Artist talk with Nicole Motta photographer behind “Cafecito”
Presenters: Nicole Motta
Presented by:
Artist talks at Photoville Festival 2025 were made possible in partnership with PhotoWings and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment.
Artist talk with Nicole Motta photographer behind “Cafecito”
Nicole Motta (she/her/hers) is a Creative Director and Visual Strategist based in NYC with over a decade of experience in editorial, art direction, and creative production across photography, design, technology, and publishing. As a Peruvian-American visual storyteller, innovator, and practitioner, she explores the intersection of photography, design, AI, and visual culture, examining how human perspective remains essential in our rapidly evolving technological landscape.
As founder of Fresh Mercado, she develops platforms that bridge traditional visual practices with innovation, helping visual practitioners and innovators navigate our ever-evolving visual industry. Her initiative, Cafecito, has provided personalized consultations to over 150 image-makers, creating a vital feedback loop between individual development and collective industry advancement.
Nicole’s professional experience includes work in editorial, technology, and creative agencies such as Meta, Apple, and Selman. She holds a BFA in Photography & Imaging from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (where she previously served as an adjunct instructor) and a minor in Business from NYU Stern. She has certifications from Droga5’s D5in10 program and Yale’s Business School of Management and is a former board member for AIGANY.
The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment’s mission is to support and strengthen New York City’s creative economy and make it accessible to all. In 2019, the creative industries accounted for more than 500,000 local jobs and have an economic impact of $150 billion annually. MOME comprises five divisions: the Film Office, which coordinates on location production throughout the five boroughs; NYC Media, the city’s official broadcast network and production group; the Office of Nightlife, which supports the city’s nighttime economy; the Press Credentials Office, which issues press cards; and Programs and Initiatives to advance industry and workforce development across NYC’s creative sectors.
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
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