Art at the Heart of Real Estate
“The integration of art into real estate gives each property a soul. A lifeblood.”
Katie MurrayChief Creative, M2G Ventures
Turning Locations into Landmarks
When people think about creative businesses, they rarely make the leap to commercial real estate firms.
A real estate team including someone in the role of Chief Creative is even less common. However, for us, art and creativity are foundational to our philosophy.
Katie Murray is a multi-talented artist and all-around creative wunderkind who has been a part of M2G Ventures since its inception. From painting murals to curating the fine artistic touches at properties, Katie’s creativity is the beating heart of M2G and a weapon in our arsenal that truly sets us apart.
In other words, Katie’s role at M2G is turning locations into landmarks. No big deal.
Katie Murray
Chief Creative, M2G Ventures
30
Gallons of Paint Used
65
Installations completed across all properties
12
Walls painted in the last year
From the earliest days of M2G Ventures, we knew that immersive art would play a prominent role in all of our properties.
Spaces are designed to be lived in; they’re thoughtfully crafted by architects to empower those who spend time in them.
So we believe in enhancing the ambiance of every property we touch, creating spaces that inspire tenants to achieve more.
Meet Katie.
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”
Maya Angelou
Described by our team as elegant, creative, fascinating, innovative, and genius, Katie’s projects within each property are far-reaching. Her focuses include murals, design, the curatorial process (including finding & hiring up-and-coming artists), art development & implementation, and any other artistic endeavor needed.
When asked what her favorite part of working at M2G Ventures is, Katie said it’s the flexibility to stretch her creative muscles. Her favorite project so far has been Bogart Dallas because she was given the opportunity to work from the ground up with architects, which was an extremely immersive process and allowed the art selection to feel intentional and intuitive.
While Katie is not working on a project or mural with M2G Ventures, she likes to stay busy by traveling, finding great restaurants, going on outdoor adventures, and finding the next binge-worthy show on Netflix.
She has two boys, a husband, and a dog, and they just finished remodeling a house in Berkeley. Katie loves taking girls’ trips, lounging by the pool or any body of water, learning new things, taking classes, and cooking. She loves to dance, paint, read a great book, invest time in her friendships, and visit with family.
Every time she does something, she amazes us, always one-upping herself. To our company, she is that connection to the artistic meaning each one of our properties has. To our properties, she gives them purpose and deeper meaning.
She pushes each piece to have deep intentional meaning, not art, for the sake of just having art. Art represents the connection our projects have with their community. Without it, the reason wouldn’t be near as fulfilling.
Jessica Miller Essl, Co-President, M2G Ventures
As Katie says, art is fundamental to advanced learning, and by providing beautiful, thoughtful, and diverse works to properties, you make them more productive and inspiring for tenants and their customers. And when we showcase to tenants that we view each property as a canvas, we’re also encouraging them to make it their own; to tell their stories through the work they do.
At the end of the day, a Chief Creative exists to ensure we’re telling the story of each property in a beautiful, curated, and impactful way. When you assign that responsibility to Katie Murray, the results are nothing short of incredible.