What Goes Into Doing an Event? 

It is over and I am still tired from all the organization, prep, packing (will it all fit into Ellaina’s small hatchback?), unpacking and the actual event.  It was colourful, loud, hot (so drippingly stifling), over stimulating, thrilling, rewarding, exhausting! All of these things go into a large showcase of the arts and I was one of the lucky ones to be a part of RAW Arise showcase at Saint Brigid's Art Centre this September.  

My first introduction to RAW was through Shopify and attending a learning session with one of the Shopify team suggested that my work would be a good fit at this type of event.  I looked into the RAW website and was quickly accepted to join the showcase. All the correspondences with the RAW team were very professional and informative and I had some very personal one-on-one conversations with one of the organizers David Pattee as he took the time to explain the set up and he asked if I wanted to be one of the artists that would be interviewed for a segment on the local Rogers Community channel to promote the show.  I was pretty nervous about doing the interview but thought I could not pass up on this opportunity to show my work and discuss origami and let everyone know the importance of origami and how it impacts so many aspects of our lives.  

The RAW event organizers had an information session where we could look at the space at Saint Brigid's - I have to say it is pretty impressive putting on a show in a deconsecrated church, all the artwork and statues still preside over the space and the light and huge vaulted ceilings of the church is magnificent during the day but at night it is a whole different atmosphere- the stage, thumping music, amazing costumes, fashion all made for a wild display in the church. And down below the visual artists had their stations filled with impressive art - skulls, mixed media with gears and doll parts, fine detailed portraits, photographic landscapes, makeup artists preparing their models with detailed imaginative works. All the art was amazing from so many varied and talented artists and I had my booth right at the entrance of the visual art section! 

Arriving for setup 3 hours before the event was the right amount of time to get it all set up - this with help from my wonderful daughter! People arrived, friends arrived, more people arrived and asked questions, they liked the set up for my display and I got to talk origami, tessellations, Japanese paper, LED lights and the night went by very quickly. Having my wonderful friends come out to the event really made my night!  

Was it a successful event?… on a number of counts, it was a great event!  I think it is the catalyst to get my name and work out to the public. It is a slow process and I know that all of these events will start to snowball and make a difference in the future- but I have to be patient enough!  

Will I do another RAW event?  Yes I think it is a great organization that does exactly as it sets out to do - give an opportunity to new and emerging artists a platform to show their work. The organizers really care about the talent that are part of the show and want them to succeed.  The online interface for the artist works and RAW works really hard to promote the show and make for a good experience for the artist - but ultimately it is still up to the artist to do the groundwork selling tickets, promoting and follow up after the show. So Yes I will do another show, but I need time to regroup and regenerate before I tackle another one.    

Here is more information on the RAW International:

https://rawartists.com/what-is-raw

The RAW showcase that I was just apart of: 

https://rawartists.com/ottawa/arise

Roger’s Ottawa clip with my interview about my work and the RAW Show:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awtMFskbQTw

Until the next show … will it be a quieter Christmas Sip and Shop?

With so much gratitude

Gayle

PS I could not have done it all without the support of my family and friends but I have to give a special thanks to my wonderful daughter Ellaina who drove, setup, kept me hydrated and fed, and then helped pack up at midnight - cannot say how much I love her! 

PPS Huge number of great photos from RAW Event supplied by the hard-working  photogrpahers Bing Wen and Petr Maur!