THE CREATIVE DRIVE
Every person’s path through life is unique. Following someone else’s path inevitably leads to inauthenticity, mediocrity, and regret. If we want to do something truly new, something wildly creative, we have to accept that our way will differ from anyone else’s. There’s no “way” to do it, but there are infinite ways that you must be willing to try. The courage to get lost is the entry fee for finding oneself, finding one’s purpose, and finding the path to get there.
Growing up the only constant was chaos. Born to a teenage mother and a father in and out of prison, I had three step-fathers and four step-mothers, and moved almost every year of my life. By kindergarten, I’d experienced 9 of the 10 kinds of childhood trauma, including severe physical abuse. But I found solace by burying my toys and drawing treasure maps to find them again, and writing stories where I ran away to the woods and never came home.
“I hid my cuts and bruises until one day a teacher dragged the truth out of me. That moment transformed me into someone who listens carefully to what’s unsaid.”
As a teenager, I was a fire starter (literally and figuratively) who struggled in school. I failed classes, was suspended several times, was kicked off the bus, and once had 29 days of detention in a row. I had constant run-ins with the law for vandalism and arson, and at age 15 I was arrested and sent to drug rehab. There I learned how to channel my energy into creativity rather than self-destruction. I went from failing to excelling in school, from the suicidal kid who stared at the floor to the social butterfly who knew everyone’s story. At the end of high school I received scholarships for my art and took a job as a traveling actor.
“When I told my parents that school suffocated my creativity they told me to become a teacher and change it.”
My parents had no money to help me with college, and so my graduation gifts were a tent, an air mattress, a backpack, and a map to explore America. I began building Mobile Incubators - recording studios inside vintage camper trailers - and road tripped to all 50 states to interview thousands of artists, performers, writers, designers, makers, and other entrepreneurs. Their hard fought wisdom inspired me to found the educational media company and movement now known as Culture Hustlers.
“The world is our classroom and each one of us is both a teacher and a student. If we listen closely, and don’t judge, others will give us their treasure, their deepest held truths.”
After earning my BFA and MBA, I was rejected by every PhD program I applied to… and then the next year Harvard sponsored my podcast. I didn’t fit the mold of a traditional professor, so I pioneered a 100% experiential curriculum. I started producing documentaries and photo essays; and authored the “Get Lost” & “Get Found” series of twelve Hustlers Handbooks. I’ve now partnered with schools across the nation like Ringling College of Art & Design and MIT, service orgs like Arts & Business Council and Artist Inc., festivals like ArtPrize, and incubators like Gener8tor.
“I thought for a long time that I couldn’t be both a traveler and a teacher. I understand now that the road is my home and that being a wandering teacher - a pollinator - is an occupation older than civilization itself. The truth is we are all unique expressions of what it means to be human, and we don’t belong to one city or country, but to each other. ”
CURRICULUM VITAE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Culture Hustlers, 2017 - present, Founder
Mobile Incubator, 2016 - present, Founder
17 Cox, 2010 - 2014, Founder
Services Invisible LLC, 2009 - present, Founder
Shirtless Window Washer 2007 - 2009, Founder
PHILANTHROPY
Tieton Arts & Humanities, 2014 - 2016 | Executive Director
Massachusetts Cultural Council, 2011 - 2013 | Council Member
The Vera Project, 2008 - 2010 | Programming Co-Chair
WORK EXPERIENCE
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013 - 2017 | Producer
Montserrat College of Art, 2010 - 2013 | Program Manager
University of Washington - Seattle, 2008 - 2009 | Associate Director, 2007 - 2008 | Intern
Skits Outreach Services Theater, 1999 - 2003 | Director, Actor, Writer
EDUCATION
Endicott College, 2014 MBA - Finance
IPADE Universidad Panamerica, 2014 Master’s Certificate - Emerging Markets
University of Washington, 2009 BA - Interdisciplinary Art & Art History
University of Wisconsin, 2005 Associates of Arts & Science
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Aspen Ideas Festival, 2019 Conference, Aspen CO
Sound Ed, 2018 Conference, Harvard, Cambridge MA
Artists Thrive Summit, 2018 Conference, Berea KY
College Art Association, 2018 Conference, Los Angeles, CA
