ELYSIA SYRIAC
Bordo Bello
Building Community and Creativity through Skateboard Art
Areas of Focus
Events, Community Engagement, Strategy, Production
Team
Benefactors: AIGA Colorado & VSA Arts of Colorado
Event Management: Elysia Syriac & Charles Carpenter
2009 Branding: Elysia Syriac | Photography: Julie Johnston
2010 Branding: Shaw Nielsen | Photography: Kim Sidwell
2011 Branding: Hari Panicker & Deepti Nair | Photography: Jessica Grenier
2012 Branding: Mackey Saturday
2013 Branding: Eric Winslow | Window Box: Hari Panicker & Deepti Nair | Photography: Lori O'Neill
There are so many other people not listed here who helped make this event a reality and success for so long. It is to them and everyone listed here that I am forever grateful for the opportunity.
Engagement
First year there were 50 artists, then increasing to over 200 the following years. Featuring over 1000 in total.
Partnership
Started with 4 sponsors and grew that to over 40, with 75% staying on for my tenure.
Attendance
Steadily increased attendance, with the final year hosting over 800, with over 2300 cumulative guests.
Revenue
Increased event profit from $3,000 to over $20,000 each of the final two years. Over $60,000 was donated to developing creatives in the Denver Area.
Bordo Bello was an annual skateboard art show hosted by AIGA Colorado, which worked with artists to create a collaborative exhibition of skateboard decks in celebration of the colorful Colorado lifestyle.
I was Bordo Bello’s director from 2009-2013. Each year, we worked with a different local artist to create the look and feel of the event.
My role included art directing and overseeing the design and implementation of all the various elements, as well as managing the event as a whole.
In addition to the massive community success, the result was a fundraising event structure based on artist engagement. I built a toolkit for other Bordo Bello’s to happen in other communities and was able to repeat this event format easily with another event, Chaircuteire, with resounding success.