Angella d'Avignon
Angella d'Avignon
Writer / Editor / Copywriter
California > Brooklyn, NY
www.heyangella.com
twitter @heyangella
instagram @heyangella
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I spend time with people and tell stories. ”
I dig into the idea of “place” —its history, topography, culture, crops, flora, fauna, architecture, infrastructure, reputation, population—and how it impacts us emotionally and socially. I investigate subcultures and look for the overlooked elements and people that make them vibrant. I think looking is just as important as finding. I critique visual art and literature, I write celebrity profiles, and do deep field research that often involves municipal workers. I’m currently studying ghost towns and what their gradual deterioration says about our social world. Making connections and bridging gaps are my strong suits.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
I'm a proud late bloomer; I didn't finish my undergraduate degree until I was in my early thirties. I never regretted that decision for a minute and wrote about it for The Washington Post. I receive more emails thanking me for that piece than any essay I've written since. Before that mile marker, I was an upstart curator and put together art exhibitions and coordinated artist projects with a storefront space I co-founded with my best friend. I worked as a curatorial research assistant and launched a freelance writing career by cold pitching and good advice. After receiving my BA in Art History at California State University Long Beach, I went on to earn my MFA in Art Writing in Criticism at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. I joined the National Writer's Union and The Newswomen's Club of New York to expand my network and to share solidarity with my fellow freelancers. It's a tough gig!
How do you stand out in your field?
An editor once told me my intellect was capacious. I excel at herding cats, which is to say, I can take a handful of competing ideas and wayward details and not only make them into cohesive concepts but compelling stories. I have a distinctive voice and a sharp style but can tailor my narrator to tackle any angle or perspective. As an editor and coworker, I’m acute but supportive; I push the projects I’m part of to their highest potential.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
A handful of freelance assignments including two essays on the way we relate to space and places on digital planes, a monograph for a nomadic art museum, and a book proposal about ghost towns, place memory, and domestic migration.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
First person perspective with limited use of referring to myself in order to open the audience to the potential for radical empathy, focusing on connection, loss, and regional land politics.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
UX Copywriting and writing for voice/scripting.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
Finding meaningful work and concentrating in such a troubled world.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
Transcribing my interviews, helping me chase down obscure leads for reported stories.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I'd go back to the summer I had to take online Calculus with a tutor before I could transfer to state school from community college. I was broke and beat down and working three jobs, one of which was unpaid (but I needed the experience and the recommendations). I would tell myself that it won't get any easier but the reward of how hard you worked and where it will take you is worth all the pain and extra elbow grease.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
How User Design copywriting relates to narrative nonfiction writing.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I'm especially keen to apply my skill set to UX copywriting opportunities. I'm also interested in writing scripts for podcasts, brand copy, copyediting editorial texts for print or online, managing editor positions for publications or e-commerce blogs, content production, blogging, creative research. Contracted jobs, short term or remote.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I worked with an editor at an art-focused e-commerce site with whom I had great communication. We genuinely enjoyed talking to each other and her assignments were well-explained, assigned well in advanced, and tailored to my interests. This editor allowed me to work independently, pitch my own ideas, scale up when I asked, and challenged me when I began to get bored. Our collaboration resulted in clean, on brand, and popular content that was among the most read and shared across their platform.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
I'd love to hear what the client and the project is all about, a clear vision, a detailed scope, a set of expectations including deadlines, and transparency regarding budget.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Traveling; either by book or just going outside.
This member profile was originally published in x 2020.