Natasha Roberts: The NYC Art Advisor and Curator Behind Bergdorf Goodman’s Latest Exhibition, and the Founder of The KNOW, on Becoming a Mother.
Photo Courtesy The KNOW / Natasha Roberts
At a time when women are leading cultural conversations and shaping entire industries, there’s something deeply compelling about those whose next chapter includes both continued creative expansion and the threshold of motherhood. It’s not a pivot, but an evolution. One that adds richness, perspective, and renewed intention to an already remarkable journey.
Natasha Roberts is one of those women. A seasoned curator, art advisor, and publicist, she has spent the last decade quietly shaping the visual and cultural language of New York City. As the founder of The KNOW, a full-service arts consultancy, Natasha advises collectors, curates exhibitions, and forges lasting connections between artists, brands, and institutions. Her latest exhibition, A Room Just So, is on view this summer at Bergdorf Goodman, a striking example of what happens when luxury, art, and storytelling are treated with equal reverence.
Her work has been featured everywhere from Architectural Digest and Elle Decor to Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing and Netflix’s Owning Manhattan, but Natasha’s real power lies in how she brings people, places, and ideas together and makes space for artists to be seen. This summer, she prepares to welcome her first child, stepping into motherhood with the same thoughtfulness and clarity that defines her creative practice.
This conversation is not just about her career, though it’s undeniably impressive, but about the shift that happens when a woman begins to envision the world not just for herself, but for the life she’s about to bring into it. For Natasha, that shift doesn’t dim her creativity; it sharpens it. And like the best curators, she’s learning how to hold both: the art and the becoming.
By Alice Codford
ON MOTHERHOOD
Alice: You are expecting your first child this summer. Congratulations! How are you feeling at this moment?
Natasha: Thank you! I’m feeling very excited to become a mom. There’s a deep sense of peace and release as I approach the due date, almost any day now. That feeling is totally new for me; I’m usually very type-A and meticulously scheduled. Letting go a bit has been freeing.
What does a typical day in your life look like right now? Is there such a thing?
Natasha: Right now, I’m savouring slow mornings, letting my body wake up calmly, taking a moment to ground myself with both feet on the floor before breakfast. I’ve swapped coffee for tea, and I allow myself to ease into the day, which is a real shift for me. For the past ten years, I’ve been “on go” the second I opened my eyes, often waking before business hours and starting with a to-do list. This pause feels like a luxury, and it’s helping me envision a more intentional rhythm for when my child arrives. I’m looking forward to a few months of being fully present, focused on motherhood and the day-to-day moments.
“Motherhood has already stripped away a lot of noise. I no longer feel the pressure to say ‘yes’ to every project, meeting, or opportunity out of FOMO.”
What surprised you most about yourself during pregnancy? Physically, emotionally, or spiritually?
Natasha: Honestly, I’ve been surprised by the low energy and occasional “baby brain” fog. It caught me off guard, especially since many of my close friends are also having their first children in their mid-thirties. Emotionally and spiritually, though, I’ve surprised myself in a good way. I’ve lived with high-functioning anxiety for most of my life, but I’ve felt incredibly grounded and confident about stepping into motherhood. It’s been affirming to feel that strength rise in me.
In what ways has preparing for motherhood brought clarity to your vision for the future?
Natasha: Motherhood has already stripped away a lot of noise. I no longer feel the pressure to say “yes” to every project, meeting, or opportunity out of FOMO. My priorities have shifted, and I’m becoming much more selective. If something takes time away from my child and family, it needs to offer real value. I’m also prioritising myself more, so I can show up as the best mother, partner, and person I can be.
Photo Courtesy The KNOW / Natasha Roberts
What’s one thing about motherhood that excites you? And one thing that totally terrifies you?
Natasha: I’m excited about the simple, intimate moments, like seeing my baby’s face and holding their hand for the first time. On the flip side, childbirth definitely terrifies me, and I can’t lie, I’m also a little nervous about the teenage years. Hopefully, we’ll get through both with grace!
Are you the kind of person who’s been reading all the parenting books, or ignoring them completely?
Natasha: I haven’t gone overboard. I trust my instincts and have mostly been soaking up insights through conversations with other mothers. Hearing different experiences has been invaluable. I’ve dipped into Expecting Better (I appreciate the author’s data-driven, rational approach), listened to a few podcasts and YouTube videos, and taken an infant CPR course, which felt like one of the only true preparation musts.
