Phoenix Art Scene

I've been in Arizona for a little while now, and I've recently had the opportunity to see the Phoenix art scene. It's an interesting mix here. I went to First Friday this month. We were worried there wouldn't be much to see because of the heat, thinking that most people would be staying inside with the comfort of air conditioning. Regardless, I wanted to see the area, maybe stop into some galleries and get a feel for the area, maybe even pick a few brains.

As it turns out, First Friday was swamped. There was probably about a thousand people out and all the galleries were packed. There's also rows of houses that have recently been converted into art centered businesses, and these too were packed with artists and buyers alike. It was a very young scene and very accessible. Most prints were about $10, and originals were affordable. I never saw anything in the thousands, but there was a lot there, so there is a chance I missed something.

I've been hearing about Phoenix's First Fridays for a while now and it seems to be all it was cracked up to be. After nearly 3 years in an artist-deprived China, I have to admit, I was a little overwhelmed. I couldn't comprehend how this town has so many artists hiding within it. There's a surplus here. It seems just about everyone has something to offer in the art world here: prints, contemporary paintings, sculptures, found art, clothing, design, accessories, jewelry, postcards, furniture, pins: there is no end.

Needless to say, I'm excited to get involved, but this brings up a bit of a problem. With all these artists flooding the streets of Phoenix, I'm now one in a million. Being an artist and Designer gives me an advantage when dealing with businesses. When they need marketing or branding or a mural, I can give them what they don't have, and something they generally don't know how to find. In Phoenix, though, with this popular art scene, artists are at their fingertips. All they have to do is visit Roosevelt Row and pick and choose from the artists lined up on the scene.

So this is my new little conundrum; how do I make myself more accessible and stand out in this scene, in a town I don't know?

Every city has it's language, built off of the preferences and beliefs of the towns, as well as the trends, the economy and the local talent. Towns become proud of the characters and successes within them, and it colors how they see things, how they talk, dress, what they buy and how they act.

Just look at the difference between Seattle and LA. Both have very active art and music scenes, but you'd be hard pressed to see swarms of girls at a Seattle music venue dressed like the next Bunny of the year, ready to bend over for a little diamond prize. Being a skanky rich bitch isn't cool in Seattle. Sure there are some, but it doesn't color Seattle as a whole, and the general public there views that as pretty unattractive. So you wouldn't do too well to open a slutling clothing line in Seattle.

Compare Jersey to Sacremento in how they'd react to a mom spanking her kid. Chicago to Texas on Affirmative Action. FLorida to Boston on sunglasses. That last one might seem a little extreme, but it's true; whole cities and towns will have an unspoken consensus on fashion, music, culture and politics, and while it varries house to house, the town as a whole knows their issues and the fences that sepparte the general public on all these issues. They might not think about it or realize it on a daily basis, but it's there, and you'll see changes in these personal preferences when people move around. Some of it hangs around and never goes away, but venacular and popular trends tend to shift based on your area code.

Now that's a long drawn out way of saying I don't know this town. I in no way intend to start painting a bunch of Puma Indian artwork just because it might be big here, but I am aware of the fact that I'm at a disadvantage. I don't have the leg up that I did in LA. I know how people work there, what they value and how they act, and because of this, I knew exactly how to talk to them. There are variations, but everyone's not their own unique little butterfly; there are patterns in people, types, and you get to notice these things after a while, so that when you're talking to someone about a website or mural, you know how to sell it.

One of the things to note is the economy out here. At First Friday, most things are cheap. If you go down there with a hundred bucks, you'd be able to decorate a room of your house. Whereas, at the Mesa Arts Center, unless you had a few grand, you'd have to stick to the gift store. So at First Fridays, I'd have to bring down the prices and maybe sell smaller pieces, or accessories, but I'd have a huge crowd to sell to. Whereas at Mesa Arts Center, you'd be able to put a nice price tag on your work, but you'd be lucky if a hundred people saw it. Mesa Arts Center was dead. Maybe two other people where there besides us.

I'm not really sure where to start here. I've been taking mental notes on the town and I'm starting to figure it out, and hopefully soon I'll start to see how best to present my work here. What aspects of what I do will turn people on here? What parts of my work should I focus on and do more of? I'm looking for the Phoenix Sienna package, or something like it.