Katie Brightside, Curator-in-Chief for The Artist Tree – Interview Series

As the cannabis industry expands, retail dispensaries are evolving into spaces that handle far more than just transactions. Instead, they are transforming into vibrant hubs for diverse events and social gatherings. From hosting cannabis advocacy meetings to doubling as beautifully curated art galleries, modern dispensaries are pushing far beyond the boundaries of previous years.

To get a closer look at how to merge dispensary operations with community-driven events and curate the art featured in these spaces, MyCannabis.com spoke with Katie Brightside, Curator-in-Chief for The Artist Tree.

What were the most useful and interesting concepts in fashion that you learned while attending Kingston University and then moving to Italy after that?

Kingston University had one of the most respected BA (Hons) Fashion courses in the UK, largely because it produced ambitious designers who would do whatever it took to get the job done.

To put this into context, it was 1998 and I was a 19-year-old from the very unglamorous town of Swindon, England. Getting onto the course was a fight, and nothing changed once I arrived.

Before day one, we were given a project to introduce ourselves. We started with 46 students. If you failed, you were out. Three people left before classes had even properly begun.

Then, while the rest of the university enjoyed Orientation Week, we were given another project. We worked 20-hour days to complete it. By the end of that week, another two students had gone.

Three years later, only around 24 of us graduated.

There was hardly a day when a tutor didn’t make someone cry, pit us against each other, or publicly shame someone for getting things wrong. Looking back, much of that teaching style would be considered completely unacceptable today. Yet, strangely, I can also see its value.

The environment forced me to identify my weaknesses and recognize where I couldn’t compete with my peers. More importantly, it taught me how to turn those weaknesses into strengths. We learned how to market ourselves, build a personal brand, and speak confidently and persuasively about our ideas.

Most of us still joke that we have PTSD from those years. Welcome to fashion.

In our second year, we were sent to Paris Fashion Week and told to produce a catwalk report. None of us had industry connections. To get into shows, we literally wore sneakers so we could run under security guards’ arms and slip inside. We quickly learned to head straight for the press pit and pull out a camera, making it much harder for anyone to throw us out.

I remember photographers from Dazed & Confused and i-D magazine asking if they could swap positions with me as I squeezed my way to the front row at Valentino and Bernhard Willhelm shows. I held my own. I wasn’t going to fail that assignment.

During my second year, I won a project sponsored by the United Colors of Benetton, receiving both prize money and industry recognition.

By the time I graduated, I had three job offers. The most glamorous came from Benetton Group in Italy. They offered me a generous salary, an apartment, Italian lessons, and a food allowance. At 21 years old, I was completely spoiled and had very little understanding of how the industry worked.

To be honest, I never quite understood why they hired two of us from the course because there wasn’t a huge amount for us to do. So, I spent much of my time developing my portfolio before moving to Australia a year later. Within 10 days, I had walked into a freelance couture fashion role. I was elated; this was where I wanted to be! 

What Kingston taught me wasn’t simply how to design clothes. It taught me how to fight for what I wanted, how to hustle, how to create opportunities where none existed, and how to make the best of any situation.

Today, I think only about five of us are still working in fashion. Perhaps another four are in creative industries including me. The remaining fourteen or so completely reinvented themselves and pursued different careers.

The teaching methods would probably be illegal today, and rightly so. Yet I remain grateful for the experience. It was brutal, exhausting, and often unforgiving, but it shaped who I became.

The greatest lesson wasn’t fashion. It was resilience.

How did studying and living in all the different countries you have inspired your artistic style, appreciation for art of all formats and how you work with other artists?

I have lived in six countries and travelled extensively, and that exposure to different cultures forms the backbone of my practice. I see culture as a form of knowledge, and that thread runs consistently through my work. My artistic language developed during my BA at Kingston University and was further shaped by my MA in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, where I was encouraged to continuously search for the new while remaining critically rooted in both historical and contemporary art discourse.

I have a deep passion for reinventing historical references for today’s audience. Travelling has given me a greater appreciation of where art originates and how culture shapes creative expression.

