Episode 4: Give me a break with Naomi Rea

For the latest episode of Give me a break, Harriet is joined by Naomi Rea, the London-based Editor-in-Chief of Artnet News. Naomi has spent the last decade untangling the knots of the global art world – from high-stakes auctions and blockbuster exhibitions to the stranger corners of contemporary culture. Naomi was born in Belfast in 1992 and grew up in Brussels. She studied English literature and philosophy before following her calling to arts journalism, an industry with increasingly few full-time and freelance opportunities. “There’s a lot of art writing out there, there’s not a lot of art journalism,” she says. The conversation offers a candid look into a world that thrives on opacity, the importance of holding power to account and how to balance professional relationships and journalistic integrity. Harriet picks Naomi’s brains on the mysteries of the market and the fine art of pitching ideas to publications. “If you didn’t get a response to an idea, pitch another one. At some point, someone is going to like one of your ideas and take a chance on you. I think you really do have to inure yourself to rejection and to being ignored.”

Listen to the full episode on Spotify and stay tuned for more exciting guests coming soon.