ArtsWarrior is a culmination of my life's journey to this time and place. All of my past experiences — as an artist myself, in business & marketing and through my lifelong associations with artists of all kinds — have come together to create ArtsWarrior. There was a time I primarily viewed myself as an artist. Indeed, I felt I was born one. But after many successful years as a professional illustrator & graphic designer, I felt I truly came into my own as a manager of artists, something I did for the Chicago Tribune's promotion & marketing department for over 15 years, managing a staff of designers, writers, photographers & video producers. During my years with the newspaper, my staff and I worked on numerous business-to-business and consumer brand marketing campaigns and special events.

I "cut my teeth" in performing arts working as a college intern at a now defunct concert arena, managing ticket sales & designing promotional materials for major acts. Even as a young graphic artist, it seemed I was always working with musicians, designing logos, posters & album covers for many of the top Chicago bands of the time. It eventually became a logical leap to management, which I've handled for the popular Chicago group, R-Gang, since 1990.

And now I've happily combined it all — arts, music, marketing & management — into ArtsWarrior. The name was inspired by my own surname, "Weigand," which is derived from the old German "wigant" which means "warrior." But beyond that, I take inspiration from the warrior goddesses of Greek mythology and all the real goddesses, "warrior women" past and present, that have influenced my life. I started my career as an artist, and somewhere, locked inside, an artist remains. Someday I'll let her out again. But for now, this is who I am: ArtsWarrior.