Cultural Counsel Launches as Independent New York PR Agency

It is not every day that a new public relations agency launches, and its written about in an industry leading publication like Art News, and the New York Observer. Then again, its not every day that one of America’s leading arts publicists launches his own firm.

Adam Abdalla, the long-term the senior vice president of arts and culture for Nadine Johnson PR is launching a company, which he is calling Cultural Counsel. Abdalla is a board member of the New Art Dealers Alliance and is a co-chair of the ContemporaNachmies of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

In a statement which was provided to ArtNews, Mr. Abdalla said that “The role of the marketing consultant in the art world has progressed significantly over the last five or so years, but in many ways, the thinking is still very binary. Publicist A is a ‘media specialist.’ Company B is ‘great at events.’ I want to transcend that mindset because at the end of the day, clients want increased connectivity in a variety of ways. My hope is to offer the kind of holistic approach only made possible through living and breathing art and design.”

While the art world generally has clients who pay very low retainers, Abdalla may be one of the few who can amass enough galleries to pay bills.

He describes his firm as “a consultancy focused on strategy, partnerships, and the development of public programming in the worlds of contemporary art, design and architecture. Through collaborations with artists, writers, curators, patrons, and creative professionals, we pave the way for those interested in making a significant contribution to the international dialogue.

Communications is at the core of Cultural Counsel, but its vision is for it to be the catalyst of something greater.”