Art Hooker

Art Hooker is a social design and transmedia expert based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area, where he resides with his wife and two daughters. With over ten years of experience consulting, designing, producing campaigns, and creating content for leading brands such as Herman Miller, Verizon, The White House, and the American Heart Association, Hooker has established himself as a leading figure in the innovation and storytelling scene. His extensive qualitative research into passion, creativity, and movements on five continents informs his work, which ranges from leadership development to business innovation.

Hooker has garnered numerous awards in film, theater, speaking, and learning design over the course of his career. He is the founder and principal of New Metropolitan, a social design and transmedia studio, and previously founded Hope Labs Inc., a non-profit organization that creates unique collaborative opportunities for individuals, corporations, other non-profits, and civic entities. Hooker is also the Chief Creative Officer of a growing real estate development corporation in Jacksonville, Florida.

As an expert in storytelling and media production, Hooker is accustomed to thinking outside the box and uses his extensive life experiences and international work in over twenty countries to provide customized strategies, films, photography, and learning content to his clients. His work has been well-received and recognized by the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI), where he and his business partner were selected as winners of the 2019 CAI Virginia Beach Bio-Innovation Challenge for their Intergenerational Living concept for veterans.

Hooker's background includes a MicroMasters Program in Data, Economics, and Development Policy from MIT, a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Technology Training and Development, and leadership positions in training and development at Citi. He also has a unique perspective on the arts' ability to affect global and local culture, as his great uncle was a four-time Grammy Award-winning blues legend.