One River School of Art + Design

#mondaythoughts with One River Founder Matt Ross: A Moment to Pause and Reflect There is no American holiday like Thanksgiving, and there is no holiday that provides a better opportunity to pause and reflect on what we are grateful for.? ? This has been an intense year, and it seems like time ticks by so fast these days while the noise and discontinuity hum constantly.?So, let’s do our best to celebrate this moment in the most thoughtful way possible that includes giving thanks to the people who matter in our life, and reflecting on what’s important. ? Let’s try and extend that vibe for a week or a month or a year or for the rest of our lives.?I am certain that the energy that goes into thinking positively will add value to the people around you and it will come back to you in full circle. ? Here’s to giving thanks from this point forward. #oneriverschool #transformingarteducation

#mondaythoughts with One River Founder Matt Ross: We recently had a change in our leadership, and it brings me great joy to announce the promotion of Agnes Mauro to CEO of One River School. Agnes has been with the company since we opened our doors in the fall of 2012, and for the last two years she has been in the role of Chief Operating Officer. There is not an aspect of One River that Agnes has not played a significant role in helping to build or improve on, and I am grateful to have had the chance to help Agnes grow into this position, while also learning from her incredible values, work ethic and commitment to be the very best she could be every single day. She is my partner, and I have the greatest confidence in her capacity to be a galvanizing force for us over the next decade. Agnes joined One River School as an Art History major looking to have a career in the business of the arts. It didn’t take long for her to make an impact as she played a pivotal role in refining our concept as Director of our first school in Englewood, NJ, while also helping to establish the operating standards that allowed us to expand to 15 locations from 2017-2019. The Covid window followed and we found a way to become a more important resource for our members and our employees that provided critical experiences during this challenging time, and Agnes drove our daily execution with tremendous care and resolve. Now that we are about to expand and open more schools, in my role as Founder, I will continue to guide our leadership team to provide the most compelling service and experience possible for our students. We are broadening our product menu and improving our website and tools to create a more compelling experience, and I am so excited to do all I can to innovate and evolve our platform. Lastly, I wanted to share Agnes’ email with you here [email protected], so that you can personally share any thoughts you have on how we can continue to improve on our service, and perhaps you can also drop her a note to share a kind thought on this very special day, where we honor Agnes and her commitment to making One River a place that is transforming art education? #oneriverschool #transformingarteducation

#mondaythoughts with One River Founder Matt Ross: Every week when I sit down to write my Monday Thoughts, once I decide the topic I try and find an image that blends interesting artistic qualities into the message that I’m trying to convey. I’m an arts educator and love the fact that we could take any topic and shed light to any story, while at the same time teaching people to think differently and explore their creative muscle. This mosaic from fourth grade students really did the trick and it got me thinking a little bit more about the importance of honoring our Veterans today and teaching our children about the sacrifices that they have made for our country. When I was a young boy growing up in New York City in the 60s and 70s, there was so much divisiveness about the Vietnam War, but I remember looking at these young men and the sacrifices that they were making, and I was able then to really appreciate the honor in the role of being a soldier. On this Veterans Day, let’s simply do that. Let’s think about the sacrifices that men and women make today in our arm forces trying to protect us and let’s pray for them and for all of us that we continue to have safety here and around the world. #oneriverschool #transformingarteducation

#mondaythoughts with One River Founder Matt Ross: I run an art school because my mission in life is “to be positive and to help people find their magic and their creative inspiration”. I wasn’t built to be in politics and it’s even hard for me to talk about it because everything is so layered and so multi-faceted. This is a complicated time in our history...but it’s always a complicated time. No matter what lens you look through, for hundreds of years there have been a multitude of challenges and anxiety producing issues that we have had to sort through. And it will continue for the next hundreds of years.?So, what do I do? I do what Steven Covey taught me and that is I try to focus on the things that concern me and the things that I can control. Having a severely disabled son was the most difficult thing I could ever face in life, but in someways, it has grounded me knowing that regardless of what happens in life, Susan and I must persevere and make sure that we are there to assist him. And, what’s interesting about this is the fact that his severe Autism has made him immune to all the noise that is going on in the world. What a strange irony. We take what we do very seriously at One River School, and we know that our business is a place of refuge. I know Wednesday is going to bring some difficult moments for all of us and if there’s anything we can do to help reduce the noise and create a moment of escape and joy, we are here to do what we do best. ? (image - Fred Romaselli, Birds) #oneriverschool #transformingarteducation

#mondaythoughts with One River Founder and CEO Matt Ross: Not sure if it ever crossed your mind, but art collecting isn’t only for the super-rich. In 2010, when I was just beginning to think about the idea of building One River School, I started to research and take classes to better understand contemporary art, and along the way, I realized how many emerging artists there were and how affordable their artwork tended to be. This led me to begin the journey of collecting art, and the dual benefit was that I was providing support and patronage for artists that had not yet built their track records. Over the years, some of the most fabulous artwork that I own was purchased directly from artists even before they had galleries. Now, I’m not suggesting that you are going to start marching around artist studios in search of the next Van Gogh like I did, but there are also numerous galleries that make a market in emerging art. For the last 15 years, I’ve committed a lot of my time effort and money to collecting art, and it is one of the things I’ve come to treasure most. The best tip I can give you if you’re interested is to focus on understanding “what makes up a well-made artwork” and “what works for your personal sensibility”. Art Collecting can become a fantastic way to diversify your investments and I’ve been thrilled to see so many of the emerging artists that we have shown at One River School go onto successful careers in the art world. Visit one of our galleries today if you’re interested in learning more about how to do this. #oneriverschool #transformingarteducation

