Creative Experiences
There is something about providing a space for creatives to have fun, design something new, celebrate that creativity, and do good at the same time. I jump at the chance to foster safe and enjoyable spaces for creatives where they can stretch their skills. It is the best experience ever.
Be sure to read the events that follow specific strategic initiatives to scale as well.
CHAIRCUTERIE
AIGA celebrated 100 years as an organization and to celebrate locally, AIGA Colorado partnered with The Design Council for the Denver Art Museum to hose Chaircuterie – an event built around a theme of 100 chairs/100 artists. The design of a chair is as iconic as design itself and it seemed like a natural fit for the collaboration.
Chaircuterie featured 100 artists who would create 25 large chair and 2-dimensional pieces, and 50 miniature chairs. The strategy behind this decision was to keep the artist selection attainable not only for purchases but for quality.
Many artists were pre selected to participate based on background and artistic style. To also acknowledge AIGA CO’s history of an open forum of participation - a small number of participants were selected by random lottery.
My committee, which was co-directed with Marjorie Garner of the Denver Art Museum’s Design Council, was responsible for design, event logistics, social media, web content, artist connections, sponsorship and budget.
The event was featured in 5280, Denver Post and Modern in Denver, was attended by 550 and raised over $15,000.
Benefactors: AIGA Colorado & Denver Art Museum
Event Management: Elysia Syriac & Marjorie Garner
Designer: Lisa Wright
Photography: Lenn Stout
AND the incredible amount of committee members, volunteers, artists, sponsors, and attendees who made this happen.
100 DAYS OF DEMOCRACY
Recruited by Frances Yllana to be part of one of the most challenging projects yet – demystifying how government works. The goal of 100 Days of Democracy is for designers (and design friends) across the country to work together to educate and empower ourselves and our neighbors to be more informed, responsible, and effective citizens.
Frances, Karen Kurycki, and I collaboratively outlined the 100-day challenge into four quarters with 25 prompts each: Local, State, National levels of government, and Voting information. Together we recruited 60 creatives to participate in this challenge.
The #100DaysofDemocracy project was a success in educating the public about civic participation in a more accessible way. We will be seeking to continue this type of inclusive education on government in the future.
CONVERCENT
Convercent is an ethics and compliance software company where I had the opportunity to art direct the design of new office space. Values are at the core of Convercent and the new office space needed to convey these important messages. To achieve this, I sought to create an inclusive and diverse artist series to bring these concepts to life. The seven selected artists were from all over the world and showcased a variety of styles.
The result was a dynamic display of values in the office space that serves to inspire and bring joy to the employees on a daily basis.
CREDITS
Positive: Carlos Zamora
Uncomfortable: Joseph Allesio
Curious: Kyle Letendre
Open & Honest: Ras (Cheryl Theusday)
Design: Lucia Pigliapochi
Focus: Sandra Fettingis
GIVING VOICE
As Mentorship Director with AIGA Colorado, one of my primary tasks was to work with VSA Colorado to host Giving Voice. The program is designed to empower teens living with disabilities to give voice to a social cause that’s important to them. Working together with a professional graphic designer, they have the opportunity to express something that is significant to them, and importantly, have someone listen.
I recruited volunteers and facilitated the interactions for the mentorship relationship. Each student was paired with a designer and they were responsible with coming up with a single theme or issue they want to tell the world about regarding their life as a young adult with a disability.
The program culminated with a gallery show displaying the posters the pairs created. It was a community event where the students could take pride in their work, families could meet their design partner and celebrate the messages these students work looking to voice the world.
The best outcome of the event was the lasting friendships that developed and the opportunities that have arisen from the designers. Of the 20 pairings in the first year, 11 are still in contact after 12 months and 5 have made contact or gotten together at least once per month. Three students were placed in formal internships as well.
ART OF WINTER
If you haven't noticed by now, working with creatives is my jam. I was hired by Something Independent to manage their upcycled ski and snowboard art show, Art of Winter. The Art of Winter program brings together designers, makers, and leading cultural organizations in presenting a vibrant slate of snow-inspired programs giving the Denver community just one more reason to turn out in winter.
For this event, my role was to recruit and manage the artist relationships, working with two event locations, the website development, creation and management of social media as well as budgeting.
The outdoor exhibit on Larmier Square drew more than 3,000 visitors over the one-month exhibit.
