Aditya Julka, Co-Founder of Paddle8, on Surviving Armory Arts Week

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As told to Shireen Lohrasbe

This is my third time attending Armory Arts Week. I can still remember attending the fair before I ever worked in the art world and being mesmerized at the amount of excitement and energy surrounding contemporary art in New York. It really provides a great start to the art world calendar for the year.

I plan my week by consulting with my partner, Alexander Gilkes, and close art world friends, on what parties, shows, and talks we should attend. And of course making sure all of our own events run smoothly.

The key to attending the fairs and accompanying events is pacing yourself and not trying to see everything. Even though there is so much art to see, I think its important to take the time to appreciate the art you truly like. I focus on the shows my favorite artists are in and keep to a maximum of two events each night.

The artists I’m looking forward to seeing are the 70+ up-and-coming artists in the SPRING/BREAK Art Show. Paddle8 is hosting the online auction benefitting NYFA’s Sandy Relief Fund and the Arts in the Armed Forces initiative. It will be so gratifying to see it all come together on March 7.

I stay energized by trying to sleep by 1:00am every night and sticking to two espressos a day.

Other than the fairs, I also always look forward to some of the events that happen the same week. For instance, this year, Performa, an organization I serve on the board of, is organizing its inaugural Pavillian without Walls in New York, in collaboration with Norway. It features a performance work by the artist Tori Wranes, which I am really excited about. Another event I am really excited about is the Benefit Auction to support Printed Matter, hosted at the Rauschenberg Project Space on March 9. Pre-bidding is already underway on Paddle8, and we have already received dozens of bids to support this iconic organization.

A Harvard Business School Baker Scholar, McKinsey veteran and serial entrepreneur, Aditya Julka has in his previous projects successfully merged his background in biotechnology, biochemical engineering, and business. He founded and exited two companies, the last one backed by Accel Ventures. His forte is problem solving matters of large scale efficiency and growing businesses globally.