When Alix Greenberg was 4, her mother enrolled her in finger painting classes at the Met. So perhaps it was a given that Alix Greenberg would eventually enter the professional art world. Greenberg is the founder of ArtSugar, a website that sells framed art prints from collections curated by popular artists and influencers on Instagram. What makes the site unique? Five percent of the proceeds benefits charity.
“Tzedakah is such an important part of who I am and how I was raised,” said Greenberg.
Greenberg learned this critical value not only from her parents, but at her family’s second home: Temple Emanu-El, a leading synagogue in Reform Judaism in Manhattan. “My parents were married there, I went to nursery school there, my bat mitzvah was there, and it’s a genuine community for our family,” said Greenberg.
Along with Daniel Jeydel — a 36 Under 36 honoree last year — Greenberg is co-chair of the Young Members Committee, which was founded after Greenberg launched a Shabbat dinner series at the synagogue to engage her contemporaries. “Many synagogues aren’t cultivating those in their 20s and 30s,” said Greenberg. “Daniel and I, who have both been involved with Emanu-El since we were children, wanted to make sure there was opportunity for our peers to get involved. The future of the greater Jewish community is in the hands of people our age, and it’s up to all of us to lead by example.”
It’s no wonder Greenberg’s strong Jewish values have informed her professional life. After she graduated Cornell with a BFA and Christie’s Education with a master’s, Greenberg worked in Manhattan’s fine arts scene for nearly a decade before taking the entrepreneurial road — with a philanthropic twist — and launching ArtSugar in October 2017.
ArtSugar donates to more than 50 charities that cover a wide range of causes. A sampling includes Autism Speaks, City Harvest, Dress for Success, Girls who Code, Planned Parenthood and The Trevor Project, a suicide-prevention hotline for LGBTQ youth.
“Professionally, as in my Jewish communal life, I’m guided by tradition and innovation,” said Greenberg. “It’s so fulfilling to have created a business that has a values-driven mission guiding it.”
Throwback naming: Alix’s name was inspired by Family Ties character Alex Keaton.
Meet the rest of this year’s 36 Under 36 here.
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