Top photographers, acclaimed designers, even a Hollywood director; you name it, Steven Pranica has represented all the big guns in the creative world.

Under his Creative Exchange Agency (CXA) which he founded in 1994, Pranica has successfully guided the careers of artists like David LaChapelle, Brett Ratner and Patricia Field and marketed them in the editorial, advertising and emerging media arenas.

Pranica also broke ground with his CXA+ART division that blends art, culture and commerce. The ‘Art Programs’ developed by the initiative translate creative content into special exhibitions, ad campaigns, and exclusive products that reinforce brand identity while creating splashes in the art and cultural landscape.

With offices in New York, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai, CXA has now branched out into full-fledged production, counting print, film and interactive as some of its many arms.

To view a selection of the works by artists represented by CXA, please click here.


TAXI Hi Steven, thanks for taking a ride with TAXI. You founded the Creative Exchange Agency (CXA) in 1994, and now the agency boasts some of the top names in photography, fine art, film and design in its roster. How has the journey been for you so far?

Steven Pranica The journey has been very fulfilling and a constant evolution. We now have offices in New York, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai, and diversified into the management of fine art photographers, film directors, creative directors, fashion stylists, set designers, and illustrators.

We produce print and film projects (independent, short and feature films) and have formed a branding agency which incorporates print, film and online media assignments. We also consult on numerous fine art books, gallery and museum exhibitions, and specialise in aligning visionary artists with luxury brands.

TAXI Tell us a little about your background before setting up CXA, and how you came to found the agency.

Steven Pranica I began my career at 15 years old in Chicago, as a photography assistant to Victor Skrebneski and Norman Parkinson. After three years of pursuing photography, I realised that I preferred a mixture of creativity and business, so I went to work for a photo agent in Chicago.

Over the next seven years, I worked for numerous prominent photo agents in New York and Los Angeles representing photographers including Helmut Newton, Ellen von Unwerth, Herb Ritts, Max Vadukul, Gilles Bensimon and Dominique Isserman.

While in Los Angeles, I also spent two years working as a commercial endorsement agent at William Morris, where I represented hundreds of actors, musicians and movie related talent for commercial assignments. It was there that I saw the possibility of packaging talent and creating an international network intermixing multi-disciplinary artists.

I started my agency 15 years ago in New York with three photographers, but quickly built up my roster to include luminary artists such as David LaChapelle, Sarah Moon and Robert Polidori.

TAXI Could you run us through your average day as the head of CXA?

Steven Pranica My average day offers a very diverse experience. I work with some of the most talented and influential artists in photography, film, art, fashion, design, celebrity, architecture, and music around the globe.

I spend the majority of my day managing the talent we represent and keeping abreast of developments in the creative arena, but am also very actively involved in production and aligning people. Information is our most important asset.

TAXI What, in your opinion, are the attributes that separate a good artist from a great one?

Steven Pranica A successful artist has a consistent vision and a unique and original viewpoint. A great photographer always reflects their own life in their artwork.

TAXI With the quality of all the artists in CXA’s roster, the agency surely can’t just accept anyone. What are some of the criteria you look for in artists who wish to be part of the agency, and what is your selection process like?

Steven Pranica We are always searching for emerging talent, as we prefer to develop artists. The most important trait for an agent is to forecast artistic movements. We search publications and galleries, receive recommendations about specific artists from associates, and review numerous inquires daily via email.

However, due to the intense development process we work on with each photographer, we prefer to keep our roster quite limited in size.

TAXI From someone who has worked with the top artists, designers and photographers, what advice would you give to younger creative talents seeking to better promote their work?

Steven Pranica With the vast array of promotional vehicles available today, I believe it is important to market their photography across as many platforms as possible, including personal meetings with traditional photography portfolios, websites, blogs, and within the online arena.

It is imperative that there is a consistent viewpoint within these various promotional vehicles.

It is most important to seek out clients and magazines which embrace your style of photography. It is ideal for the photographer to spend at least one year promoting their own work, to get direct feedback and understand the promotion process. It will ultimately strengthen their future relationship with their agent.

TAXI The art of pitching is something central in your line of work. What do you believe goes into that perfect pitch?

Steven Pranica Clients work with us based on the quality of the photographers we represent, as well as our ability to make things happen. We design the product, the packaging, the pitch, and recognise the multitude of markets the product can be distributed to and how best to access them.

The perfect pitch involves researching the client, identifying their needs and then providing them with the most relevant visual solution.

TAXI The CXA+ART division, in its ‘Art Programs’, values artistic collaboration between talents and brands or institutions. How important would you say collaboration is in the creative world?

Steven Pranica We align artists and brands to create visual content that becomes the visual vocabulary that carries the brand’s message to the consumer. A collaboration with an artist is a natural extension for a brand that allows an innovative and inspiring message for the consumer that transcends cultures.

With so many new forms of media including the internet, the artist has to adapt to the new forms of distribution of their art. Rather then only showcase their artwork in a magazine, gallery or museum, they are now able to reach a much wider audience then in the past and explore alternative forms of expression. These collaborations are meticulously structured to balance the sensitive relationship and complex nature of the creative development process between the artist and brand, while maintaining the artist’s integrity.

TAXI Which ‘Art Program’ are you particularly proud of?

Steven Pranica We have worked on many extraordinary projects including museum exhibitions and artist/brand collaborations with world-renowned artists such as Andreas Gursky, David LaChapelle, Robert Polidori, Robert Wilson and Sarah Moon.

We recently produced the launch for the Nike Sportswear (NSW) brand during the Beijing Olympics. The NSW brand is based on remixing iconic product designs with new technology. For this collaboration, Robert Wilson created hi-definition video portraits of iconic youth athletes, which was a unique and sensory experience showcased via a multi-media installation.

TAXI What are your immediate plans for CXA?

Steven Pranica With our recent expansion into Tokyo and Shanghai, we are looking to expose our artists’ work within the rapidly changing and vast global marketplace and adapt them to the various emerging media outlets. We also developed a branding agency which specialises in artist collaborations in print, film and the online arena.

TAXI What is the word you think will reside in and reverberate through the creative industries over the next 10 years?

Steven Pranica Communication!


To view a selection of the works by artists represented by CXA, please click here.