About Gael
Gael Towey’s great love is storytelling. “Portraits in Creativity,” a series of short-form documentary videos directed and produced by Towey, seeks to capture the bravery of artists and artisans, and delights in the visual seduction of the creative process.
The subjects of these films are experienced artists who follow their instincts. Using their knowledge of craft and materials, they investigate, explore and find inspiration. They are comfortable saying, “I don’t know where this will take me.” These videos are not meant to be comprehensive; they tell the story of one moment in these artists’ careers.
In 1990, as Creative Director, Towey helped launch Martha Stewart Living magazine. She designed the inaugural issue, initiating the magazine’s distinct and iconic visual style that would give life to the joy of creativity. She helped spearhead the launch of five additional magazine titles and several product businesses that reflected the changing lifestyles of modern American women. Towey was the visual editor who ensured that consumers, viewers, users and readers had the best possible experiences with digital magazines, apps, and videos.
Under Towey’s creative direction, Martha Stewart Living won numerous awards in many categories, notably among them, the prestigious American Society of Magazine Editors awards for Design, Photography and General Excellence, the AIGA Corporate Leadership Award, and the Chrysler Design Award in 1999. Her work was in the Cooper Hewitt National Design Triennial Exhibition for product and packaging design in 2000. Martha Stewart Living: Boundless Beauty stop-action cover was named one of the top ten magazine covers of 2010 by Time Magazine. Towey and her teams of designers have also won numerous SPD and Art Directors Club awards. Most recently, Towey was awarded the AIGA medal in 2014.
After 22 years at the creative helm of the company, Towey stepped away in order to pursue her long-standing interest in narrative, creating her new company, Gael Towey & Co. to translate her experience as a creative director and editor into moving video profiles, which capture an artist’s voice as they tell their story.
Towey works with small teams to produce and direct these short-form documentary videos. Her goal is to find clients who would like to work with her to create videos that explore these themes. She explains, “Portraits in Creativity serves as a snapshot of my interests and the direction I would like to take in my work. I hope to find collaborators who want to grow the creative engagement of their brands and platforms with videos like those in this series.”
