“In my own philanthropy and business endeavors, I have seen the critical role that the arts play in stimulating creativity and in developing vital communities ... The arts have a crucial impact on our economy and are an important catalyst for learning, discovery and achievement in our country.”
— Paul G. Allen, co-founder, Microsoft
When I host karaoke, I always try to thank those who never set a foot on stage but enthusiastically cheer on those who get up and croon. Without an audience to cheer, performing on stage can get pretty dull. And with fine art, it’s helpful to have patrons and cheerleaders like Brad Richards — who has been a collector and supporter of the arts for 15 years.
There’s no question about how important art is in our lives. Over the years, I have noticed in a number of interviews that when I ask subjects what helped them through adolescence, art class is a frequent answer. It seems that art has given a lot of us a place to express and vent our teenage angst and secret longings. But it’s not just the act of creating art that affects us; art is part of every aspect of our world, to which Richards can attest.
As newly appointed honorary chair of local arts nonprofit InLiquid, Richards has used his fundraising and event experience, as well as his social know-how, to plan the must-see Friday-evening preview party of the organization’s annual Art for the Cash Poor Weekend, June 7-9.
PGN: Tell me a little about yourself. BR: I was born and raised right outside of Philadelphia, out on the Main Line.
PGN: Oh, me too! Which city? BR: Bryn Mawr. And then we moved to North Wayne Avenue when I was in high school, right by Valley Forge Military Academy.
PGN: I grew up in Wayne, walking distance from the Academy. Are you a fellow Radnor Raider? BR: No, my brother and I went to Shipley, my dad went to Haverford, my mom went to Baldwin Academy. We were all in that Main Line private-school … situation.
PGN: And what did the folks do? BR: My mom went to Moore College of Art, and she’s a painter. That was her first career before putting it on hold to raise us and then once we were off to college, she went to seminary and became an Episcopalian priest.
PGN: Wow. She sounds like quite a character! BR: Yeah! Completely. She just reinvents herself. My family owns a chemical company, so my dad ran that for 40 years. I went to undergrad at Penn and after school worked for the family business. He was my boss for 15 years of my life. They’re both great!
PGN: My father worked for Colonial Penn, so I got a job there during high school, but he stuck me in the mail room! BR: Well, I started out doing menial grunt work in the laboratory, but during those 15 years I managed to work my way up and during my last five years, I started and ran our subsidiary in Australia. So I started out humbly and then my responsibilities grew. It was great; my dad is the perfect mix of dad and boss and colleague and buddy. He’s my best friend.
PGN: Awww. Is your brother older or younger? BR: Older. He lives in Newtown Square. Married with three kids.
PGN: What was a fun family memory? BR: My family had a house in Cape Cod, in Nantucket, that we went to every summer. It was great being a kid and living on the beach and sailing and playing tennis all day. It was a very idyllic life. So many beautiful memories, but one that stands out was when my brother and I were fishing in front of our house. We would just sort of throw the lures out and hope for the best, but this one time the blue fish were swimming by and for an hour or two, we caught fish after fish. It was like magic! When you’re a kid, it just made you so excited to experience something like that. It never happened like that before or again, it was just that one perfect day when you couldn’t help catching something. I also really loved sailing, so the other memory that stands out was the first time I ever skippered a beach boat in a race. It was for the yacht-club race and I navigated my own course, and being out on the water under sail and the excitement of the race was euphoric.
PGN: Any hobbies now? BR: I’m pretty involved in the LGBT community: I’m on the board of William Way and MANNA. I was the co-chair of the Penn GALA, which is the university’s LGBT alumni association. I’ve done a lot of community involvement with that. I’ve been involved with the community for 20 years but that’s really kept me plugged in. And, of course, I’m really passionate about the arts scene in Philadelphia. I’ve been collecting art for about 15 years. We have such great schools here like PAFA, Tyler and Moore, where my mom went; great galleries and some really talented Philly artists. Whether it’s First Friday or a student exhibition or one of the many arts festivals, we have a vibrant scene here in Philly.
PGN: So, back to your schooling. I see you were in glee club before glee club was cool. BR: Yes! And I was the president of an a-cappella group at Penn called Counterparts.
PGN: Favorite performance? BR: We used to hold jamborees in the fall and spring, and the year I was president it was the 10th anniversary, so we had an incredible show at the Penn Museum. It was amazing and I got to feel like a rock star for a minute.
PGN: Worst performance mistake? BR: Oh, there were a lot! I guess the biggest was during a performance for the trustees at Penn. We’d rehearsed a lot, and I had really gone over all the parts and timing with everyone to make sure everything was perfect—and then when we got to the performance, I was the one who screwed up. I came in an entire measure early!
PGN: Oh, you can’t cover that up! That’s like a swimmer jumping off the block early. BR: Exactly! It was embarrassing. But, oh well, that’s one of the elements of doing live music.