“I trust my instincts and have mostly been soaking up insights through conversations with other mothers.”
Have you picked up any advice (solicited or not) that’s actually stuck with you?
Natasha: The days feel long, but the years are short, so try to stay present in every moment.
Photo Courtesy The KNOW / Natasha Roberts
ON HER CAREER, THE PUBLIC ART FUND, AND FOUNDING THE KNOW
You wear so many hats: founder, curator, publicist. What connects all these roles for you?
Natasha: I have a passion for community building, and I love to initiate unexpected and perspective-shifting conversations (because of my Gemini rising?). I find that each of my professional roles facilitates deep interpersonal connections, which feels very fulfilling.
What was the moment or feeling that made you realise the world needed a platform like The KNOW?
Natasha: I started out as a publicist at an agency that primarily represented brands and talent, including actors. While there, I began developing my own niche, beginning with art fair projects and emerging artists as clients. Due to my empathetic and curious nature, the artists readily confided in me about strategic career goals and struggles, and sought out the same kind of guidance a manager and sometimes therapist (lol) would provide. Through the matrix of juggling all that, I recognised the opportunity to build a 360-degree agency encompassing artist business development and PR, and then cultivated a wider skill set over the years through experience and further education, building deep relationships with galleries and directors, and also advising collectors. It wasn’t the career I had envisioned coming out of undergrad study, but a path that I initially quite literally wandered down with the best of intentions, and I’m proud that I was able to connect the dots to create an ecosystematic business.
“I have a passion for community building, and I love to initiate unexpected and perspective-shifting conversations.”
You’ve been shaping how the public encounters art in everyday spaces through your work with Public Art Fund. What’s the most rewarding part of that role for you?
Natasha: I’m incredibly proud to be the first in-house publicist at Public Art Fund. It’s an honour to amplify exhibitions curated by such a storied organisation, founded by a visionary woman and carried forward today by her daughter and our team. Working in partnership with parks and civic institutions that value the power of art in public space, we help bring ambitious projects by global artists to all New Yorkers, free of charge. Many cultural institutions talk about “accessibility” and “democratisation,” but the Public Art Fund has truly embodied that mission for nearly 50 years. Contributing to that legacy, helping to realise, contextualise, and spark dialogue around public art, feels more like a calling than a job.
Your new curatorial project, A Room Just So, at Bergdorf Goodman is such a unique collaboration between art, design, and luxury fashion. What was your vision going into it?
Natasha: With this collaboration, I was also thinking about ways to democratise collector access to museum and gallery-calibre artworks. Established art collectors are sometimes even put on waitlists by galleries when seeking to obtain works by coveted artists. I wanted to give the Bergdorf’s client, a discerning buyer, not only of luxury, but of the highest quality, the opportunity to envision these kinds of works in their own home, alongside their floral arrangements, stemware and china, inside a lived-in space – in contrast to the white cube gallery exhibition experience – and invest in works that are truly special. I’ve deeply enjoyed the curatorial process and the way I’ve been able to indulge in aesthetics and fashion through the exhibition in a substantive way.
Photo Courtesy The KNOW / Natasha Roberts
How did you choose the artists and creators featured in A Room Just So? Was there a particular narrative or emotional tone you wanted the exhibition to hold?
Natasha: A Room Just So brings together 20 international artists working across painting, sculpture, furniture design, and more. The selection was deeply personal: one artist was Halston’s illustrator at Bergdorf’s in the ’60s and drew the original sketch of Jackie Kennedy in the pillbox hat. Another was my favourite Tumblr fashion blogger in the early 2000s, who comes from a fashion family and is now an incredible painter. Those full-circle connections are part of what made the show so meaningful.
I’m intentional about cultivating long-term relationships with artists I truly connect with. Some featured artists have been part of past exhibitions or collaborations, while others are newer discoveries – found through galleries, fairs, or even online – and this was our first time working together. The emotional through-line was about creating space for aesthetics, decorative history, and memory, and honouring each artist’s distinct voice within a shared environment.
What do you hope people feel or think about when they step into the space?
Natasha: I hope the exhibition invites a sense of calm and contemplation. It’s about the quiet power of beautiful, intentional things, how art and design shape not only our spaces, but also our mood, and sense of self. My hope is that it reflects the curated elegance of modern living, while also feeling personal and emotionally resonant.
Curating in a space like Bergdorf Goodman feels both unexpected and deeply intentional. What was it like working in such an iconic retail space?
