Visual artist Tony Concep on the changing face of wealth in America

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Kick off the new year with a special look at the Future Proof Festival through a series of interviews with insiders and newsmakers conducted by the Financial Planning editorial team.

In this clip, Wealthtech Reporter Justin L. Mack chats with visual artist and desginer Tony Concep, a former B-Boy and street artist born in New Orleans and educated in New York who took his talents to the West Coast to enter the world of marketing and advertising.

At Future Proof 2022, he stopped attendees in their tracks while working on a mural in real time to commemorate the event. But for Concep, born Anthony Christopher Brown Jr., changing the face of wealth is more than just a tagline for the inaugural event or a prominent part of his mural.

He believes now is a time of greater access and opportunity for those shut out of the wealth conversation in the past. And through his art, he wants to let everyone know that the old way isn't the only way.

"In working with Advisor Circle and taking on the role of head of brand design with them, the first thing I wanted to figure out was to start to merge the creative with this finance world. And then beyond that, how do we create diversity in the space organically?" Concep said. "It's incredibly important. I think people's financial literacy and just the way people get their information now, it's a lot easier. You're going through social media channels and you're seeing the exchange of information there, so it's important for some of these corporations some of the higher-ups in some of these spaces to take note of that, and in and be part.

"So it is the most important thing. They need to diversify and get everybody on the same page. That's how we get closer together as humans."

And if you want to check out more of Concep's art, which includes everything from apparel to reimaginings of famous fast food chains, find him on Instagram: @tonycncp

Check out the full interview below.

Future Proof, an event billed as the first wealth festival, attracted more than 2,200 people to Huntington Beach, California, last year. Financial Planning was a sponsor of the event. Dates for Future Proof 2023 have already been announced. The event is slated to return to the beach Sept. 10-13, 2023.