Ep 66 Dr. Quahana Hendree, ThD How Original Artwork Boosts Workplace Productivity and Well-Being

In this episode of The ARTwork of YOU, host Lori Gouhin sits down with Dr. Quahana Hendree, ThD, a seasoned artist, art historian, and business consultant who has dedicated her career to transforming workplaces through the power of original art. Dr. Hendree shares her inspiring journey from a childhood passion for art to working in corporate and eventually launching her art consulting business.

Discover how Dr. Hendree marries art and business to create environments that foster productivity, reduce stress, and enhance employee well-being. Backed by fascinating research, Dr. Hendree explains why the right art can make a tangible difference in workplace culture and performance.

Episode Highlights:

00:53 - Meet Dr. Quahana Hendree: From artist to art consultant merging her passion for art and corporate expertise

06:45 - The science behind art and productivity: How visual stimuli impact mood, creativity, and workplace well-being

09:10 - Practical tips for choosing artwork: Budgeting, aligning art with your company’s mission, and understanding employee and client preferences

15:12 - Dr. Quahana Hendree’s process for finding artists to work with

21:48 - How to connect and work with Dr. Quahana Hendree

More About Dr. Quahana Hendree:

Dr. Quahana Hendree, ThD, Art Consultant and Theological Art Historian is the Founder, Owner, President, CEO and Principal Consultant of St. Louis, MO based Q. Hendree Art Consulting, LLC. An artist since five years old and a passionate advocate of the arts, she first established it in 2012 and re-established it in 2020. Her multi-tiered professional journey includes more than 25 years of experience as a business and arts executive, spanning multiple genres, industries and locations. Her abundant love for art is complemented by a strong faith and business foundation and a desire to connect people with art and the significance behind it in a simple, robust and practical fashion. 

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Transcript

 [00:00:00] Welcome to the artwork of you, the podcast, where your life is the canvas and you are the masterpiece. I'm your host, Lori Gouhin, and together we'll explore creativity, self awareness, mindset, goal strategy, and the importance of accountability so that you can paint your life's portrait with confidence and ease.

Remember, in the gallery of life, you're not just a spectator, you are the art. So let's grab our brushes and start creating the masterpiece that is you.

[00:00:29] Lori Gouhin: Hello, my friends, I am so glad that you are here with me today, because today we have a special guest. I want to welcome Dr. Quahana Hendree to The Artwork of You. She is an art consultant and theological art historian. She is also the founder, owner, president, CEO, and principal consultant of St. Louis, Missouri based Q Hendree

[00:00:53] Lori Gouhin: art consulting. She's been an artist since she was five years old and a passionate advocate of the arts. She first established her business in 2012 and then re established it in 2020. Her multi tiered professional journey includes more than 25 years of experience as a business and arts executive, spanning multiple genres, industries, and locations.

[00:01:17] Lori Gouhin: Her abundant love for art is complimented by a strong faith and business foundation and a desire to connect people with art and the significance behind it in a simple, robust. and practical fashion. Welcome, Dr.

[00:01:32] Lori Gouhin: Quahana. How are you today? I am glorious. How are you? I'm fantastic. Thank you.

[00:01:38] Dr. Quahana Hendree: 

[00:01:38] Lori Gouhin: So why don't we just start out by telling me and my audience a little bit about your journey and what led you to start your art consulting business?

[00:01:47] Dr. Quahana Hendree: well, as you mentioned, I have been an artist since I was a child and, being formally trained in it and around it all the time. It was just a part of my life, and I knew that I would be I would operate in it in some form or fashion. So after starting out in architecture, I switched to art history and business and worked as a business executive for many years.

[00:02:09] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And When my most recent corporate position was dissolved. I actually gave myself permission to start the business I'd always wanted to do. And of course the, the most logical business for me was making sure that people could have art in the business place because I knew the corporate space and I knew how artwork could affect my performance in that space.

[00:02:33] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And I had seen corporate art buyers in the past, and I really didn't know much about them. And I started doing some exploration and found art consulting as a way to kind of marry the two professions together. And so that's when I started it in 2012. And that's me in a snapshot of how I started that business.

[00:02:52] Lori Gouhin: And so in your experience, what kind of a difference does art original art have in the workplace? Do you find it increases productivity or creativity? What do you see? 

[00:03:04] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Yes, all of that. You know, there have been studies done over the years.

[00:03:08] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And most recently, there have been some even more studies done during the pandemic on how art affects us in the workplace. First of all, we want to think about how what we see affects our, our mood. So if something is affecting your mood, you want it to affect it in a positive way.

