RAW Brisbane – Emerging Artists Showcase
Just a few weeks ago I was approached by RAW Brisbane and asked if I would be interested in taking part in the RAW Reveal showcase event in Brisbane in August. RAW is an international organisation which aims to promote the work of emerging artists.
As you can imagine I was very flattered to be asked. Having said that, I was a little unsure as to whether either I or my work would fit into such an event. Looking at their promotional videos it all looked very young and arty – and I don’t believe I fit into either of these categories! None the less, despite these misgivings, after some deliberation and persuasion by my friends, I decided to give it a go.
As they say nothing ventured, nothing gained…
I am now very glad that I took up the invitation – it was a great event to be a part of! I must also say that the RAW team were extremely professional throughout, providing regular support, encouragement and communication.
A few weeks before the event we, the “emerging artists”,
were invited to the Met (a nightclub in Fortitude Valley) for a walkthrough.
As I say, I have never considered myself an “emerging artist” and it is certainly a very long time since I’ve been to a nightclub! Luckily a friend volunteered to come along and give me support (and lots of encouragement along the way). This also meant that there were at least two of us there who were closer to 50 than 20!
I was allocated a dubious looking corner sandwiched between a fish tank and a bar
(which I guess luckily was not open)!
I almost didn’t want to include this photo on my blog – but I just had to show you how dire it was.
Ignoring the very dingy surroundings, I worked on the basis that all I could do was be myself and present my work to the best of my ability.
Somehow I had to make this area look beautiful…
Me being me meant that preparation for the event involved a huge amount of work.
As I don’t usually sell my work through a market stall,
I had to start pretty much from scratch to design my stand.
There seemed to be an endless list of details to finalise before the day …. but we made it.
When it came to the evening I don’t think any of the artists knew quite what to expect.
There were about 40 artists in all taking part – ranging from photographers, artists, fashion, hair and make up, through to musicians and performing artists.
Many of the artists had stands displaying our work.
Others performed on stage or used the catwalk to showcase their art.
Once the doors opened there were plenty of people of all ages there – suddenly making me feel much more at home :). It was great to see so many people there and it did make me smile that many of those attending were as surprised as I was to find themselves in a nightclub!
As you can see it was busy!
I must say a big thank you to those of you who came along to support me on the evening – I hope you had an entertaining evening.
As part of exhibiting at the event I was committed to selling 20 tickets
– THANK YOU so much to all of those who made that possible!
During the course of the evening each of the visual artists (of which I was one) was invited onto the catwalk to be introduced to those attending the event.
Here’s my brief moment of fame, before I scuttled off back to the ‘safety’ of my stand.
All in all it was a great evening – good fun and with plenty for people to see. Well done to the RAW team for a very well organised event.
The biggest thank you of all goes to my friend Anette.
She was such an awesome helper and I most certainly could not have done it without her!
I will leave you with this parting ‘image’ – my lasting memory of the evening will be the two of us sat (exhausted after packing up at the end of the evening) in McDonalds at 12.30 A.M. finally getting a chance to eat – what must we have looked like!
Hilary