PGN: Favorite and least favorite course? BR: Undergrad or MBA? Let’s go with undergrad. I was an English major and I took a course in romantic poetry — Byron and Shelley, etc. It just blew my mind because it had a lot of philosophy and literary theory but also a lot of great poetry. It was one of those experiences where the lightbulb just went on in my head about how rich and deep that time period was. It really made me love and appreciate studying English. The teacher was Arkady Plotnitsky; he was Russian and had a really philosophical bent. The worst was freshman calculus. Three-hundred students in a room and the professor so far away you could barely see him. He barely spoke English so you couldn’t understand him either. He just scribbled on the board and you tried to figure it out. It caused a lot of anxiety.
PGN: And now you work at Penn. What are some of your responsibilities as associate director of alumni affairs at Wharton? BR: I manage a portfolio of engagement strategies like our Power dinners, where we get an amazing alum to come have dinner with 12 students so they can share their stories and experience. It’s fun for the alum, and the students make connections they wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. It really leverages the power of the Wharton network. Then we have major events like reunion weekends. Recently we had over 2,000 alums back on campus. They participate in social events, but we also have life-long learning master classes with people like Jeremy Siegel, who’s the foremost authority on the capital markets.
PGN: So you’re never quite finished with Wharton? BR: No, you’re an alum for life and you have opportunities for the rest of your life. We have programs for leadership skills, negotiations, how to transition from one stage to the next, all sorts of things.
PGN: So was your mother the inspiration behind your love of art? BR: Absolutely. I grew up in a household where she talked about art, there was art on the walls, she taught me the vocabulary for aesthetics and an appreciation for art and artists and about what artists do. What I like about the art scene in Philly is that it’s approachable. There’s not a perception that art is for rich people only, or that you’re supposed to be confused by it. We’re not pretentious here. You can go to the Art Museum or a fine gallery or you can buy some great art on the sidewalk at First Friday or at a student exhibition at Moore or Tyler. You can actually get to know the artists here.
PGN: And another place to buy great affordable art is at your event Art for the Cash Poor. BR: Yes, yes. That’s going to be great. It’s a fundraiser for InLiquid, which is an emerging artists’ collective. It was established to create opportunities and exposure for visual artists and serves as a free, online public hub for arts information. Art for the Cash Poor is going to be a three-day event from June 7-9: a preview party on Friday and then the actual art sale and party on Saturday and Sunday. The cool thing is that all the art — from paintings, prints, photography, fiber arts, glass and ceramic ware, jewelry and fashion — will all be priced under $200! There will also be music and food and family fun. The preview party is being done in conjunction with the AIDS Fund and the proceeds will be split between AF and InLiquid. It’s a great way to meet the artists, start your own art collection and support a good cause.
PGN: Do you paint or do any art? BR: [Laughs.] No! Sadly, I didn’t inherit any of my mother’s talent. I’m the worst artist around. I can’t even do stick figures. You don’t want me as your Pictionary partner.
PGN: But I hear you have some sartorial artistry. BR: [Laughs.] Yes! I just started wearing suits and bowties and somehow it became my trademark look! I’ve been taking my friends out bowtie shopping and teaching them how to tie them properly.
PGN: Favorite celebrity encounter? BR: About 10 years ago, I was set up on a blind date with Neil Patrick Harris. This was before he met his husband. My best friend from Penn who sang with me went on to Julliard and they were in a play together so she set it up. It was fun!
PGN: Are you with a partner now or single? BR: I’m single. You can put that in caps — and make it bold. SINGLE.
PGN: Any phobias? BR: I’m really scared of heights. Even though I did go sky-diving in Las Vegas with my best friend from my MBA program at Temple. It was his 30th birthday and I couldn’t let him die by himself on his big day, so I sucked it up and jumped out of a plane. I truly faced my fear of heights head on.
PGN: I read an article featuring you about gays taking over the Union League. Who would you want to take to 1862 for a glass of scotch? BR: I would really love to have a drink with Frank Sinatra. I think he had such a colorful life during such an amazing time period. He’d probably have some great stories to tell.
PGN: People often confuse me for? BR: Brad Richards the hockey player! I didn’t know who he was, but apparently he’s pretty famous. If you Google my name you’ll mostly find stuff about him, which is actually a good Internet cover. It makes it hard for people to find out anything about me!
PGN: What’s a conversation piece in your house? BR: Well, in my art collection I have a few pieces from my mother that stand out. I have a lot of local artists too and I love when it gets conversations started, as people try to figure out what something means or hearing what people like or don’t like. There’s one painting that’s a 5-foot square from Pete Vebley called “Elevate in Madness.” Some people see it as a crazy person, some think it looks like someone on a motorcycle. It’s so big you can’t miss it, so everyone wants to figure out what it means.
PGN: It sounds like your own private Rorschach test! BR: It is! It’s a good barometer for someone’s state of mind. PGN: [Laughs.] Ever have to ask someone to leave after they’ve given their interpretation? Like, “I see a person slaughtering baby lambs … ” BR: No! Not yet. Hopefully never!
The preview party for Art for the Cash Poor will be held from 5:30-9 p.m. June 7 at The Crane Arts Building, 1400 N. American St. The event will continue at Crane from noon-6 p.m. June 8 and 9. For more information, visit www.inliquid.org.