Art Department
Art Department is a New York-based, privately held creative talent representation agency founded in 1995, representing photographers, directors, stylists, beauty artists, set designers, and casting directors across NYC and LA for fashion, advertising, music, publishing, and finance clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Art Department does
Art Department is a privately held, founder-operated creative talent representation agency founded in 1995 and headquartered in New York with a regional office in Los Angeles. The company represents photographers, directors, cinematographers, beauty artists (hair, makeup, body art, grooming, manicure), wardrobe and soft-goods stylists, set designers and prop stylists (including food styling and paper art), casting directors, and creative directors. End clients are brands, agencies, and publications in fashion, advertising, music, publishing, and finance that source visual creative talent for editorial shoots, commercial campaigns, music videos, and corporate communications. Operations are organized by creative discipline and by city, with named booker-level representatives serving each discipline in both the New York and Los Angeles markets.
The business model is professional services: Art Department earns commission on talent bookings facilitated for clients, with fees negotiated on a per-project basis depending on the talent, scope, and client requirements; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales — direct relationships managed by dedicated agency contacts in each city — supported by organic social presence on Instagram, X/Twitter, and Facebook for brand visibility and talent showcasing. A production services extension is offered through a partnership with Kranky Productions, allowing the agency to bundle production capacity alongside talent representation.
The company has operated continuously for approximately 30 years without disclosed external funding, acquisitions, or institutional investment. Headcount is reported at 101–250, with a notable finance and accounting function (two named CFOs and six accounting staff) but no proprietary technology, AI/ML capability, app, or API product. Differentiation rests on a curated, discipline-by-discipline roster, a boutique service posture, and durable relationships with both artists and clients.
Art Department firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Art Department
- Legal name
- Art Department
- Website
- https://art-dept.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Art Department is a New York-based, privately held creative talent representation agency founded in 1995, representing photographers, directors, stylists, beauty artists, set designers, and casting directors across NYC and LA for fashion, advertising, music, publishing, and finance clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Art Department industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Creative Talent Representation
- NAICS
- Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (711410)
- SIC
- Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Talent Agency & Representation Services (HSACAHAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Creative Talent Booking (Photographers, Videographers, Content Creators) (HSACAHAI), Production Design & Art Department Services (Sets, Props, Scenic) (MPADAFAG)
Keywords
Where Art Department is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Art Department business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Talent Representation and Booking Services: Art Department represents creative professionals (photographers, directors, cinematographers, beauty artists, stylists, set designers, casting directors, and creatives) and facilitates bookings for clients in fashion, advertising, music, publishing, and finance industries. Revenue is generated through commissions on talent bookings and possibly retainer arrangements with clients.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Art Department product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Art Department is a boutique creative talent agency that represents photographers, directors, cinematographers, beauty artists (hair, makeup, body art, grooming, manicure), wardrobe and soft goods stylists, set designers, prop and food stylists, casting directors, and creative directors. The agency books these represented professionals for editorial, commercial, advertising, music video, and publishing projects for clients in fashion, advertising, music, publishing, and finance. Operations span two offices in New York and Los Angeles with a coordinated roster across multiple creative disciplines.
Product overview
Art Department is a boutique creative talent agency founded in 1995, specializing in creative collaboration with artists and clients in finance, fashion, advertising, music, and publishing. The company operates a unified platform offering multiple interconnected creative services: Photography, Directors, Cinematographers, Beauty (hair, makeup, body art, grooming, manicure), Style (wardrobe, soft goods, children's styling), Set Design & Props (including food styling and paper art), Casting, Creative, Production, and Special Arrangement. These services function as a coordinated portfolio of talent divisions enabling end-to-end creative project execution across New York and Los Angeles.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Photography Representation
- Directors Representation Representation of directors for commercial, music video, and film projects.
- Cinematographers Representation Representation of cinematographers specializing in visual storytelling for commercial and editorial projects.
- Beauty Representation Representation of hair artists, makeup artists, body artists, manicurists, and groomers for editorial and commercial work across New York and Los Angeles.
