Gaella Alexandra Gottwald

Croatia

Trip:

Northern Ireland

Mentored by:

Kathleen Holland

Business

Director, Croatian Association of Artists

Gaella Gottwald is the Director of the Croatian Association of Artists. Gaella graduated from Brown University with a degree in Art History and Architecture. She pursued courses at the Film Academy and Applied Arts Academy of Prague and graduate studies at the European Institute of Design in Milan.

In the years that followed, she worked for a number of prestigious institutions from the Museum of Modern Art in New York to Cinecitta Film Studios in Rome, where she used her creative skills and drive to challenge the status quo and make an impact in a variety of fields from curating to documentary filmmaking, gallery work, and art dealing. These experiences gave her exposure to and training in cultural management—as well as a wanderlust and desire to travel beyond these established cultural hubs and reach more disenfranchised populations.

For several years Gaella traveled the world working and collaborating with local communities from Mozambique to Italy to Indonesia doing projects that worked on traditional crafts, sustainable design, and using art as a means of empowerment. As part of these initiatives, she created a line of ecological jewelry and batik textiles based on these collaborations.

2014 Updates:

Gaella has many projects that she is currently developing. Among other ventures, she plans to open a creative consulting firm and platform for social entrepreneurship; begin various community-driven art projects; and start a social enterprise that creates products using traditional craft and modern design.