Digital curator | Cultural producer | Communications specialist
Based in Portugal, collaborating with clients worldwide.
Hello. I’m Genista, an arts worker from Aotearoa New Zealand, now calling Portugal home after a stint in Berlin. Friends have said I have my “fingers in a lot of pies,” but I prefer to be called a “creative magpie,” enthusiastically gathering shiny skills and experiences from all corners of the arts and culture world.
For 15+ years, I’ve collaborated with artists, directors, social/cultural initiatives, brands and small businesses, my work covering digital curation, cultural production, arts writing and communications.
I’m a BFA graduate of Elam School of Fine Arts (University of Auckland), I speak German and Portuguese, and I’m fuelled by a love for creative storytelling, forging connections and building communities.
My approach? Using a “global-local” perspective; connecting international insights with grassroots action.
Some examples: For almost seven years I led the communications strategy for online platform Contemporary HUM (2018–2024), where I shaped its digital presence, fostered a global network of Aotearoa arts practitioners and much more. A highlight: co-producing the 2024 podcast series Crossing Currents: Aotearoa New Zealand Artists in Venice (that hit #1 on Apple Podcasts in the Visual Arts category in Aotearoa).
In 2006, I co-founded Cross St. Studios in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, an artist-run initiative that hosted 120+ events over 5 years, providing space for unconventional ideas to take flight. We even threw two legendary street parties, the Cross Street Carnival (2008, 2009), that celebrated our central city neighbourhood. During that time, I also coordinated the Tāmaki Makaurau branch of Craftwerk, a lo-fi arts and craft fair, showcasing emerging talent.
My experience also includes crafting pitches for global ad campaigns as a director’s assistant, working in film/TV production as a costume standby, unearthing art trends and interviewing industry titans as a freelance writer, and conjuring up catchy copy for small businesses.
If you have a project you’re passionate about, I’d love to hear about it. Let’s chat: genistaj@gmail.com
SERVICES
Arts project management
Creative direction
Visual research
Communications strategy
Digital marketing campaigns
Social content and platform management
Data analytics
Performance reporting
Multimedia editing
Podcast production
Copywriting
Arts writing
Translation (PT->EN)
Transcription
Website content development
Digital archiving
Exhibition coordination
Budget management
Grant writing support
Media and public relations
Partnership development
TECHNICAL SKILLS
Project management platforms (Trello, Slack)
Google Analytics
Google Ads
Meta Ads
Mailchimp
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Lightbox
Canva
Capcut
CMS platforms (WordPress, Wix, Drupal, Django)
LANGUAGES
English (Native) • Portuguese (Intermediate) • German (Intermediate)
COLLABORATORS
20th Century Fox Film • 39NULL • Agosto Television • Anne-Catherine Scoffoni • A Robber’s Dog • Babelsberg Film Studios • Banwood Bikes • Beautiful/Decay Art and Design Magazine • BigFish Film Produktion • Bonial • Candelit Pictures • Christie’s, Paris • Contemporary HUM • Craftwerk • Creative New Zealand • Cross St Studios • Doity • e-flux • Ella Misselwitz (nee Goerner) • FFTranscription • Format Magazine • Friends in the Arts (FITA) • Frieze • Hey Happiness • Homify • Joanna Szproch • Loren Britton • Messy Nessy Chic • NITJA Center for Contemporary Art • Normale Magazine • Ocula • Prodigy Films • Rural Radicals • South Pacific Pictures • Superside • Susan V. Sappe • The Big Idea • The Goethe-Institut New Zealand • The Sweetshop • Widewalls
Images are used for research purposes under copyright-free, Creative Commons, fair use or fair dealing licenses. Attributed images are credited. Contact me for removal requests.