Rob Cristofaro

NYC-native Rob Cristofaro is the co-creative director and founder of Alife (http://www.alifenyc.com/). He entered the world of graffiti at the tender age of 14. Rob, AKA Jest, became a recognized figure within this subversive community, and graffiti became his gateway into the art world.

Rob earned a BFA in illustration from the School of Visual Arts and went on to work for a fashion-trade publication as an intern – he left as the art director. Incidentally, it was at this job that he met Arnaud Delecolle, and in 1999, the two founded Alife. The lifestyle concept brand started as a creative workshop within a conceptual retail space located on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side and expanded worldwide with flagship locations in LA, Tokyo and Vancouver.

New York Art Department (www.newyorkartdepartment.org) is the latest venture from the Alife brand. Founded in 2011, NYAD is a full-service agency that specializes in curating talent from the global network it’s amassed over the past decade. Its first project Private Property (http://privateproperty.nyad.info/) took place during ICFF 2011 and paired graffiti artists with Brooklyn-based furniture designers Uhuru.