Working with artists requires patience and understanding. Their creations are like their children, and it is important to respect the privilege of becoming the caretaker of those works, even if only for the duration of an exhibition or two.

What caught your attention about joining the Artist Tree team? Did you have any worries about working in the cannabis industry after so many years in fashion and art design?

The Artist Tree artist program is one of the best in the world and one of the only platforms where artists receive 100% of every artwork sale. Every piece sold is a significant milestone for an artist, and the company is committed to continuing to build a program that genuinely supports creatives and helps advance their careers.

I have no qualms about working in cannabis. In fact, it’s an uncharted industry that sparks my curiosity and passion for discovering new opportunities. The culture is often more relaxed than the traditional creative industries, which I find refreshing.

I am still a practicing artist with numerous creative outlets and ongoing endeavors, so I never really stop working. Creativity isn’t just my profession—it’s a constant part of who I am.

As someone very familiar with both, why do cannabis and the creative arts usually go so hand-in-hand? Why have so many artists across so many genres utilized cannabis in one way or another?

Cannabis and the creative arts have been linked for centuries, but the relationship is more complex than the popular stereotype of the “high artist.”

Creative achievement does not require cannabis, and research on whether it actually enhances creativity remains mixed. Ultimately, it is a personal choice — a choose-your-own-adventure approach.

One possible explanation for the long association is that the creative process often requires generating ideas before judging them. Some artists report that cannabis temporarily quiets their inner critic, allowing them to experiment more freely and take creative risks they might otherwise dismiss too quickly.

Cannabis can alter perception, slow thought patterns, heighten sensory awareness, and encourage unusual connections between ideas. For some creatives, this can lead to a greater appreciation of texture, rhythm, flavor, light, or emotional nuance. Whether these altered perspectives ultimately improve the work itself is subjective, but they may help artists approach familiar ideas from a different angle.

In your own words, why was it so important to win the West Hollywood Artist Grant, the Phyllis Morris Design Award at the West Hollywood Women in Business Leadership Awards, and the Winner of the BBA Regional Cookbook Award? How did those accomplishments help move your career forward?

None of these accomplishments are easy to obtain. Any recognition from your peers is important in establishing yourself as a professional. It helps build credibility, makes it easier to secure future grants and funding opportunities, and opens doors that might otherwise remain closed.

Awards and professional acknowledgements are more than just accolades—they are validation of the hard work, dedication, and expertise that go into building a career.

What does serving as Curator-in-Chief for 10 different locations entail? How do you work with fellow artists to both showcase their work and make the dispensaries more visually appealing with their work?

It’s really one giant domino game. For some reason, my brain finds it easy to maneuver 300 pieces of work in and 300 pieces out, with roughly 35 artists coming in and 35 going out.

The real challenge is learning each artist’s character well enough to predict who might throw a spanner into the works and knock a domino out of sequence. If you can understand the artist’s persona, you can execute a perfect ten-location switcheroo without missing a beat.

To be honest, I find it quite fun. I plan for every twist and turn before it happens.

I also don’t have a car. So in October, I’m setting myself the ultimate challenge: ten back-to-back installations stretching from Southern California to Sacramento. I genuinely cannot wait to see how it all shakes out.

And because apparently I enjoy making life unnecessarily complicated, I’m also fitting in interviews with well-known bartenders for the cocktail book. 

Although, in reality, I suspect I just enjoy the chaos of solving impossible logistical puzzles. Once you’ve spent years juggling artists, exhibitions, shipping schedules, venues, and deadlines, a normal week probably feels a little boring.

I honestly can’t wait for the company to open more store! Bring it! 

With so many locations to oversee, how do you perfectly curate visually beautiful art and featured artists with stores that would best fit their vibe and aesthetic? How much creative thought and execution goes into those decisions?

A great art program in a retail environment rarely happens by accident. When you’re overseeing dozens of locations, you’re not simply hanging artwork—you are creating a conversation between the artist, the space, the customer, and the local community.

