Founded by independent curator, Rita de Alencar Pinto in 2008, Vanity Projects first began as a pop-up, organizing itself in the homes and studios of visual artists, friends, and art aficionados. Vanity Projects quickly received offers to present at art fairs, fashion events, museums, and cultural institutions. In January 2013, MoMA PS1 invited Vanity Projects to do a three-month pop-up within the Confettisystems installation, held in the museum’s duplex.

It was at this time that Pinto developed the concept of the artist-in-residence program. Offering the top international nail artists the chance to engage and experience the exchange of technique and ideas, the program coincided with the salon’s brick and mortar debut in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in July 2013. Since then Vanity Projects has hosted over one hundred international nail artists in both the New York and Miami locations.