[00:03:25] Dr. Quahana Hendree: they have done brain scans of what art does when you look at it. So one of the things that happens in the workplace when I'm looking at art is it increases my productivity because I'm working around something that brings me pleasure. It decreases my stress.

[00:03:39] Dr. Quahana Hendree: It also increases my feelings of well being, and it improves my vestedness in my employer, So those are some of the clinical benefits of what art does viewing art. And one of the things, a couple of studies that have been done recently out of Colorado with Dr. Mark Moss and out of Canada with Ocean Vartanian, a PhD, is surrounding all of that

 mark Moss did a study addressing burnout and healthcare professionals and how working with the arts increases all of these good things that I just mentioned before and decreases the amount of healthcare professionals that are leaving the field. 

[00:04:19] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Art does not solve every problem, but it does address many of them.

[00:04:24] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And many people don't know that the right art is what they are missing in their workplace. 

[00:04:29] Lori Gouhin: how do the businesses know what's the right art for the right business or the right art for their employees because everyone has such vastly different tastes.

[00:04:37] Dr. Quahana Hendree: yeah, and that is exactly right. Everyone's taste does vary. So if I'm a corporation and I haven't hired an art consultant like myself, the first thing I want to do is I want to determine a couple of things.

[00:04:48] Dr. Quahana Hendree: I want to determine the budget for buying artwork. I want to determine, do I have a desire for it? And I also want to determine, do I have a need for it? And I always tell people to start with what you love.

[00:05:02] Dr. Quahana Hendree: That is very simple, very practical. You know, most people know what their favorite color is. Most people know art they don't like. So think about the things you do. Like maybe you like people, maybe you like nature, maybe you like cityscapes, maybe like. Flowers, you know, so there are different things that we kind of know intrinsically that we like and so we can start there very simple.

[00:05:27] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And that's just getting an idea of what your tastes look like. And then, if you decide to hire a consultant, like myself, I come in and I'm going to do a needs assessment while I'm there. I'm going to get to know the company, you know, what their personality is, what their mission, what their mandate is.

[00:05:44] Dr. Quahana Hendree: The community that surrounds them, what they do, who comes into their space, who works in their space. And I'm going to look at that space to determine what artwork is going to align with all of those things. So I'm going to be, I'm going to be looking at the subject matter, the placement, the size, color.

[00:06:03] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Even specific artists that might align with what they're going to do. And then we just kind of start building from there. I'd like to move one room at a time, one piece at a time so at the end of the day, we have this complete collection of Or if they just want to do one space, we have a space that when someone enters that space, they immediately know that this is what this place does.

[00:06:25] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And this is how I feel in this space, for example, in a bank, a law office, a medical clinic, all of those are going to have different types of artwork because they have different abilities, different mandates, different missions. And the artwork is going to speak to all of [00:06:40] that. 

[00:06:40] Lori Gouhin: getting to know the corporation and the company is going to dictate what kind of art I'm going to advise to them. 

[00:06:45] Dr. Quahana Hendree: certain industries like finance. And the legal profession, their colors tend to be kind of on the dark, heavy side. But when we talk about color, we're going to be talking about the hue of the color.

[00:06:57] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So even if it's a dark color, we can have a light hue of that color. So that would lift it, even if it's dark, it would still have a light element to it.

[00:07:07] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And then when we're in the medical healthcare field spas, you know, hospitality. You know, those colors are going to be more soothing, lighter, with a touch that is a very gentle touch,

[00:07:18] Dr. Quahana Hendree: speaking of the health industry I know that there have been studies on art and well being and how it actually can affect you physically and mentally.

[00:07:27] Lori Gouhin: Can you talk a little bit more about that? 

[00:07:29] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Sure. As I mentioned a couple of studies that have been done recently with Dr. Mark Moss and Dr. Ocean Vartanian. With Mark, it's about healthcare professionals with ocean. It's about something called neural aesthetics, which is looking at the understanding of the neural basis of the aesthetic experience.

[00:07:47] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So what we see and how that's affecting us. And so there are different pioneers of those studies and what they entail. They're very detailed. But it really just boils down to the fact that yeah. The beauty that we see affects us in a good way, and it could help us in many ways. For example, if I am convalescing in a hospital and I have this beautiful, soft piece of fine art in front of me, that is going to aid in my healing versus if I had something that was loud and aggravating in front of me, that's going to impede my healing, right?

[00:08:19] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Those are small things that work in partnership with everything around you. so my job is to come in and make sure that the art piece is going to work in partnership with every other piece, so that your employees, your visitors, the owners that when they're in that workplace, They're going to be invested in what they're doing. They're going to be proud of what they're doing. They're going to have energy. And so a lot of that because of the art that's around them. The next time you go into a bank, just take stock of what the artwork is that you see.

[00:08:51] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And then ask yourself, how do I feel about my money being in this institution? Do I trust this institution? Do I feel like my money is safe? Right. Or when you go to a doctor's office, you know, let's say you're getting the root canal. You go into the dentist's office and there are these bright cherry red pop art pieces in front of you.

[00:09:10] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And I've had this experience. I didn't get a root canal, but I, I saw this artwork in a dentist's office Thankfully it was just a cleaning, but yeah. You know, I thought if I was getting something more substantial, I would kind of be nervous if I'm hearing drilling and I'm seeing these loud colors in front of me, that just really is a disconnect between what he does and what I'm having done to me and the experience I want to have in that space.

[00:09:35] Lori Gouhin: Yeah.And you know, you had talked earlier about, People have different tastes and you're going to bring in what resonates with them. But I guess sometimes you have to think beyond your taste and think about your customer or your client and what kind of feeling they want to have when they come into your establishment.

[00:09:52] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Exactly, you know because at the end of the day, you are serving someone else. So if I'm not serving you well, that's going to affect not only my revenue, but it's going to affect. My client retention repeat business, all of that is going to be affected if the person doesn't trust what they have in that space.

[00:10:12] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And again, the artwork is just a small piece of that. But it really is important. It really is important. And it's critical. 

[00:10:19] Lori Gouhin: Yeah, that totally makes sense. And I think that when you walk into an establishment, especially not even necessarily big corporate establishments like banks and hospitals, but even local independently owned businesses, when they have original art there, I feel that it makes a statement.

[00:10:38] Dr. Quahana Hendree: About who they are, and that can be original art that's there on consignment or, you know, even more. So I'd say if the owner of the establishment purchases the art themselves, it's an investment in their business. And I think that when you walk in, it makes a statement about who they are.That's exactly right. And you mentioned something a moment ago that I want to talk about as well. Art is one, even though I don't buy art to sell it, I don't buy it thinking I'm going to turn it over for a profit. But one of the good things about art is that it is one of the small things that will appreciate and value.

[00:11:13] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So when you are buying art, you are investing in yourself. You are investing in your company. And at the end of the day depending upon the artists. Subject matter, the context, the time, all of that can actually have a really big impact on the, the value of that art that you buy. And if you have a collection at the end of your lifetime and a legacy, you can give that to other people.

[00:11:38] Dr. Quahana Hendree: You can gift it to the museum. You can have it. Do a lot of things for you in terms of being an additional stream of income, but also being a legacy that you can share with generations to come for years and years and years. So, if I'm a mom and pop shop, and I started a collection.

[00:11:56] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And like you said, a moment ago, I walk in to the small business and I can see immediately. What this establishment believes in, and what they think and how they operate. And decades later, I see the same collection being used by their children or by the people who have taken over this business or by the community.

[00:12:17] Dr. Quahana Hendree: It's being shared in the community. So there are many implications of starting a collection, even if it's small. 

[00:12:24] Lori Gouhin: Yeah, I totally agree. And I think that, unfortunately, A lot of people in the mainstream, they don't understand the value of the original work. And I mean, no shame on home goods, but when you go and you see things that are mass produced, and if you're choosing to decorate your.

[00:12:42] Lori Gouhin: establishment with that, that also says something about, the value that you place in your exterior surroundings, I would say. they just don't realize sometimes it might be beautiful home goods, has beautiful art and they don't necessarily differentiate between that and the time and the, the energy and the emotion that goes into original work that stays with the piece, in my opinion.

[00:13:04] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Right. And you know, at the end of the 

[00:13:05] Dr. Quahana Hendree: day, there are ways to mitigate the amount of money that you're going to spend just because you want a piece of fine art doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money. That's one of the things I love to educate people on and demystify. [00:13:20] The process of buying art that it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg, you know, you don't have to get a second mortgage to buy your artwork, right?

[00:13:26] Dr. Quahana Hendree: You know, there are ways to get artwork that is original but a fee that is more accessible. So we can do a print, we can do a high quality fine art print which is, you know, just taking a piece, a piece of fine art and getting a copy made of that, and the artist can do that in a way that is very, very beautiful, very, very high end, but it's going to cost a fraction of what you would pay for the original piece.

[00:13:52] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So there are ways around that when a company says, you know, I want to start collecting art, but I don't have a lot of money, you know, what can we do to kind of mitigate that? So as a service to them, I'm always going to look for ways that I can best stretch their dollar because at the end of the day, I don't want them to throw it in the trash five years down the road.

[00:14:09] Dr. Quahana Hendree: I want them to keep it for generations. And so whatever I can do to make that happen is what we're going to do. so I'm working with them to find the right art that fits within their budget. That's why I said a moment ago that you need to determine what your budget is because that's going to dictate Where I go, who I source from, and whether we get something out of the studio or we get something commissioned for them. There are lots of things that go into what I'm going to advise them to buy. 

[00:14:36] Lori Gouhin: Yeah, well, and speaking of the other side of it then, you sort of saying that the artwork and connections with artists, there are a lot of artists that listen to the podcast, a lot of creatives, so how do they it's really important for people to get connected with somebody like you or other consultants or present themselves to establishments to try to get their work into corporate environments.

[00:14:57] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Yeah. One of the things I love to do is I love to go out and see art all the time. Because when I see art. I make note of that artist. I think, Oh, let me put this artist in my file, because I want them to be available. Should I have something that aligns with client?

[00:15:12] Dr. Quahana Hendree: For example I went to an art gallery opening recently and I saw beautiful artists out of the Middle East and beautiful pieces of work. And so I just make note of their website. I can go look at the art. Okay. And then I just I just kind of bookmark it. So I think, Okay, I have a client next month that might like this piece that I saw, and I know exactly where to go to get it, you know, so really, I just love to have artists on hand.

[00:15:36] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Should I need them? And so a lot of artists may send me their website and just say, Hey, this is my work. I'd love for you to consider me if you ever have a future client that might need my work. So that's the way to kind of get it in front of me. But I'm always out looking 

[00:15:50] Dr. Quahana Hendree: It's like having a yellow pages. A vast directory of artists One of the things about where I am is that I always try to start locally because I love supporting the artists that are right around me. 

[00:16:01] Lori Gouhin: because I can physically go to their studio and see what they're doing.

[00:16:04] Dr. Quahana Hendree: But I can source from all over the world. There are artists in London that I love and I bought pieces from. So wherever they are, I may see artists on instagram who are in the Netherlands and so I can follow them and I can get their website bookmark and I can source from them if I want to. And I love having that ability to just kind of get art from anywhere.

[00:16:25] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So, I tend to start locally and regionally, and then I just move out from there, just let me know what your website is so I can bookmark it. That's a great way for me to know who you are. And then I can keep you in mind. Should something come up that might align with what you do.

[00:16:38] Lori Gouhin: I love that. love that. And to shift gears a little bit, I know you have a history. In art history. Can you tell us more about that and that side of you and how that affects the art that you like, the experiences of, of collecting art for yourself and for your clients?

[00:16:56] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Yeah, well, art, art history for me is just really just, being in love with art. It's really just knowing the science behind what some, what someone did. And one of the things you do as you're being trained in art is, They always give you art history because you want to know what's behind it.

[00:17:13] Dr. Quahana Hendree: You know, there are all of these different genres of art and It's fascinating to know what, what started these genres. It's fascinating to meet the artists behind it. It's fascinating to know about their lives. It's fascinating to know what they were thinking when they did something. Some of it's heartbreaking.

[00:17:30] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And some of it's just really exhilarating. So art history for me is just really just. And it's just being a detective and finding out the pieces of what makes this art what it is. That's all it really is. And just for me, when I know kind of what's behind the art, it makes it just more, makes it that much more special.

[00:17:48] Dr. Quahana Hendree: For some of the artists that I love, like when I was, I was in London, and I got to go to the National Portrait Gallery, and I saw all these pieces that I have been studying my entire life, and I got very emotional And to see it in front of me was just really just breathtaking. So art history is just being a detective for me and just really being able to articulate what happened in this genre, what happened with this artist and what happened with this piece.

[00:18:16] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And if I'm advising a client on a particular genre, I can speak about that a little bit because as I'm advising clients, I always wanna educate them because as we're building a collection, they should be getting their art IQ increased, right? Mm-hmm . I like to call it their art iq. So I, I would do a disservice to them if I didn't educate them as I was advising them, just as if you were a a financial consultant.

[00:18:42] Dr. Quahana Hendree: As you are managing your customer's portfolios, you're gonna be educating them on what you're doing. Because they, at the end of the day, they need to speak about what's in their space. I want them to be able to invite people into their space and say, you know, this is this beautiful piece of artwork I have commissioned.

[00:18:59] Dr. Quahana Hendree: And let me tell you a little bit about the genre. Let me tell you a little bit about what these artists tend to do in this genre. And so it's really about educating people about what's behind the 

[00:19:09] Lori Gouhin: Yeah, and I think that a lot of times people are attracted to art because of the story behind it.

[00:19:14] Lori Gouhin: And when you look at the old masters and all the stories that, that are behind all those, those old works and trying in modern times. To also build a story behind your work. Do you have any suggestions for artists? how to build a story behind the art that they're choosing to do, behind who they are, behind each individual piece, so that they can convey that message to potential collectors.

[00:19:41] Dr. Quahana Hendree: I think whenever you, whenever you are creating a piece of art, Take stock of where you are at that moment because that's gonna speak to what you do know whether you want to verbally articulate that to the people that buy your work that is totally up to you. That's personal. Sometimes there's no story.

[00:19:57] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Sometimes you just want to paint something that's pretty, you [00:20:00] know, and sometimes if it's deeper than that you might as you're showing it as you're selling it, that's the opportunity to convey to that person that's purchasing that piece. What you were thinking when you did it, you know, were you happy?

[00:20:14] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Were you sad? did you have a huge traumatic life event? Did you have a wonderful life event? Something that spoke to what you did. So you can write it down.

[00:20:23] Dr. Quahana Hendree: I'm looking at a piece right now in my office. And I did this piece when I was 16 years old, and I can remember that day when I did it, and I remember how I was thinking, and I thought, Wow, this is so fantastic.

[00:20:35] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So I have an emotional connection to it. I've never sold it because I just love to look at it. And so I tell people that story of that day when I made it because it's a wonderful story. And then there are pieces that I've done that I see in my house where I just I just drew something that day because I wanted to.

[00:20:50] Dr. Quahana Hendree: There's no story. There's nothing that happened. It was just a doodle, right? And so just take stock of where you were at that moment, articulate it if you feel led to do so, and hopefully that'll build a connection between the person that you sell it to and the people that will look at it. 

[00:21:08] Lori Gouhin: Yeah, I love that.

[00:21:09] Lori Gouhin: And so as we begin to wrap up, is there anything else that you would like to share that I didn't think to ask you that you think would be beneficial I want people to remember that art is essential and art is glorious. It is for everyone. 

[00:21:24] Lori Gouhin: I love that. It is definitely for everyone.

[00:21:27] Lori Gouhin: I totally love that. Well, where can people find more about your work and the potential to possibly work with you, whether they be a business or an artist? Tell us all the places to find you. 

[00:21:38] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Sure. Well, my website is https://qhendreeartconsulting.com/

[00:21:48] Dr. Quahana Hendree: if you're a business, you can go on that website and you can set up a consultation with me. That's always going to be free the first time where I just kind of get to know you and get a needs assessment. And if you're an artist and you want me to just kind of bookmark your website you can also go to that website and just drop a line on that connect with us page and then you can communicate with me that way.

[00:22:09] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So companies can just call me or set up a consultation and we can go from there. Artist can drop me a line and say, Hey, this is my website. Please make note of my work. And I'm on Instagram at q_hendree_art_consulting 

[00:22:23] Lori Gouhin: yeah, we'll put all of that in the show notes too so people can have the, the links for you.

[00:22:31] Lori Gouhin: Perfect. And just to be clear, you're, you work all over correct? You're not just regional, local to where you are. So if someone is across the country, you'll they still have the opportunity. Yes, 

[00:22:41] Dr. Quahana Hendree: yes. That's the wonderful thing about technology is that I can work anywhere. And I'm in St. Louis, Missouri.

[00:22:47] Dr. Quahana Hendree: So if I'm in the St. Louis metropolitan area, I'm going to physically go and assess that space. But if I'm outside of the St. Louis, Missouri area, I can assess the space through video. You know, there are virtual ways we can do that. You know, there are people that I work with in Michigan where we just walk through with a camera and I can assess the space.

[00:23:06] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Because again, I'm going to be getting to know that company through talking with them and developing a relationship with them. And then the space is there. Assessing the space is going to be secondary to that, so I can work anywhere, and that is wonderful. Perfect. Great. 

[00:23:21] Lori Gouhin: Well, thank you so much for being here today.

[00:23:24] Lori Gouhin: I really appreciate you taking the time. I know I learned a lot, and I'm sure my listeners have as well. 

[00:23:29] Dr. Quahana Hendree: Well, thank you so much, Lori. It was my pleasure. I really enjoyed it. 

[00:23:33] Lori Gouhin: 

[00:23:34] Dr. Quahana Hendree: