Interview with Olivia Skalkos

When we first met you were selling me paint, now your working directly with galleries and artists. How has the transition been?

Frankly, its been everything I didn’t expect! Making the break from working a nice to five to freelance has been a roller coaster of emotions and adventures. I have travelled to places when I least expected to leave home, worked through nights in exchange for taking sunny days off, and have had the great pleasure to work with a variety of artists from various disciplines. Its been challenging, emotional, yet always exciting, and I can promise you that I rarely get bored. I really wouldn’t have it any other way, each day is different. 

 I know that you have many concerns with the environment and how we as humans treat it, does working on a project like this help you channel your energies with regard to this?

It’s excellent to be working on a project like Endangered 13, and with the beautiful team behind it, as it reminds me of the very caring and proactive little human I was at 15. Once I left home and needed to start paying bills, I found it heartbreaking, yet all too easy to leave behind my personal politics and world views. With a bit of distance from my somewhat angsty-animal-rights-campaigner younger self, I can now see how little by little, with a bit of care and love, we can make an impact. We can change the world around us, first you just have to find your tribe. Its this project and those like it, that I can thank for reminding me of how much I do care about the bigger picture, and slowly, I am finding the right tools to make a difference. It reminds me of the responsibility of being human, and what that means to the suffering world around us. It’s a big job, but if everyone stepped up even a little bit, we would witness the change needed to protect this planet we all share. 

What would be the dream project for you?

Hey, I like a good challenge, what have you got? I’m a proactive person and I would rather get my hands dirty than sit behind a computer. I love interactive art, and the challenges that come with installing it, and then communicating its message to the viewer. I love to travel – I think we are quite spoilt in London, surrounded by some of the most innovative projects and people. Bringing these experiences to a new crowd is always a pleasure.