About
We are a design research studio that develops didactic media, exhibitions, publications, and other forms of intellectual property for artists, nonprofits, and creative businesses.
Book free 15-minute consultation
Book sliding-scale hourly consultation
Staff
Wyatt Coday
Senior Researcher
wye@nor.la
Evan Kleekamp
Operations and Development
evan@nor.la
Client Services
Product and Publication Development for digital, print, and subscription products.
Ghostwriting for business plans, grant proposals, fundraising and emial marketing campaigns.
Business Management including lead generation, coaching and consulting, triage and austerity audits, strategic communications, web portfolio development, and competitive research.
Statement of Purpose
We pride ourselves on the quality and thoroughness of the investigations we develop for artists and creative businesses who seek to grow their enterprise and repair their relationships to money, power, labor, and personal identity.
Unlike many art professionals, we encourage artists to develop fully integrated businesses that hold no illusory distinctions between artistic expression, studio practice, commercial labor, and business administration.
This means conducting audits, interrogating financial objectives, setting measurable goals, and preparing our clients to advocate for themselves — and their businesses — with confidence while also supporting the development, production, distribution, and sale of their artwork.
In our view, this integrated approach represents a movement toward transparency and financial stability in an industry that is widely disingenuous, opaque, and exploitative.
It is also an optimistic gesture that demonstrates our commitment to advocating for artists who seek to make an independent living through their creative practices.
Statement of Method
We describe ourselves as a design research studio because we use research methodologies to define and counter the structural inequity and economic disenfranchisement that plague the arts.
Our artworks extend our research practice. To date, they have taken the form of grant proposals, photographs, sculptures, catalogue essays, legal interventions, lecture performances, and recorded conversations. We also advocate for what we described as “post-institutional” business models that allow artists to diversify their sales portfolios.
Rooted in the core of our approach is our belief that artists must reconcile their relationship to money if they want to have uninterrupted time to produce their work.
Statement of Equity
Artists with nontraditional backgrounds are encouraged to contact us for specialized consultations. We proudly work with and support neurodivergent, queer, disabled, and otherwise economically marginalized groups.
studio@nor.la
newsletter
newsletter
About
We are a design research studio that develops didactic media, exhibitions, publications, and other forms of intellectual property for artists, creatives, startups, media companies, small businesses, and nonprofits.
Staff
Wye Coday
Senior Researcher
wye@nor.la
Evan Kleekamp
Operations and Development
evan@nor.la
Book free 15-minute consultation
Book sliding-scale hourly consultation
Services
DISPASSION
DISPASSION is our online publication where we post updates about programming, critiques of the creative economy, and other musings.
Depending on the season, we publish anywhere from weekly to monthly. Some popular reads include this sample grant application and Guaranteed Non-Opportunity series.
More Information
DISPASSION is our online publication where we post updates about programming, critiques of the creative economy, and other musings.
Depending on the season, we publish anywhere from weekly to monthly. Some popular reads include this sample grant application and Guaranteed Non-Opportunity series.
More Information
WYATT CODAY, THE LION THE SERPENT THE GOAT, 2023. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH.WORKSHOPS AND EVENTS
We host an assortment of seminars, workshops, talks, research sprints, and intensives including our controversial grant workshop, HOW TO COMMUNICATE IN WHITE PEOPLE, and our two-week portfolio intensive, IS MY BODY MEANT TO BE READ?
Collectively, our programming focuses on economic and institutional critique that asks artists to consider their studio practice as an independent business activity. Events are typically announced through our newsletter and on Instagram. You can also subscribe to our calendar on Luma.
More Information
We host an assortment of seminars, workshops, talks, research sprints, and intensives including our controversial grant workshop, HOW TO COMMUNICATE IN WHITE PEOPLE, and our two-week portfolio intensive, IS MY BODY MEANT TO BE READ?
Collectively, our programming focuses on economic and institutional critique that asks artists to consider their studio practice as an independent business activity. Events are typically announced through our newsletter and on Instagram. You can also subscribe to our calendar on Luma.
More Information
NOR RESEARCH STUDIO. PAPERWORK FEATURING A FELIX GONZALEZ-TORRES’ UNTITLED PRINT; PENCIL DRAWINGS AND XEROX STUDIES DERIVED FROM ABBAS KIAROSTAMI’S CLOSE-UP; A LIMITED EDITION R.H. QUAYTMAN INSERT FROM OCTOBER #168; AND NOTES IN RESPONSE TO QUAYTMAN’S 2016 EXHIBITION CHAPTER 30: MORNING AT THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LOS ANGELES, 2019. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH.REGROUP
REGROUP is our reading group and online meetup for artists, creatives, and critical thinkers. In 2024, we’re reading Jamieson Webster’s Disorganisation & Sex (Divided Publishing, 2022).
Convening around the question WHO IS MY MOUTH AND WHY DOES SHE MATTER TO ME?, we’ll discuss topics like sexuality, disability, and orality as well as their practical applications in the creative economies. Attendance is free, but RSVPs are required.
More Information and RSVP
REGROUP is our reading group and online meetup for artists, creatives, and critical thinkers. In 2024, we’re reading Jamieson Webster’s Disorganisation & Sex (Divided Publishing, 2022).
Convening around the question WHO IS MY MOUTH AND WHY DOES SHE MATTER TO ME?, we’ll discuss topics like sexuality, disability, and orality as well as their practical applications in the creative economies. Attendance is free, but RSVPs are required.
More Information and RSVP
WYATT CODAY, THE LION THE SERPENT THE GOAT, 2023. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH.GRANTS AND FUNDRAISING
Our grants have received recognition from venerated awarding bodies such as Creative Capital, The Andy Warhol Foundation, Sundance, and the California Arts Council. You can read an excerpt from one of our sample grants here.
We also write application materials for residencies, fellowships, and graduate programs that have netted our clients research and travel stipends, institutional support for their creative projects, and full-ride scholarships.
Our grants have received recognition from venerated awarding bodies such as Creative Capital, The Andy Warhol Foundation, Sundance, and the California Arts Council. You can read an excerpt from one of our sample grants here.
We also write application materials for residencies, fellowships, and graduate programs that have netted our clients research and travel stipends, institutional support for their creative projects, and full-ride scholarships.
NOR RESEARCH STUDIO, AUNTIE EVAN TAKING GILA TO SEE SNOW FOR THE FIRST TIME, 2022. HUSKY TAKEN TO PEAK OF MOUNT WATERMAN IN 2015 DIESEL VOLKSWAGEN GOLF PURCHASED USING FUNDS FROM THE DECAPITATION OF THE SECOND WITCH’S HEAD.
BLACKMARKET PSYCHOANALYSIS
Our signature business development service is tailored toward artists and creatives seeking to create financially sustainable studio practices.
If you’re an artist looking to monetize their studio practice, develop grant-ready projects and applications, or receive regular accountability sessions, schedule an intake session or studio visit with us.
More information
Our signature business development service is tailored toward artists and creatives seeking to create financially sustainable studio practices.
If you’re an artist looking to monetize their studio practice, develop grant-ready projects and applications, or receive regular accountability sessions, schedule an intake session or studio visit with us.
More information
WYATT CODAY, THE LION THE SERPENT THE GOAT, 2023. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH.