The Joy Seeker: Genie Davis and the Art of Living Fully
- artandcakela
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
By Kristine Schomaker There's something magical about watching someone talk about what they truly love. Genie Davis lights up when she describes art - not in that polished, curator-speak way, but like someone sharing a secret about where to find the best hidden treasure in the city.
And honestly? That's exactly what she's been doing for the past decade through her online publication Diversions LA, attending countless gallery openings, supporting artists, and curating shows that bring people together around work that matters.
"Art is joy," she tells me during our recent conversation. "Art is creativity and joy and happiness." It's a simple statement, but when Genie says it, you believe her completely. This is someone who has built her life around that principle.
Finding Art Early (And Never Letting Go)
Genie's love affair with art started when she was three years old. While other kids were heading to playgrounds, her mom took her to the National Gallery. "There was this one room that was all of these Greek and Roman statues. I think Aphrodite was one of them, and in the middle of it was this little fountain with nymphs playing in the fountain."
What drew her in? "I think I liked that there was water there." (I love this detail - how a child's logic leads to a lifelong passion.)
Adjacent to that room were paintings by Fra Filippo Lippi, which became her declared favorite artist. "I think I just liked the sound of the name," she admits with a laugh. But something deeper was happening too - "to this day, I do like gold leaf."
The Winding Path to Art Writing
Genie's career reads like someone following their curiosity wherever it leads. She's written for television (ABC's Port Charles), produced corporate videos, published novels, and freelanced for everything from plumbing magazines to amusement park trade publications.
The pivot to art writing happened almost by accident. She was freelancing for a local publication, writing film and restaurant reviews. One night, their art reviewer couldn't make it to a show. "Can you do this?" they asked.
"I'm like, well, okay, because I know galleries, I know museum art, but I don't have a degree in that, or whatever." The show was at ThinkSpace Gallery. She loved it immediately.
When that publication went out of business a year later (after paying her in advance for three stories she couldn't place anywhere else), Genie decided to start her own online magazine. Her boyfriend Jack was supposed to help set it up, but couldn't figure it out. "So my son actually set it up for me."
That was 2015. Diversions LA was born.
What She's Looking For (And What She Avoids)
Genie has strong opinions about art, formed through years of looking and thinking. She gravitates toward installation art and anything that creates an immersive experience. "I love being brought into somebody else's world, whether that's through a group show or a solo show."
Contemporary art excites her across the board. What she avoids? "Things that are very commercial." She'll support friends in pay-to-play shows, but prefers spaces that prioritize artistic vision over commerce.
"I'll take the quirky and the weird, the show that's all genitalia. I will take that show any time over a show that's starkly commercial."
She also steers clear of group shows with no theme or purpose - "we overhung things salon style on a wall that we overstuffed for no reason and no theming... just because..."
The Curator Emerges
During the pandemic, when fewer shows were happening, Genie discovered she could curate. She organized an online exhibition through Artillery with Dani Dodge and Diane Cockerill, featuring photos of the city under lockdown. "Hundreds of people showed up on the Zoom... mostly because there was nothing else to do."
But it showed her something important: "I could curate work and pair people together, and it worked really nicely."
Since then, she's curated several shows, including a two-person exhibition called "Leaving Eden" at Keystone Art Space and a group show "Windswept" at Wonzimer Gallery earlier this year. "It turned out to be more pertinent than I would have imagined because of the terrible fires."
Where Energy Comes From
Here's what struck me most about talking with Genie: she's figured out something many of us struggle with. When I asked where she gets her energy, she was honest about feeling like she has less than she used to. The constant ghostwriting work (she's currently helping people write books about everything from finance to the afterlife) can be draining.
But here's her secret: "That gives me energy" - meaning the art shows, the gallery visits, the time spent with artists and creative community.
"If I'm just like, I need this whole blank day to myself to catch up on work, I do need that... But at the end of the day, I feel exhausted and depleted. I know perfectly well that I do much better mentally, emotionally, even physically, to be out there and doing things and seeing things that bring me joy."
Even when she's up against a deadline, even when she's two chapters from finishing someone's book and payday is the next day, she'll walk away from work to go to a farmer's market with a friend or attend an opening. "I've gotten more done since I did that than if I had sat there and been like, I've got all this stuff to do."
The Joy Keeper
What makes Genie special in our art community isn't just that she shows up (though she does, constantly, crisscrossing the city for openings). It's that she shows up with genuine enthusiasm and curiosity. She's there to discover new artists, to support friends, to experience something that might surprise her.
"No matter what other things I do, whether I'm ghostwriting books or writing more articles, or book coaching... I'm never going to give up going to art shows and writing about art and supporting artists, because it brings me joy."
In a year that's been "difficult in a lot of ways, both politically, personally, professionally," she found herself spending a whole weekend between Torrance Art Museum, Nomad and Tryst, the Bendix in DTLA, and Wonzimer Gallery. "It was a wonderful weekend. I mean, it just brought so much joy."
That's Genie Davis - someone who has organized her entire life around seeking and creating joy through art. In a world that often feels heavy, she's a reminder that paying attention to what brings us alive isn't frivolous. It's essential.
We need more joy seekers like Genie. And we're lucky to have her.
You can follow Genie's adventures in art at Diversions LAÂ and @justlikepattismith see her photography from gallery openings on her social media.
