Kevin Cotter '96 orchestrates Academy of Muse

NEW YORK — On a recent Saturday evening in January, one of the most majestic turn-of-the-century New York mansions, conveniently located across the street from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, was packed with over 350 stylish supporters of the arts: musicians, visual artists, philanthropists and all of their friends. The walls of three floors of the mansion's regal interior — home of The Ukrainian Institute, a cultural organization promoting Ukrainian visual arts and music — were covered with about 200 canvases of diverse artwork by almost a dozen artists, all for sale, with styles ranging from digital artwork to surrealist and abstract paintings. A stage was set up, complete with microphones and a piano, in one room against a dramatic backdrop of figurative paintings for the musical performances of seven musicians that were to take place over the course of the evening.

The occasion for this artistic extravaganza was the opening of the "Muse Stock Exchange," touted as a trading floor for the exchange of ideas between artists, musicians, and philanthropists where "inspiration is the currency." Hope Stevenson, president of the organization hosting the party, The Academy of Muse, formally addressed the crowd, stressing the guests' privilege to meet "the artists of the future" and "witness them tonight on a small stage in an intimate setting."

The Academy of Muse, founded about two years ago by Kevin Cotter '96, is a nonprofit organization designed as a think tank for the advancement of artistic and philanthropic inspiration, promoting a synergy between philanthropists and artists by hosting galas, art openings, concerts and other social events where artistic inspiration becomes the means for forming valuable connections.

Cotter's personal background is impressive. After graduating from Princeton in '96 with a degree in genetics, Cotter went on to be a two-time Olympian rower and gold medallist World Champion in 1999. In addition to being an accomplished pianist and painter, he also managed to work for Bloomberg Financial News for four years and dabble in some venture capitalism during the dot com boom. Since graduating from Princeton he has maintained a strong connection to the University. He coached freshman lightweight rowing for three years and is now Assistant Director for Annual Giving. He is an occasional guest coach down at the boathouse and Ministry Coordinator for Aquinas Institute.

After retiring from Olympic rowing in 2000, Cotter decided to leave the financial world and embark on a new career.

"I'd seen corporate America," Cotter said, "but that didn't move me."

What did move him was a conversation over dinner one night around three years ago where both musicians and visual artists were present. Witnessing a dynamic exchange of ideas between two groups that do not ordinarily directly interact, he realized that artists of different disciplines could learn a lot from one another. Motivated by this interchange of ideas and by his experiences at Princeton where he felt that students from all academic disciplines were able interact and share ideas, The Academy of Muse was born, and Cotter now serves as the CEO.

The Academy of Muse targets 4 specific groups: world-renowned artists, up-and-coming artists, established philanthropists and emerging philanthropists. By throwing parties to pull together these four groups that are usually distanced from one another, Muse intends to spread the spirit of artistic inspiration and make the exchange of the unique resources that each group has to offer more efficient.

Diane Uniman, a member of Muse's newly-formed Board of Directors who met Cotter "serendipitously" while working on another project, sees Muse as promoting "a cross-pollination of interests and goals."

"Even from one discipline to another one can learn things," Uniman said.

What makes Muse especially exceptional is that the "cross-pollination" of inspiration applies to philanthropists, too. After graduating from Princeton, Cotter noticed that many of his friends and classmates who had always been directly involved in the arts quickly began lucrative careers in the financial world and no longer had the time to paint, play an instrument or sing. He saw, though, that these individuals retained an emotional attachment to the arts and now had the money to actively do something about it. Muse attempts to give these up-and-coming philanthropists the chance to become supporters of the arts by introducing them, in the informal and inspirational setting of the party, to more established philanthropists and to artists.

"Philanthropists are so inspired. They keep asking, 'How can I help?'" Uniman said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

Or, as Cotter likes to put it, Muse "is their paintbrush for the world."

Cotter also observed that emerging artists have a window of opportunity of only about a year and a half after graduating from school in which to make a name for themselves. To extend that window, Muse is planning on giving out nine scholarships (an allusion to the nine muses) each year to visual artists and musicians chosen by a Creative Board.

Part of the job of the Board of Directors, in addition to planning parties, is to seek out potential philanthropists, many of whom have only very recently started out careers that will allow them to become future patrons of the arts. Part of Muse's vision is cultivating that aspect of them." The Board also seeks out "top-end philanthropists," Cotter said.

All advertisement for Muse is by word of mouth. Aside from the artists and musicians themselves, almost everyone at Muse's parties is a friend of someone involved.

Finding places to host parties has been relatively easy, Cotter conceded. As it turns out, "people worth only a couple of million," Cotter explained, "love to show off their home, but are usually poor organizers." The artists are dying to have their work displayed, musicians are looking for venues and proud owners of mansions get to throw parties. Muse brings everyone together.

Muse has had little trouble financing their events. Eventually Muse will have to raise the money to give out nine scholarships a year. Currently, Muse is raising money for a building in Princeton that would serve as an "air-traffic control center for hosting these events," Cotter said. As of now, all Muse events have been held in New York City, but with the building in Princeton it will be easier to branch out to Boston and Philadelphia, he said. While Princeton may seem like an odd locale for such a hip organization, Cotter explained that he wanted to stay closer to an academic community and avoid "the tidal wave of other stimuli" in New York.

The hope is for Muse to be self-sustaining. "Knowing Kevin," Uniman said, "it will just happen."

"Kevin is a man of amazing vision," Uniman said. She credits his success to his involvement in all of the areas that Muse covers. As an artist himself, "he can be part of it in reality as opposed to just philosophically," Uniman said. "His heart, his soul, and his head are in it."

Eventually Muse's website, which can be accessed at www.academyofmuse.com, will be an online gallery for art and music.

Uniman, who herself used to play the flute and is now an opera singer, was recently at a function where she heard a flutist play with what she calls "the quintessential energy" that drives all artists. Recognizing that she could learn from one discipline to another, Uniman vowed to incorporate that energy into her own singing and realized that now, through Muse, many more artists will have that very same opportunity to be inspired by artists in other disciplines.