Brainstorming for ArtomaticTX - New info!

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

Hi everyone! I've just begun laying the groundwork to bring an art festival to Houston (which would be its third incarnation since its inception in Washington, DC). Rather than waste space with an overview here, I'd recommend reading my two rambling blogs on the subject (and checking out the links I included - as well as artomatic.org, the DC website).

Okay, now that I've made you do all that research... heh... I'd like to ask the natives if they have any ideas for how to tailor this to the Houston area, or just see who would like to be involved. This is the first stage in forming a collaborative of artists and volunteers who want to be involved in something they can really call their own. As the slogan goes, it's "by artists, for artists" - and it's a great opportunity for both well-known and unknown creative people of all kinds to get together and shine.

So, I'm creating this discussion in hopes that we can start bouncing ideas off of each other. There will be an actual in-person open organizational meeting in about a month or so, but it would be nice to have some ideas to grab onto before then. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts, questions, etc. and get a dialogue going, especially since every single person on the DC board of directors and several from Toledo's have informed me that they're geared up to make this happen, which means now there's no going back!

Sorry to keep cramming this down everyone's throats, but the one thing we're not raised with in Ohio is tact.

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

It's as big as it needs to be - anyone who wants to participate in any way is welcome! And if there's one thing that Artomatic needs to shine, it's groups as well as individuals. I'm thrilled to hear that you're interested, sounds like a great deal to me!

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

Here's the official lowdown on where we stand: The meeting will be Saturday, September 6, time and location TBA (info will be in September's Free Press Houston for those of you who read that, too). It's open to any and all who want to participate, whether as artists/volunteers, Steering Committee members (or members of subcommittees including Visual Art, Performance Art, etc... PR, Fundraising, and so forth), or if you just want to check it out, contribute, and decide if you want to be involved. This is the initial meeting, so if you can't make this one, don't worry - there will be several more opportunities to join up with us in the future. After all, it is going to take a lot of time to get the word out there!

Also, Houston's Artomatic is going to have at least one new thing compared to other cities': Artomatic JR. So if you have, or know of, a creative kid who wants to be a part of this, bring them along! I'm currently looking into programs and schools that might want to be involved, and would love any help in that regard too.

Last thing: I'm buying the domain name artomatichouston.org, and will take care of building the site, but if anyone knows of a web hosting company who would be willing to donate a year of hosting to us, please let me know. The funds are a little thin these days, but we won't get too far without a site - and obviously, I haven't even begun to approach sponsors yet.

Looking forward to this!

[Julia Kovach]

Amanda - Sounds good. I have this set up to "follow me" so I've been keeping up with your progress (don't usually read the Free Press Houston). At this time, September 6 may not work for me as that is when my husband goes out of town for the week to dove hunt and I usually take that opportunity to go stay with my mom who is not in the best of health. However, I am marking my calendar anyway for September 6 and will do my best to make it.

It sounds like a great event for Houston and I'm looking forward to participating!
Julia

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

Thanks for the reply! And like I said, no need to be there the first time around - I have you on "the list," so I can send you the meeting notes and get you up to speed if you can't make it.

[Elder Street Gallery]

http://www.webstrikesolutions.com/
First year is free. Price is low anyway.

[Elder Street Gallery]

In case you guys are wondering, I see my job as promoting Local Houston artists. That goes beyond just my gallery. I want to see local art promoted and boasted about in every method possible. That may be different than most galleries, but this is what motivates everything I do. So I am going to help this as much as I can. Do me a favor if possible and not put the meeting before 1pm on the 6th. I go to service. But if needed, I'll be there anyway.

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

No problem at all - I was thinking more like late afternoon/early evening, so that should work just fine. I really am glad to have you on board - and thanks for that web hosting link, too, very much appreciated!

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

More thanks - I went ahead and registered artomatichouston.org (decided to change it to that, as Texas is a large place, and if this catches on as it has in other cities, well... you know...). While there, I grabbed artomatichouston.com as a domain pointer. So, we should be up and running at both addresses soon. I'll try to work on it this coming week and get the initial site established, where people can at least come to view information and download forms, some of which will be added after the first meeting.

Once again, thanks to all of you. I'm really excited about where this is going, and really looking forward to meeting everyone in the real world!

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

UPDATE - The new, set-in-stone date (not kidding this time) for the first organizational meeting is Saturday, September 13, 5 p.m., at Shady Tavern, since there's enough room there to accommodate either a small or large group. Will post address and map link soon for those who aren't familiar with it.

If you will be attending, or if you can't make it but still want to be part of the group, please respond here.

[Baroness]

This all sounds very interesting. How did the meeting go?

[Elder Street Gallery]

I was wondering the same thing, but amanda is not answering anyone.

Terrence

[Amanda K. Wolfe]

Sorry guys, things have been really busy lately - new job, new apartment, etc. Unfortunately, not a soul made it to the meeting again. I'm wondering whether I should just give up altogether or whether I need to take a different approach with these meetings, just start meeting with people one on one until everyone feels confident enough in it. I know artists are weird with this stuff, because I am one.