Wicca

Date
27 March 2012

Newly launched creative agency Wicca are like a well-curated cupboard that makes you hungry for everything inside – spare and select, it’s a choice spread of skillful artists specializing in 3-dimensional creativity. Representing just five artists knitted together by “a strong foundation in craft,” it’s a cohesive yet varied bunch whose talents stretch from installation to embroidery, fashion design to puppetry. We chatted with founder Laura Vent to scope out the backstory behind the collective…

Wicca began as conversations with co-founder Cathy Mason while the two were working for Wieden + Kennedy. Developed from a passion for unique talent and unusual briefs, Vent and Mason saw a gap in the market where the two could be brought together with a more personal touch.

“We want this to be the kind of agency where we can present them [the client] with really fascinating people to work with,” says Vent, “and in turn we can help the artists think more broadly about what they can produce. We want to have a strong relationship with the talent, working almost as a mentor, helping these artists find the find the very best opportunities that let them challenge and push their personal work.”

Turns out it was a longstanding love of crafts and early work with Nous Vous were what steered the course towards its eventual emphasis on 3-dimensionality. “We wanted to focus really clearly on craft because it’s a medium which can come across as quite woolly,” laughs Vent. “We wanted, rather, to focus on a group of artists with an amazing sense of material, artists that are pushing the material they use in the most exciting direction it can go.”

And while a re-imagining of craft lies at the heart of this bunch, it’s ultimately an open-ended philosophy of form which allows Wicca to upend the traditional restraints of commercial briefs, aiming rather for a focus on an unconstrained conversation between artist and client that lead to bold, unconventional projects.

“We want to allow those conversations to happen between client and artist, to create space for a brave agency that will push the artist – the end result of which is amazing, creative work. We want to keep the integrity of the artist and that means we’re not pigeonholed, we can push out into all these other worlds of fashion, illustration, art direction, etc.”

It’s this kind of emphasis on artistic integrity and personal relationship which sets Wicca apart as a core group of like minded makers with an approach to creativity that’s steeped in innovation and camaraderie. “We feel a bit like a family”, Vent admits.

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