It Takes Courage to Call Yourself an Artist.

Why We Exist

It Didn't Begin With a Plan. It Began With a Struggle.

ArtTour International was not born from a business plan, a team of investors, or experience in publishing. It grew from one artist's journey—and from the desire to give other artists the guidance, visibility, and support she had once struggled to find for herself.

Long before ArtTour International existed, Viviana Puello experienced what it meant to rebuild a life through art. That journey shaped the way she would later understand artists: their courage, their vulnerability, and their desire to know that their work matters.

Before she built a platform for artists, art helped her rebuild herself.

In Viviana's Words

Before ArtTour International, there was Vivid Arts Network.

Years before I created Vivid Arts Network, I went through a period of homelessness. It was one of the most difficult chapters of my life, and it changed the way I understood dignity, possibility, and what it means to feel invisible.

Art helped me rebuild—not only materially, but from within. It gave me somewhere to place my pain, something to believe in, and a way to imagine a different future.

When I later chose to become a full-time artist, I understood both the joy of following that calling and the courage it required.

Viviana in her first studio—Saratoga Springs, New York, 2003.

As I began participating in exhibitions and art fairs, I found myself bringing other artists with me. Supporting them felt natural because I knew how difficult it could be to pursue an artistic life without guidance, encouragement, or a clear place to belong.

Then an art fair told my artist friends and me that we could not participate unless we belonged to an official organization. I could have accepted the rejection. Instead, I created the organization we needed.

I founded Vivid Arts Network.

Through Vivid Arts Network, I began organizing exhibitions in New York, then in other states and eventually in other countries. The purpose was simple: to help artists cross borders and bring their work before new audiences.

But as the exhibitions grew, I discovered another obstacle. I could fill a room with extraordinary art, yet still struggle to give those artists the visibility they deserved. The exhibition would end, the doors would close, and their stories would stop traveling.

How could I help the world continue seeing these artists after the exhibition was over?

Vivid Arts Network was my first answer to what artists needed. ArtTour International would become the next.

A New Chapter Began With Alan.

In 2008, I traveled to Ferrara, Italy, for an exhibition at Castello Estense. Alan Grimandi was working on that same exhibition, although we never met.

I returned the following year to work as a curator for another exhibition. This time, Alan was the person waiting for me at the airport.

We spent the following weeks working together and getting to know one another. What began as a personal connection soon became a creative partnership. We discovered that we shared a love for art, travel, storytelling, and projects capable of making a difference.

In 2010, we worked together on The Time Is Now, an exhibition in Florence created with ECPAT Italia to raise awareness about human trafficking.

Vivid Arts Network had been my first step. Meeting Alan opened the door to a new chapter—and eventually to something neither of us could yet imagine.

Viviana and Alan at The Time Is Now, an exhibition for ECPAT Italia—Florence, 2010.

The Idea Arrived at 35,000 Feet.

During a flight from Florence to New York, I finally had a moment of silence. Most of the passengers were sleeping when an idea came to me with such force that I sat upright:

What if I created my own media and promotional platform for artists?

For years, I had relied on outside companies and journalists to promote the exhibitions, but they could never fully communicate my vision for the artists or their work. I wanted something created from an artist's perspective—something capable of giving art the attention, context, and visibility it deserved.

Then I noticed a magazine in the seat pocket in front of me.

As I turned its pages, I imagined them filled with art and meaningful stories about artists. Suddenly, the idea had a form:

An international art magazine.

When I returned to Italy, I shared the idea with Alan. He understood it immediately. As a graphic designer, filmmaker, and visual storyteller, he could see what the idea might become.

This was the moment when “I” became “we.”

We did not know how to build a magazine. We only knew that we had to begin.

Presenting ArtTour International for the first time—Auditorium al Duomo, Florence, 2012.

The Courage to Continue.

Beginning was only the first act of courage.

Alan and Viviana in Dublin with the ATIM cameras—their first trip filming artists, 2012.

I had to learn how to become a publisher. Later, when we expanded into television, I had to face my fear of being in front of the camera. I believed my shyness and accent would hold me back, but interviewing artists helped me discover a voice I did not know I had.

I thought my accent would hold me back. Instead, the camera helped me find my voice.

Viviana's first Art2Heart interview, with artist John Nieman—2012.

There were also moments when everything seemed to go wrong. Our first awards ceremony nearly became our last. Years later, after our home was burglarized, our filming equipment was stolen, and the company entered one of its most difficult periods, Alan and I faced the possibility of stopping.

Each time, we returned to the artists and the promises we had made to them.

We rebuilt with fewer resources but a clearer understanding of what mattered. The equipment could be replaced. The purpose could not.

We stopped believing that the most expensive camera created the most meaningful story.

Every challenge—and every new possibility—brought us back to the same question:

What else do artists need to be seen, understood, and remembered?

From a studio in Saratoga Springs to a global platform—Viviana and Alan today.

Selected Milestones

From One Idea to a Global Platform

What began with a small team and 1,500 readers continued to grow—one courageous step at a time.

2011

A Dream Becomes a Magazine

ArtTour International Magazine launches with a team of five and roughly 1,500 readers.

2012

Finding a Voice on Screen

The screen journey begins on our YouTube channel—ATIM Web TV and the Art2Heart interviews bring artists' stories to life beyond the page.

2013

Artists Take Center Stage

The ATIM Masters Awards and the Top 60 Masters are born—honoring artists the way performers have long been celebrated.

2017–2018

From Publishing to Award-Winning Media

Weekly television arrives, and the documentary Kintsugi: The Line of Destiny earns Best First Time Director and Top Short Film honors.

2022–2023

A Global Television Platform Emerges

The Art Titans series and Vivid Arts TV reach audiences on Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV—plus iOS and Android apps in the App Store and on Google Play.

Watch & Stream On

Apple TVFire TVRokuApp StoreGoogle Play

The stars of Season One of Art Titans: Masters of the New Era. From left: Director Alan Grimandi; featured artists Howard Harris, Dr. Thomas Lockhart, and Patricia Karen Gagic; co-director and host Viviana Puello; and featured artists Hélène DeSerres, Susan N. McCollough, and Barbara Tyler Ahlfield.

Today

One Global Ecosystem

Publishing, film, television, artist books, exhibitions, and international recognition now support artists across 180 countries.

Art Titans lights up Times Square—the series on a New York billboard, 2024.

Every milestone began with the same question: what else do artists need?

What We Believe

You Are the Masterpiece.

Every part of ArtTour International grows from one belief: the greatness you are searching for is already within you. It does not need to be manufactured—only recognized, and given a place to be seen.

That belief became Viviana Puello's book, You Are the Masterpiece.

"Out of all the beautiful creations in this vast universe… you are the masterpiece."

An Amazon #1 Bestseller

A Gift for You

For Every Creator—and Everyone Who Believes in the Power of Art.

We created something to honor the courage to create and the power of art to awaken, connect, and transform us.

What We Built for Artists

A magazine. A television network. Documentary films. Artist books. Global exhibitions. The Top 60 Masters Awards. Every part of ArtTour International answers one question: what else do artists need to be seen, understood, and remembered?

Your Turn

A Place to Shine Where the World Can See You.

ArtTour International became the place we once wished existed for artists—a place that recognizes the greatness already within them, and helps that light travel far beyond the studio.

If something in this story feels familiar, you may already belong here.

Let us meet your art.