HISTORY
History
From pop-ups at MoMA PS1, Aspen Art Museum, and other leading cultural institutions; to working with brands like Dior, Nike, and HBO, Vanity Projects has garnered critical attention, and named Best of New York by both Allure and New York Magazines.
In addition to celebrity clients and editorial spreads, our artists have assisted and led runways shows at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York and Miami Swim. This wealth of experience and connections in the industry will enable Vanity Projects Institute to be the premier online nail art education platform in the US.
Vanity Projects Institute was conceived and developed by Vanity Projects founder, Rita Pinto.
Born in San Francisco, Pinto is the daughter of famed cardiothoracic surgeon Douglas Wellman Pinto MD and the maternal granddaughter of Brazilian Colonel, José Alencar de Carvalho. Her mother is an art collector, and former gallerist. Pinto attended St. Luke’s and Hamlin School in San Francisco before being sent to study in England for ten years. A graduate in art history from the University of California in Santa Barbara, Ms Pinto went on to work for Christie’s auction house in San Francisco before going back to London in 2000. She received her MA at Sotheby’s Institute in Art Business in 2002. Rita has curated exhibitions in San Francisco, London, Milan, Brussels, Athens, Washington DC and New York.
Having started as a series of pop ups in 2010, she launched Vanity Projects salon in July 2013. In 2015, Pinto opened a second location in Miami, Florida where she currently resides with her family.
For the last ten years Vanity Projects has invited over 100 leading international celebrity nail artists through its Artist in Residency program. Our hope is that Vanity Projects Institute will build on this unique exchange of skills and nurture both local and international students through our online program.
