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“What hope there is for us lies in our nascent arts, for if we are to be remembered as more than a mass of people who lived and fought wars and died, it is for our arts that we will be remembered.” ~ Maxwell Anderson, “Whatever Hope We Have”
“Art is fundamentally a survival device of the species. Otherwise it wouldn’t be so persistent.” ~ Milton Glaser via Bruce Mau
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away I used to manage Broadway shows and national tours. I was ridiculously lucky that I always worked with big budget, award-winning productions that had incredibly high production values and top-notch talent. I started that work when I was 22 and stopped about 6 years later. Somewhere along the way, I got discouraged despite all of the success of the shows. I was afraid that I was losing a part of myself, that I was running all over the country working on artistic productions when so much of the world was suffering. People were starving, victims of war and poverty, there was so much violence and the world needed a lot of healing. And what was I doing with my fancy education? Putting on a show. I felt hollow for making art. I started to wonder if art mattered at all.
So I set off on a journey that took about 6 more years. I tried new careers, new organizations. I collected some additional skills and made my way to a good paying job that gave me the opportunity to travel and explore. If someone asked me what’s the one great discovery I’ve been hoping to make all these years on my travels it would simply be this: I want to know what matters.
David Stone, the Broadway producer of productions such as Wicked, once told me that a life in theatre, or any performing art really, is difficult. So difficult that if I could find something, anything, else that I’d be reasonably happy doing, I should do that instead of theatre. “It’s just too damn hard a life,” he said. “You should only do it if there’s literally nothing else you want to do.” I believed him and that thought lingered with me for a long time. It may have even inspired my journey away from the theatre.
In the past few weeks, a new idea’s been gripping me. Maybe art in some form is what I’m meant to do. Maybe it is my reason for being this time around. I go to museums. I watch street artists. I have recently been gobbling up books of all kinds as if tomorrow all the paper literature of the world may be gone for good. It inspires me, pushes me, makes me look at the world differently. Art reminds me of how lucky I am to be alive.
If I accomplish nothing else in 2011, here is the one enormous, glorious realization that may be sending me out into the world in a very new and unexpected adventure: art, mine and yours, matters. No matter its form or audience or scale. We don’t know who it will affect, or when or how or why. Creating is an act of faith. The act of creating, building something from our hearts that celebrates the world as we see it, may just be the most valuable thing of all.
The image above can be found here.
This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
This post is available as a podcast on Cinch. 
hey! great post, excellent title! ta!
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Thanks, Kolembo! Glad you liked it.
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Christa,
Only those who dream
Are truly free
It always thus was
And always thus will be.
Art is awesome. Art rules my life. Glad you think so too.
Art frees up your imagination. There’s nothing like self-expression. Art is your spirit divine: it is beyond reason and time. Art is like being high and wasted without the substances.
I am happy you have discovered art. Please pursue art in your leisure hours. It will fulfill you in ways you never dreamed possible. That is the power of art: it is magical. Cheers.
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Hi Archan,
I’m excited about it, too. It feels good to be creating and making again. I’ve missed having it in my life and welcome back art with open arms. It is as close as we ever get to magic in this life.
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