Check Out Wendy Hickey’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Hickey.

Hi Wendy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
In 1998 I began my corporate career in the billboard advertising industry in sales and management.

In 2002 I joined a local arts council board of directors in Pennsylvania and in a effort to be a great board member and support local artists of the community, I thought, “why not give local artists billboards to feature their art?” Back then it was very grass roots and over the years formalized the program to become a 501c3 nonprofit.

In 2014 we showcased our first official Class of artists under the name ArtPop in Charlotte, NC.
In August of 2015 we became a nonprofit, 501c3.

Over the years ArtPop’s mission has supported local artists in 15 cities and 12 states.

Today, (2024) we exclusively serve local artists of the 14 county Greater Charlotte, NC/SC region and our mission has grown to 4 distinct divisions, Cities Program, Inspiration Projects, Events and Upcycling.

We believe artists are small businesses and do all we can to showcase their art to achieve sustainable success as artists, while simultaneously making art accessible to all!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
NO! Not a smooth road, but our artists are always worth it.

Truly our biggest struggles come from the lack of financial support for the mission, not enough time in a day and not enough staff. Arts overall lack in funding for grass roots arts organizations.

However, when an artist is selling more art and are valued and known all the struggles we face at ArtPop are worth facing to continue the mission.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am the Founder and Executive Director of an arts nonprofit we call, ArtPop Street Gallery.

We support local artists of the greater Charlotte Region through over $8mm in donated billboard ad space featuring local artists art of all disciplines, think painters, photographers, wood workers, glass, ceramic, fabric artists and more!

We “artvertise” local artists businesses, provide business education courses, selling/pop up market event opportunities and we also Upcycle all of our printed billboard materials, so we support fashion and upcycle designers as well. We believe everyone deserves access to art, and we make art accessible to all in the communities we serve.

What sets us apart, no one has a program like this, sure we have seen others feature art on billboards, but not provide the level of support like we do on a annual basis to local artists.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I feel I have put the hard work, passion and consistency in, not good or bad luck. I became our first employee on May 1, 2018, feeling completely grateful for that!

Contact Info:

• Website: ArtPopStreetGallery.com
• Instagram: @ArtPopStreetGallery
• Facebook: @ArtPopStreetGallery
• Linkedin: ArtPop Street Gallery
• Twitter: @ArtPopStGallery
• Youtube: @ArtPopStreetGallery

Image Credits
@hotpickorea