#mondaythoughts with One River Founder and CEO Matt Ross: One of the most fun parts of my life is connecting with artists to understand what goes into their craft. It takes massive time, effort, and commitment to cut through the clutter and artist Summer Wheat is one artist that is doing some really special things that I want to share with you. I first stumbled on Summer’s work about a decade ago, and while I followed her exhibitions online, I finally really connected with her work last year at an exhibition at Nazarian / Curcio Gallery in Los Angeles. When that happens, it feels like I had a personal breakthrough with an artist, and in this case, I made a commitment to purchase a painting. Today I had a chance to meet Summer in person and I walked away inspired by her thoughtfulness and her unique way of expressing herself through her artwork. At One River School we’ve committed ourselves to “teach the lens of living artists” and I’ve just added a new agenda item: to write a lesson plan about Summer’s work so our students can personally connect with her unique practice as well. https://lnkd.in/enWFcuzi #oneriverschool #transformingarteducation

Monday Thoughts from Founder and CEO, Matt Ross 30 Years of Gratitude Every week when I sit down to write my blog “Monday Thoughts”, I try to focus on a topic that may pique your interest relative to contemporary art, art education, or the overarching importance of investing in creative growth. But please forgive me because today is going to be slightly different. ? This Wednesday is my 30th wedding anniversary and I wanted to use this moment to shine a spotlight on my wife, Susan Ross. I met Susan in my early 30s when she appeared out of nowhere on vacation in Mexico. It truly was love at first sight and we dated long-distance before getting engaged one year later.?? ? Nine months after we were married (yes a honeymoon baby) we were presented with what remains our greatest challenges in life … our son Alex was born with severe autism and epilepsy. Even though life has at times been overwhelming as a result, I always had confidence that we would pull through simply because of the strength and love that Susan committed to him. Less than three years later, we were blessed with another son Jason, who turned out to be the most loving and caring young man, and today I couldn’t be prouder of the family that we have built, the challenges that we have successfully managed and the unique relationship we all have. ? Time is precious and the people around you who matter most need to know how precious they are to you. Given Susan’s stoicism and private nature, she may not be happy about this public recognition. ?? But I just had to share these thoughts today because I am so grateful to have such an incredible partner in my life.?

Own A One River School Franchise In this week's Monday Thoughts, Founder and CEO Matt Ross unveils the opportunity to be a key part of the One River growth. One of the greatest joys I have had in my career has been creating business ownership opportunities within the arts. Almost twenty years ago, I joined the School of Rock as CEO. We quickly began franchising and to this day I have maintained such amazing relationships with our earliest franchise partners who were inspired to bring that concept to their community. Today, I am thrilled to announce that we are about to dramatically grow the One River School network, and I anticipate significant expansion across the United States over the next three years. Today, we operate 15 locations and 11 of them are owned and operated units. We started to franchise prior to Covid, but quickly made a strategic decision to pause new franchise partnerships given the state of the world at that time. As a result, we put our time, money and effort refining how to build the most compelling schools. And now that we have documented exactly how to create excellence, I am excited to help our partners create a unique business that they will love to operate. Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in having a conversation about our franchise model. Our mission is to “transform art education”? and while we are hard at work on achieving this, the coolest thing will happen along the way.?The people who work for us have a chance to give back, help others grow, create a unique art-centric business, make money, and promote the importance of creative education for all ages. If you want to learn more about the One River Franchise, email me:?[email protected] #TransformingArtEducation

Monday Thoughts. Today our Founder and CEO takes us from Brooklyn to Venice, following The Inspiration of Eddie Martinez. Sometimes things just hit you instantaneously. That’s how I felt when I first saw Eddie Martinez’ artwork. ? It was 2011 and I was deep into the process of thinking about starting One River School when I stumbled on Eddie’s paintings at an art fair.?At the time, I remember thinking how playful and chaotic the work was. There was interesting imagery that forced me to look deeper and a vibrant use of color that made a bold statement.?Coincidentally, I had just purchased two artworks from an artist named Sam Moyer, who turned out to be married to Eddie and her gallery suggested that I meet him. ? So, I reached out and jumped in a car to visit with Eddie at his studio in Brooklyn. So much of my art experience to date had been through the lens of music so it was really inspiring for me to meet with him.?In fact, there was something irreverent and musical about his artwork that drew me in, and I remember thinking how similar it felt when I visited with bands in the recording studio.?Equally important, I left there completely convinced that Eddie was special and that he had the work ethic, confidence and talent to cut through clutter. ? Last week, I checked off a bucket list item by having a chance to visit the Venice Biennale for the first time. Every two years, eighty nations present one artist each to share with the world in a special and unique format. And Eddie Martinez was one of those artists who is invited to exhibit!!! I’m so happy for him and happy that the world is responding to his art practice. It takes so much to be successful in this space and it is a special treat to see Eddie thriving. Head to Instagram to get a look at Matt's snapshot of the exhibition. https://bit.ly/3XKE8wz

When it comes to careers in the arts, the possibilities are limitless today. Comic book illustrator. Gallery owner. NFL graphics engineer. School art teacher. Corporate art director. The list is vast! Start today with a traditional or digital art class and see where your passion lies. Even better, learn from the experiences of our phenomenal art educators. https://bit.ly/3XnXDKa #TransformingArtEducation #ModernArt #DigitalArt #GraphicDesign #ArtsEdWeek National Art Education Association (NAEA)