Scaling Development Ventures, 2017 Conference - MIT, Cambridge MA
The PhD Project, 2016 Annual Conference - Chicago IL
Washington Non-Profits, 2015 Annual Conference - Seattle WA
New England Museum Association, 2012 Annual Conference - Burlington VT
Google Book Conference, 2009, NYU Steinherdt, NYC
AWARDS
2019 Aspen Ideas Fellow - Aspen Institute
2017 Art Works - National Endowment for the Arts
2017 Opportunity Fund - Boston Arts Commission
2017 Public Art Residency - Boston Center for the Arts
2014 Infinite Mile Award - MIT School of Architecture + Planning
2011 Best Essay - New England Art Awards
2009 Clean Award - aLIVe
2003 Artistic Scholarship - SOS Players
2002 National Art Honor Society Scholarship - NAHS
PRESS
Andrea Klunder, “Stop Making Stuff No One Wants”, The Creative Imposter, April 2020
Ward Sandler, “Growing Membership Sales with a Rock Solid Guarantee”, Member Maker Podcast, Mar 2020
Erika Hess, “How to Make Art and Make A Living”, I Like Your Work Podcast, Feb 2020
Tulsans invited to participate in national arts research with Culture Hustlers, KJRH Tulsa, Dec 2019
Michelle Saavedra, Convirtió una caravana de los años 50 en una oficina sobre ruedas, Yahoo News Espanol, Nov 2018
Christina Hirsch, Arts in Parks: Mobile Incubator to visit five Seattle park locations, Parkways, Oct 2018
Tony Barthel, Touring, Teaching & Talking, Stressless Camping, Sep 2018
Michael Shaw, Lucas Spivey of the Mobile Incubator and Culture Hustlers podcast, The Conversation, June 2018
Greg Cook, How To Make A Living As An Artist? Lucas Spivey’s Odyssey To Find The Answers, Wonderland, March 2018
Anna Schuman, Art and Business as Friends, not Foes, Boston Art Review, March 2018
Olivia Kiers, Artists Earn a Living: Culture Hustlers at the BCA, Big, Red & Shiny, March 2018
Cate McQuaid, Art meets commerce at the BCA’s Mills Gallery, Boston Globe, February 2018
Andrea Muraskin, Separated, NEXT New England Radio, March 2018
Jeanette Mills, Spivey’s Mobile Incubator, UW - Seattle, February 2018
Franklin Einspruch, Culture Hustlers: Artists Minding Their Business, Delicious Line, February 2018
Cameron McDonough, Using MBA to Help Artists with Business Advice, Endicott College, Dec 2017
Becca DeGregorio, Mobile Incubator Parks in Lower Allston, Allston Pudding, October 18, 2017
Beth Treffeisen, Mobile Incubator Makes Boston Home, Boston Sun, October 12, 2017
Alexa Harrison, Lucas Spivey: Mobile Incubator for the Arts, Take Magazine, August 27, 2017
Jacqueline Houton, A Van with a Business Plan, Improper Bostonian, June 30, 2017
Tammy Ayer, Tieton Business Takes Shape with Three New Mosaic Signs, Yakima Herald Republic, August 2015
Bendor Grosvenor, Obama says true thing, art historians complain, Art History News, February 2014
Allison Lynch, A Juror's Perspective, Newburyport Art Association Blog, January 2013
Zachary Nugent, The Case of the Missing Santa, New Hampshire Public Radio, December 2012
Yule Heibel, Spaces, North Shore Art*Throb, August 2012
Mary Bucci McCoy, Cape Ann Contemporary, Art New England, June issue, 2012
Jonathan Simcosky, Turning a Profit , North Shore Art*Throb, May 2012
Kate Goodale, Beverly gallery part of creative culture that benefits local economy , Boston Globe North, April 5, 2012
Notable Interdisciplinary Alumni, University of Washington - Seattle, School of Art Website, 2011
Rachel Bell, Beverly Cultural Council calls for grant applications , Gordon College News Service, Sep 12, 2011
Jeriah Hildwine and Stephanie Burke, Red Dot Report , Chicago Now, Aug 17, 2010
Jen Graves, The Anti-Hummers , The Stranger - Slog, August 27, 2009
Lexi Krell, Judging Art: Annual Juried Show Opens at the Jake , The Daily, February 26, 2008
Julian Martin, Emerging Artists Work on Display at the 'Jake' , The Daily, February 28, 2007
CURATORIAL
Oct 2019, Culture Hustlers, Ringling College of Art & Design
Feb 2018, Culture Hustlers, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston MA
Mar 2014, Live/Work, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Dec 2013, Score for a Color Field, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Aug 2013, I've Just Begun to Tell You, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
May 2013, Point of Sale: Methods of Vending Identity, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Dec 2012, Pack of Wolves, 301 Gallery, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly MA
Aug 2012, Start Over, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Apr 2012, You Are Here! The Viewer as Inconstant Media, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Jan 2012, TO THE MoON, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Dec 2011, Doubles, Kingston Gallery, Boston MA
Nov 2011, Cartography, Marblehead Arts Association, Marblehead MA
