In this business, and I think probably in any business, the more connections you have, the easier it is to navigate. Whatever it is you need to do, the more people you have to call and ask for advice or ask a favor [makes it easier].” said Feldman Falcione.
Feldman Falcione hopes to continue developing her professional Instagram page in order to widen her network. A recent conversation she had with a woman working at a gallery inspired her to establish a business account that markets and showcases her artwork.
“This could be my website, even though it’s just a page that has [me,] a little bit about me, and a picture… My new project for Christmas break is to put together my professional Instagram account,” said Feldman Falcione.
As for advice that she would give to Andover students interested in pursuing a career in art, Feldman Falcione emphasized the importance of mentorship. She also stressed taking advantage of opportunities and building connections within the art world.
“One of the best things to do is to have a mentor [and], in your early career, do things that would really enrich the rest of your career… [It’s important] having mentors and people you can talk to about what you want to do and work with people that are really generous with their knowledge, whether it’s the museum world or collectors,” said Feldman Falcione.
