The gallery, once a static, sometimes travelling vessel for the world’s most current art and culture, has gone fully mobile. From American designer Kelly Wearstler comes Side Hustle, a curatorial platform that bridges the gap between the digital and physical worlds of exploration, bringing the works from exciting artists and designers to your fingertips—literally and figuratively.

​Side Hustle is rooted in the transcendental. Encouraging artists to collaborate across a physical and medium space, Side Hustle breaks down the traditional walls that hinder amalgamation and interplay. Works across a myriad of creative disciplines (including, but not limited to, performance, sculpture, automatic design, culinary culture, video, sport, and painting) mix and mingle both on the digital platform and in the physical realm, beginning with showings in Beverly Hills, with expansions to other cities highly anticipated to be underway. Historical objects, curated by Wearstler in line with her Collected Works practice, are dispersed alongside contemporary projects, bringing the past to the present. Side Hustle places artists at the helm, forging the way for interdisciplinary and unexpected synthesis and creation. Public engagement gives a voice and legacy to the works featured, enduring the life of an exhibition long past its closure. Creativity is at the forefront—and is now more visible than ever.

​In conjunction with Side Hustle’s debut comes its first exhibition, Again, Differently. Again, Differently features artists from the U.S., U.K., Europe, and South America, with each work interpreting the cyclical process of trying, failing, revising, and trying again. The exhibition will debut online first, on October 16th, with in-person viewings beginning on the 17th. Together, Side Hustle and Again, Differently signal a new era for artistic exchange—one where creativity moves freely across borders, mediums, and moments, reimagining what it means to witness and participate in art today.

Wearstler is a designer and creative director based in Los Angeles. Her trailblazing vision and designs, which span architecture and interiors, product and furniture design, curation and media, technology and more, have influenced much of the design and creative narrative of today. Side Hustle, her latest venture, brings these elements together under one roof and across dimensions. In our conversation with Wearstler, we discuss Side Hustle’s birth and staying power, as well as its ability to break down boundaries in the creative scene and process. 

We’d love to start by talking about Side Hustle’s inception. Were there many ideological iterations of the platform before it reached this point? How did you arrive at this debut—and can you explain how Collected Works fits in?

Side Hustle has been in development for years. Collaboration with both emerging and established creatives has always been central to my own evolution as a designer, so giving that spirit a larger, more formal platform felt like a natural next step. My own studio practice takes inspiration from all sorts of creative places – fashion, music, cars, jewelry – so I wanted Side Hustle to reflect that diversity. As we began shaping the roster for the inaugural show, the momentum was immediate – things unfolded organically, and the vision quickly came to life. Collected Works reflects my own curatorial sensibility – balancing new commissions and contemporary perspectives with the context of historic work. These incredibly rare additions have been procured from across the globe, throughout many years, and they can be accessed through the online Side Hustle platform.

‍Let’s talk about creative risk: how does Side Hustle foster an environment in which featured artists are encouraged to bend/break boundaries?

Side Hustle reexamines what could potentially find its way into an art gallery. In Again, Differently, we are showing more traditional art objects along with functional pieces, we are showing video and commissioning performances, there is perfume, there is music, it is a true convergence of creative expression. Nothing is off the table. Our goal is to cultivate a space that is both established and boundless – one where collaborators are empowered to create with freedom and intention. My role is solely to provide a point of departure and the tools needed to bring their visions to life.

‍Side Hustle is unique in its multilateral approach, with exhibitions available in both digital and physical spaces. How did you curate this particular roster of artists, whose works must hold their own in both spaces?

Side Hustle’s digital experience is as important as any physical manifestation. We’ve commissioned Madeline Hollander for a performance piece, which will be also produced into video art for the digital experience. There are elements, such as an essay by Jeffrey Deitch, that will only be accessible online, so I hope that everyone has a chance to visit both.

Repetition and ritual are core themes for Again, Differently, so I sought out artists in which these were a strong throughline for their work.

What do you look for in an oeuvre? What makes a piece of art maintain integrity and meaning when interpolated through a screen, or through time?

The work should be personal, and tell a story. Integrity is enduring; it transcends medium and moment. Whether experienced in person or translated through a screen, meaningful work holds its resonance.

How, if at all, does the idea of hospitality and your personal history come into play with this exhibition? How does curation become an art form in itself here?

Our inaugural exhibition, Again, Differently, will be staged in an iconic space once owned by the Broccoli family, a pool house where they originally hosted screenings of their James Bond films.

Repurposing it as a gallery space feels so perfect. For me, art and design create meaning within a space, the objects that surround us – fostering beautiful moments of connection. This marks the first time the space has been activated since the Broccoli family’s tenure, and I’m thrilled to invite others to experience it in a new light.

What’s next for Side Hustle? How can one hope for longevity in the digital age?

Longevity in the digital age requires constant evolution. I want to surprise people, show work both as one-off drops and in larger exhibition formats, sometimes just online and sometimes in person. I want to bring Side Hustle to cities around the world. This project is global. I hope the multidisciplinary structure opens doors to new audiences – an ever-renewing energy that keeps people inspired.