- Style Representation Representation of wardrobe stylists, soft goods specialists, and children's stylists for fashion and commercial productions.
- Set Design and Props Representation Representation of set designers, prop stylists, food stylists, paper artists, and emerging props professionals.
- Casting Services Casting services for talent selection across creative projects.
- Creative Services Creative services and talent for artistic direction on projects.
- Production Services Production services for commercial and creative projects, delivered through a partnership with Kranky Productions.
- Special Arrangement Services Custom talent matching and special arrangements for unique project requirements.
Companies that use Art Department
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Art Department technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Art Department partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Kranky ProductionsminorProduction division linked from Art Department's website to krankyproduktions.com, suggesting a collaborative relationship for production services. The partnership appears to extend Art Department's offerings into full-service production beyond just talent representation.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights3 records
Art Department competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Art Partner: Global creative agency representing photographers, directors, stylists and set designers across fashion, advertising and editorial — directly comparable multi-discipline creative roster structure.
- Streeters: London- and New York-based creative agency representing hair, makeup and stylist talent for fashion and advertising — direct competitor in the beauty/styling segment of Art Department's roster.
- The Wall Group: Bicoastal creative talent agency representing hair stylists, makeup artists, fashion stylists and photographers for editorial, advertising and celebrity work — closely overlapping with Art Department's beauty, style and photography divisions.
- Total Management: Creative agency representing stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, set designers and casting directors for fashion and commercial campaigns — comparable size and multi-discipline creative roster.
- Jed Root: Talent agency for stylists, makeup artists, hair stylists, set designers, prop stylists, food stylists and manicurists in fashion, advertising and entertainment — virtually identical division mix to Art Department.
- Exposure NY: New York-based creative agency representing photographers, stylists, hair and makeup talent for editorial and advertising — overlapping in roster scope and primary market with Art Department.
- Bryan Bantry Inc. Long-established New York talent agency representing photographers, stylists, hair and makeup artists for the fashion and advertising industries — directly comparable boutique competitor in Art Department's primary market.
Broad incumbents
- Next Management: Global talent management firm representing models, photographers, hair and makeup artists; broader and larger than Art Department but overlapping in representing photography and beauty talent for fashion clients.
- IMG Artists (Endeavor): Large global talent agency under Endeavor representing performing artists, photographers and creative talent at greater scale, including international reach Art Department lacks.
- WME (William Morris Endeavor): Major global entertainment and talent agency representing photographers, directors, stylists and creative talent across advertising, fashion and film at scale that dwarfs boutique agencies like Art Department.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Art Department social profiles
Digital presenceArt Department financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Art Department leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Art Department funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Art Department M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Art Department
What does Art Department do?
Art Department is a boutique creative talent agency that represents photographers, directors, cinematographers, beauty artists (hair, makeup, body art, grooming, manicure), wardrobe and soft goods stylists, set designers, prop and food stylists, casting directors, and creative directors. The agency books these represented professionals for editorial, commercial, advertising, music video, and publishing projects for clients in fashion, advertising, music, publishing, and finance. Operations span two offices in New York and Los Angeles with a coordinated roster across multiple creative disciplines.
Is Art Department a public or private company?
Art Department is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Art Department founded?
Art Department was founded in 1995. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Art Department based?
Art Department is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Art Department make money?
One revenue line is on record: talent Representation and Booking Services.
Who are Art Department's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Art Partner, Streeters, The Wall Group, Total Management, Jed Root, Exposure NY and Bryan Bantry Inc.. Broad incumbents are Next Management, IMG Artists (Endeavor) and WME (William Morris Endeavor).
Does Art Department have an API?
No public API is recorded for Art Department.
What industry is Art Department in?
Art Department's product category is Creative Talent Representation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAHAK, Talent Agency & Representation Services, with a secondary code of HSACAHAI, Creative Talent Booking (Photographers, Videographers, Content Creators). Its NAICS code is 711410 and its SIC code is 7330.