Natasha: Bergdorf Goodman is such an esteemed landmark destination in New York City. In addition to curating the penthouse at Central Park Tower, the world’s highest private residential space, and working on Public Art Fund projects set in landmark locations like Central Park and New York City airports, I’m living out my career dreams and a creative fantasy.
“I recognised the opportunity to build a 360-degree agency encompassing artist business development and PR. I’m proud that I was able to connect the dots to create an ecosystematic business.”
Looking back at the early days of your career, what were you chasing creatively or trying to prove to yourself? And if you could talk to your younger self when you were just starting out, what would you say to her now?
Natasha: In the early days, I was searching for a path that balanced impact with creativity – something rooted in public engagement like the nonprofits and NGOs I interned for in university, but with more room for imagination. Choosing to defer law school and pursue a creative career felt like a risk, especially with student loans and no clear blueprint. But it was the right one. I’d tell my younger self: “You’ve always known who you are and what you’re doing. Trust that, and just keep going.”
What is your favourite piece of art ever, and why?
Natasha: It’s hard for me to choose whether Meret Oppenheim’s “Le Déjeuner en fourrure” or “Ma Gouvernante” would be my favourite artwork, but surrealism is undoubtedly my favourite genre, and I appreciate the way these works each communicate an abstract concept, and daring tension, using fashion-focused, familiar objects that are distinctly feminine.
ON YOUR PERSONAL STYLE
Do you see fashion as another form of storytelling in your life and work?
Natasha: I do, and quote Miuccia Prada in agreement: “What you wear is how you present yourself to the world. Fashion is instant language.” My very first designer collectable was the 2000 Prada Tessuto nylon mini hobo my mom gave me when I was 13, and I still have it. She always said, “fashion comes back around,” which is very true.
Photo Courtesy The KNOW / Natasha Roberts
What is your go-to outfit for every day? Any particular pieces you wear on repeat?
Natasha: I always choose my shoes first and build an outfit around them. Right now, my favourites are a pair of Margiela Tabi ballet flats. Pregnancy has inevitably called for comfort dresses and a few pairs of maternity pants, but I normally enjoy a structured look or element, like a blazer, even over a mini dress. The pieces I repeat are my classic jewellery: I usually stick with diamond studs and/or small hoops by Nashira Arnó, a jeweller and mom who’s as beautiful and bold as her designs, my eternity band, and add one of my David Yurman rings. I don’t do loud fashion or gravitate towards trends.
Whose wardrobe would you love to raid? Do you have any style icons?
Natasha: Kelly Wearstler is my ultimate style icon, in every sense. Her bold, eclectic design aesthetic, sharp business acumen, and the way she manages to balance it all while looking effortlessly striking, as a mother of three, including a toddler, is endlessly inspiring. I’d raid her closet and her moodboards.
What is on your shopping list right now?
Natasha: I’m a new watch collector and, thinking about time more and more before becoming a mom, I’d like to invest in a Cartier watch or something beautifully designed and classic.
What is your go-to handbag for everyday?
Natasha: I have too many great bags, and they deserve to be rotated, also depending on the shoe! I justify my addiction by saying they’ll get passed on to a daughter, niece, or daughter-in-law one day…
“What you wear is how you present yourself to the world. Fashion is instant language.”
Let's talk a bit about beauty. What skincare products or treatments do you recommend?
Natasha: I love Caudalie’s clean brand mission and formulas, and I swear by cold water cleansing in the morning and quarterly facials. My great-grandmother had the most beautiful skin even at the age of 101, and she taught me to rub lotion upwards in circles into my face and neck. Post pregnancy, I plan to book a lymphatic drainage facial and a massage… And last but not least, my good friend is the Founder of Skin Solutions Collective – and such a boss babe mama – so I go to visit NYC’s number one team yearly and get to feel like a VIP.
What makeup products do you swear by daily?
Natasha: Going for a natural look in 10 minutes or less, I start with moisturiser or serum, depending on my skin’s condition, sunscreen, and use Lancome Lash Idôle mascara, Fenty liquid eyeliner for a cat-eye flick and Fenty Gloss Bomb Stick in “Is It Fu$$y,” a great dusty nude to suit anyone, and Gucci Westman’s Baby Cheeks cream blush stick, which has a magical texture and airbrushing finish.
Photo Courtesy The KNOW / Natasha Roberts
Follow Natasha on Instagram here.