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.
As photography fragments and evolves in our post-truth space, Cafecito: A Proclamation of Presence celebrates image-makers who boldly proclaim their stories through their visual language, asserting presence & power while weaving threads of understanding between communities.
Learn MoreCafecito: Building Community to Break Barriers celebrates the work of 36 photographers who were Cafecito initiative participants, showcasing their stories of belonging and human connection. Cafecito demonstrates how the power of community and creativity can collectively inspire change for the current state of the intersectional creative industry.
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