2025 Q1 Newsletter
HAPPY NEW YEAR ART TRIPPERS!
This past year has been a whirlwind of excitement here at Art Trippin’, and there is even more excitement to come. Here at Art Trippin’, we want to take a moment to look back on this past year and celebrate what Art Trippin’ has been able to accomplish, as well as let you know what to look out for this year!
REFLECTIONS ON 2024
At the beginning of 2024, we launched the Art Trippin’ TikTok page where we share knowledge about art history, with a focus on women artists, and where we gained a following of over 30,000 new art trippers! In total, our content has reached an audience of nearly 4.5 million people. That means 4.5 million people have had access to an inclusive art history education this past year! And that education reaches beyond what you might find in an art history textbook. Our content has highlighted so many underrepresented artists and their stories. The most popular videos asked the question, “Can you tell which painting was painted by a man and which was painted by a woman?” This sparked conversation amongst art trippers and encouraged engagement with the history behind the art that they love.
We have also launched the Art Trippin’ website so that you can find all you need to know about new content, tours, and any other Art Trippin’ news in one place!
I feel so grateful for all of the incredible opportunities that Art Trippin’ has this year, such as being invited to be a part of the Fullerton Museum Center exhibit, Madre Tierra: Celebrating and Exploring Our Roots. Alongside many impressive works was our very own Art Trippin’ video of my travels to Mexico City and Oaxaca. It was such an honor to be a part of the exhibit and share my great appreciation for Latin American art and culture with the community. Another exciting opportunity was a brand partnership with Pair Eyewear in collaboration with the Met! We discussed some iconic works of art from the Metropolitan Museum in NYC for this collab. It really goes to show that Art Trippin’ content is becoming more visible and, therefore, providing greater access to art history education.
NEW WAYS TO FIND US
Now that we’ve grown our audience on TikTok, we are ready to expand our reach to YouTube. Our ability to do so is all thanks to you! We have raised $6,700 of our $10,000 goal so far on our GoFundMe! Because of your generosity, we will be able to put out the first episode of our YouTube series, Art Trippin’ in Italy, this year. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified when it comes out!
TRIPPIN’ ABROAD
One of my favorite memories from this past year of Art Trippin’ was our Art Trippin’ Tours travels to Rome and Puglia in Southern Italy! I always love getting to share my love of travel, art, culture, and food with my tour groups. We visited must-see sites like the Colosseum and Sistine Chapel, but we also went off the beaten track to smaller villages where we took cooking classes, tasted olive oil and wine, swam in the Adriatic sea, and learned about the history, art, and architecture of the Puglia region.
If you’re missing Italy or didn’t get to join us last time, then stay tuned because in June 2025 Art Trippin’ Tours will be heading to Venice, the Dolomite Mountains, and Lago di Garda, Italy. We will tour the city and its museums, art, and architecture, attend a mask-making workshop in Venice, as well as experience the Italian countryside in Lago di Garda and go hiking in the Dolomites! Keep an eye out for an email with more information.
ART TRIPPIN’ TALK
As we reflect on 2024, we at Art Trippin’ want to remind you of our values, which include making an inclusive and global art history more accessible to all. We also like to stay abreast of art news, and we feel it necessary to call to your attention to the top art news stories from 2024 – the story of a banana taped to a wall - an artwork by the Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, which was sold by Sotheby’s to cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun for $6.2 million in November 2024. Cattelan was born in 1960 in Padova, in the Veneto region of Italy, and lives and works in New York. His work, which is literally a banana taped to a wall, aims to push the envelope, asking us to question: “What makes something art?” stemming from a long tradition in modern art, from Duchamp’s Fountain to Piero Manzoni’s Merda d’Artista, Cattelan urges the viewer to consider the boundaries of art. Where is the line between art and life and where do the two interact or overlap? Can anything be art if the artist decides it to be?
Proponents would say that we have artists like Whistler to thank for this perspective; the artist decides what art is, not a critic nor an academy nor any other form of institutionalized power. Critics would point out the hypocrisy of selling a banana for $6.2 million in this economy - a banana that was likely sold by a working class fruit vendor for $0.50 or less. This dramatic gap reveals the widening gap between the extremely wealthy and the working class in the US and worldwide. As the wealth gap between billionaires and the rest of us continues to grow, it is important that we consider the value of art in this context. Should art simply reveal these staggering differences, or might it in fact have the power to do more and make a more positive impact on the lives of all people?
Of course, the value of art - and bananas - is always in flux. We must remember that value is arbitrary and culturally-specific. Some artists can make millions off a banana, while others live their whole lives in near artistic obscurity only to become wildly famous in another place and time. Think Swedish modern artist Hilma af Klint or everyone’s favorite Dutch modern artist Vincent Van Gogh. Perhaps we can remember the wise words of the famed artist and often tortured soul, who, in his letters to his brother Theo, wrote: “If I am worth anything later, then I am worth something now. For wheat is still wheat even if people think it is grass at the beginning.” May we all see the true value of artistic expression the world over!
Vincent van Gogh, Wheat Field with Cypresses, 1889
THANK YOU!
Our wishes for you from all of us at Art Trippin’ include a year full of health, wealth, and true abundance - as well as an art-filled 2025! I said it before, and I’ll say it again, thank you for all of your support this past year. None of this would have been possible without it. I wish you a new year full of art and adventure!
Dr. Megan Lorraine Debin
Written by: Dr. Megan Lorraine Debin, Natalie D’Allura (www.linkedin.com/in/nataliedallura)