Sep 2011, I-cons:, First Parish Church, Beverly MA
Aug 2011, The Desert of the Black Cross, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Jul 2011, Tangible Polygons, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
May 2011, Good Work(s), co-curated with Emily Pardoe, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Mar 2011, POST NO BILLS, 17 Cox, Beverly MA
Jun 2010, Nova Dead Rats, Ver(a)rt Gallery, Seattle WA
Nov 2009, Horror Vacui, Ver(a)rt Gallery, Seattle WA
Oct 2009, The Y in your eYe, Ver(a)rt Gallery, Seattle WA
INSTALLATIONS
Feb 2019, Mobile Incubator, Seattle Viaduct, Seattle WA
Nov 2018, Mobile Incubator, Seattle Parks & Rec, Seattle WA
Oct 2018, Mobile Incubator, Fellowship.Art, Milwaukee WI
Oct 2018, Mobile Incubator, Kinnektor Con, Appleton WI
Oct 2018, Mobile Incubator, Farm/Art DTour, Reedsburg WI
Oct 2018, Mobile Incubator, University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis MN
Oct 2018, Mobile Incubator, UW - Oshkosh, Oshkosh WI
Sep 2018, Mobile Incubator, ArtPrize, Grand Rapids MI
Sep 2018, Mobile Incubator, Artists Test Lab, Detroit MI
Aug 2018, Mobile Incubator, Bozarts F.A.R.M., Toledo OH
Aug 2018, Mobile Incubator, Artists Thrive Summit, Berea KY
July 2018, Mobile Incubator, Little 5 Points, Atlanta GA
July 2018, Mobile Incubator, Starland District, Savannah GA
Jun 2018, Mobile Incubator, Wynwood Walls, Miami FL
Apr 2018, Mobile Incubator, FATVillage, Fort Lauderdale FL
Mar 2018, Mobile Incubator, FIU’s Art + Design Incubator, Miami FL
Dec 2017, Mobile Incubator, Art | Basel, Miami FL
Nov 2017, Mobile Incubator, Ringling College, Sarasota FL
Nov 2017, Mobile Incubator, AiOP: NOISE, Orlando FL
Oct 2017, Mobile Incubator, Zone 3, Harvard, Cambridge MA
Jul 2017, Mobile Incubator, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston MA
Feb 2012, Collecting Art is a Slippery Slope, Wright Exhibition Space, Seattle WA
Feb 2012, Match: Artist Couples, Lincoln Arts Project, Waltham MA
Feb 2012, The Lucas Spivey Collection, Violet Strays
Jul 2011, 10 x 10 x 10 Tieton, Mighty Tieton Warehouse Gallery, Tieton WA
Sep 2010, Life for Sale, The 3M, Seattle WA
Aug 2009, The Critical Eye, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle WA, juried by Robert Yoder
Aug 2009, aLIVe, Seward Park, Seattle WA
Jun 2009, Mother Daughter Father Son, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle WA
Dec 2008, Father and Son, Parnassus, Seattle WA
Nov 2008, Small and Flat, Jacob Lawrence Gallery, Seattle WA, juried by Michael Darling
May 2008, Non-fiction, Revolution, Seattle WA
Apr 2008, Self-portrait, Parnassus, Seattle WA
Mar 2008, Dirty, Youngstown Cultural Art Center, Seattle WA
Nov 2007, Demolition Bathroom, The Belmont, Seattle WA
PUBLICATIONS
Get Lost & Get Found, the twelve Hustlers Handbooks, 2020
Culture Hustlers Podcast & Docu-series, 2017 - present
The Exhibitionist Blog, 2011 - 2013
Ask an Art History Minor Blog, 2010 - 2013
Art Bombing Blog, 2010 – 2012
Meaning in Art Blog, 2009 – 2011
JUROR
Oct 2018, Elevator Pitch Contest, UW Oshkosh, Juror
Sep 2018, art.fellowship, GENER8TOR, Juror
Mar 2018 Business of Art & Design Awards, Ringling College of Art & Design, Juror
Aug 2015 James W Ray Distinguished Artist Award, Artist Trust, Panelist
Mar 2015 WallaPOPUP, Juror
Apr 2013 Salem Art Box, Selection Panel
Jan 2013 Newburyport Art Association, Co-Juror
Oct 2012 Beverly Cultural Council, Grant Selection
Apr 2012 Salem Arts Festival, Selection Panel
Oct 2011 Beverly Cultural Council, Grant Selection
Apr 2011 Salem Arts Festival, Selection Panel
Jan 2010 Wing Luke Museum, Selection Panel
Nov 2009 Ver(a)rt Gallery, Selection Panel
PRODUCER (selected)
Pink Slip Party, 2018, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston MA
Being Material, Symposium and Exhibition, 2017, MIT Center for Art, Science and Technology, Cambridge MA
LiTFUSE, Poetry Workshop and Performances, 2010, 2015, 2016, LiTFUSE, Carnation, WA
10x10x10xTieton, International Exhibition, 2010, 2015, 2016, Tieton Arts & Humanities, Tieton WA
Dia de los Muertos , Exhibition and Performances, 2010, 2015, 2016, Tieton Arts & Humanities, Tieton WA
Holiday Antique and Crafts Bazaar , Marketplace and Performances, 2015, 2016, Mighty Tieton, Tieton WA
Reconstructing Beethoven, Symposium, 2014, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Public Space, Symposium & Exhibition, 2014, MIT Program in Art, Culture & Technology, Cambridge MA
Cinematic Migrations , Symposia, 2014, MIT Program in Art, Culture & Technology, Cambridge MA
Culturunners , Symposium & Exhibition, 2014, Edge of Arabia, London UK
Art as Activism - Guerrilla Girls, Symposium & Exhibition, 2012, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly MA
