Welcome to Industry Insider—our new bi-weekly series where we pick the brains of inspiring women shaping the creative world.
This week, meet Sophie Nowakowska
Known to her Instagram followers as @professional_art_bullshitter, Sophie is a London-based curator, critic, and artist manager using honesty, humour, and hustle to help artists thrive. Founder of Artist Management Art, she works closely with emerging creatives, guiding them through the often confusing (and occasionally absurd) art world with mentoring, curatorial support, and clever career-building strategies.
With a Fine Art degree from Cambridge and a Curating MA from the Royal College of Art, Sophie has carved out a unique space for herself as a freelancer — part writer, part connector, part technician-in-waiting (just ask about her four toolboxes). Whether she’s decoding abstract installations, building portfolios, or simply sitting and listening, her work is rooted in empathy, curiosity, and an unwavering belief in the artists she supports.
Here, Sophie talks to us about the realities behind the glossy feed, the power of listening, and why surviving as a freelancer in London is a major win.
HOW I FOUND MYSELF IN THIS JOB…
I do a few different things, but my main areas are curation, artist management, and art criticism—and in many ways, they’re all connected. I studied Fine Art (BA) in Cambridge, then moved to London to do an MA in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art. Back then, I didn’t really know what I liked in the arts, what made a show good or bad, who I wanted to be, or how to get there. So I decided to just see as many exhibitions as possible and talk to people. That’s how it started. I began using Instagram to post photos of the shows I saw, adding a few notes about what I thought. I kept writing for myself and posting, and over time, people started introducing me as a critic. At the same time, I was interviewing curators to learn more about their work, and I started inviting people from the art world out for coffee. The more time I spent with artists, the more I realised I wanted to support them and help them grow. I was reading a lot, writing a lot, connecting with people, and slowly learning how things worked behind the scenes. At some point, my casual chats with artists turned into mentoring. Then I started working with some of them more regularly—helping with things they didn’t have time for, like finding open calls, building portfolios, writing texts, making websites, running social media, and so on.
MY MORNING KICKS OFF…
Every week looks a bit different for me, but on days when I’m working from home, my alarm usually goes off around 8. Still, I don’t really start working until 9:30 or 10, since that’s when my first Zoom calls usually begin. Freelancing can be very unstable—you never really know when the next job is coming or when you’ll get paid—so I’ve learned to allow myself slow mornings. Especially because I often end up working late into the night, sometimes until 1 or 2 am. My mornings usually start with a coffee and going through my to-do list for the day and week. I take some time to adjust things and figure out what needs to be done.
MY KEY RESPONSIBILITIES…
Researching, planning, knowing who, what, where and why.
THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR MY ROLE ARE…
Listening—this is one of the most important parts of my job. These days, a lot of people feel
lonely and life moves fast. It’s easy to lose touch with friends because we’re all busy, and many
of us are stuck in small bedrooms or studios we can barely afford. Sometimes, what we need most is just someone to sit with us, listen, and be genuinely excited about what we’re doing. Finding the right words for things that are hard to explain is another big part of what I do. Communication is key, but not everything can be easily put into words. Artists create because they feel a need to express something—but they don’t always use language as their main medium. Still, sometimes it’s important to describe a work—whether it’s an installation made of pipes, strange sounds, or an unknown liquid—so that others can understand or feel something, even if they haven’t experienced it in person. And then there’s figuring things out and putting all the pieces together. The art world often makes it seem like there’s only one path to success—getting gallery representation. But what if you’re one of many talented artists and no one seems to notice? What if nothing’s happening for you? I try to help artists create their own opportunities. But first, I make sure they have the basics ready: bios, artist statements, portfolios, websites, social media plans—and then it’s about sending a thousand emails and not giving up.
THE BIGGEST MISCONCEPTION ABOUT MY JOB IS…
One thing people often don’t realise is how little time I actually spend outside my house. I post a lot on Instagram, and it can look like my life is always full of colour, exciting projects, and constant meetings. And yes, sometimes it really is like that—I might see 15 exhibitions in one day and then spread the posts out over several weeks. But there have also been times when I didn’t leave my house for two or three weeks straight. Sometimes I was so busy or overwhelmed that I couldn’t even make it to the shop to buy food. Another thing is that around 80% of the projects I work on never actually get finished. I get a lot
of emails, go to a lot of meetings, and put a lot of time and energy into things that end up falling
through. There are always ideas and plans, but many of them don’t make it to the final stage for
all sorts of reasons.
THE BEST PART OF MY JOB IS…
Working with artists! They are magical creatures full of energy, talent and stories.
HOW I UNWIND AFTER WORK…
Hiking and walking in green spaces really help me recharge. Meeting lots of new people every week can be exhausting, so spending quiet time in nature has become my way to reset and find some calm.
IF I WEREN’T DOING THIS, I’D BE…
My plan B is to become a technician! For my 18th birthday, my dad gave me a toolbox and a drill—and that was the beginning. Since then, my collection has grown into four full toolboxes filled with screws, hammers, screwdrivers, snaps, fillers, sandpaper, chains, strings—you name it, I probably have it.
MY PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT SO FAR…
One of my biggest achievements is managing to survive in London as a full-time freelancer for five years—and finally having £3k in my bank account after covering all my bills. It might not sound huge to everyone, but honestly, it feels massive to me. And it’s a very recent win!
THE BEST PIECE OF CAREER ADVICE I’VE EVER RECEIVED…
Always give people flowers. My mum is the best career coach.
Want to learn more about Sophie and her work?
Follow her personal Instagram @professional_art_bullshitter and visit her website at professionalartbullshitter.com.
You can also explore her artist support platform, Artist Management .ART, on Instagram or via artistmanagement.art.