A successful placement can elevate both the artwork and the location. Sometimes a piece that struggles to connect in one store becomes a bestseller when moved to another because the audience is a better fit. I regularly move work between locations, and when artists join the program, I make it clear that I want to build relationships slowly. This is a long game. Success rarely happens overnight, and the strongest artist partnerships are built over time.

An enormous amount of thought goes into every exhibition. I have started working with artists on shows more than a year in advance, helping them develop new bodies of work or encouraging them to present themselves in ways they may never have previously considered. Part of my role is identifying opportunities that challenge artists creatively while still remaining authentic to their practice.

The trust required to do this cannot be underestimated. Artists are placing their work, their reputation, and often a piece of themselves in your hands. Earning that trust takes consistency, honesty, and transparency. Those qualities are the foundation of every successful exhibition and every lasting artist relationship.

At its best, curating is not simply about selling artwork. It is about creating opportunities, building careers, connecting communities, and finding the right audience for the right artist at the right moment.

How did the Pride event on the 4th go? What were some of the highlights, and why is it important for dispensaries and art galleries like The Artist Tree to host events celebrating all the contributions to the arts that LGBTQ artists have created?

I asked a great deal from the team at The Artist Tree to support me for the June 4th event, and one of the most striking takeaways was realizing how rare it is for a company to not only trust a curator’s vision but to actively execute it with such precision and care—and then go beyond it.

The company, founded in Southern California with its flagship in West Hollywood, has always operated with a strong emphasis on cultural inclusion and community visibility. West Hollywood itself is widely recognized as a deeply LGBTQ+-affirming city, and that ethos is reflected in how the brand positions itself—celebrating cultural difference, supporting underrepresented artists, and elevating diverse voices within its programming.

What made the event feel meaningful wasn’t that it stood alone, but that it was built on an existing foundation that long predated my involvement. I see my role as the next curator in that continuum—someone responsible for evolving the program, refining its direction, and pushing it to its next level rather than reinventing it from scratch.

In that sense, the event was not the endpoint—it was simply the highlight of an already established, growing vision.

How do you utilize your own creative skills and artistic experiences when organizing and creating the Once in a Cocktail series? How do you find notable places to feature in the series?

I approach the Once in a Cocktail series the same way I approach curating artists—through instinct, curiosity, and storytelling.

I’m always looking for something new. I “hunt” for bartenders and venues the way I do artists: not just for skill, but for character, atmosphere, and narrative. A great cocktail is never just a drink—it’s a reflection of a place, a person, and a moment in time.

I also illustrate all of the books myself, and that visual language has evolved over years of practice. It allows me to build a fully immersive world where writing and imagery speak to each other. I don’t really see a separation between the two; I’m constantly translating experience into visual and written form.

At the core of it, I’m a storyteller. I can pull ideas from very little because I’m always observing—human behavior, spaces, energy, detail. What drives me is people and their lived experience, and how those small, often overlooked moments can be turned into something meaningful.

Ultimately, I care about human connection and making that feel accessible, alive, and a little more considered through the work.

What are some exciting future plans for both yourself and The Artist Tree? As the cannabis industry enters uncharted territory, how does The Artist Tree plan to evolve and adapt?

I have ambitious goals to help change the way art is sold and experienced. At The Artist Tree, we offer a unique program that is unlike anything else in the industry.

We want people to think differently about how they buy art. When they come into our stores, they are not just making a purchase—they are actively supporting and advancing an artist’s career. Every sale directly benefits the artist, with 100% of the artwork price going to them.

There is nothing wrong with the traditional gallery model, where galleries take 40–50% to cover the costs of running a space. That system has value and history. But there is also room for a new model—one that prioritizes transparency, access, and direct artist support.

We do not profit from the sale of artwork. Instead, we partner with artists to elevate their work within our spaces. Their creativity enhances our stores, transforming them into educational, visually rich environments for our customers.

This is an evolution of how art and commerce can work together: a model built on respect for craft, support for talent, and a belief that when artists thrive, the entire experience becomes more meaningful.

It’s a true partnership.

Thank you for joining us, Katie! For more information on The Artist Tree stores, please visit its website.