And for our Final Summer Friday Feature we have…..Chloé Carcamo!
How do you contribute to Art Island?
I’m an event producer for Art Island and also work on the partnership side of things to get new collaborators and sponsors for upcoming events and projects. Essentially anything from mapping out spreadsheets and laying out work flows to hanging up shiny things and running around making sure nothing’s on fire that isn’t supposed to be!
What's your favorite Art island event you've been to and why?
They’re all so unique and bring a different flavor forward it’s tricky to pick favorites! The Cosmos Garden was such a fun combination of things. We dove deep into the theme and had so much fun creating the tie dye décor and dreaming up psychedelic installations for people to explore and play with during the event. I like that people had no idea what to expect but were open to experiencing what we set up and left with a feeling of whimsy and some stardust twinkling in their eyes.
What's keeping you busy work-wise this summer?
I’m the Director of Marketing & Outreach at Fusebox and this summer has been hunkered down in planning mode with our core team, lining up the 2023 Festival and upcoming launch of new year round quarterly events for the community. On the Art Island side of things, it’s been non stop building up our roster of events, each one spinning different themes and posing new and exciting challenges. Buckle up, between Fusebox and Art Island the year ahead will be full of funky fusions around town, I get to mash up all our favorite arts styles and give the spotlight over to our artists ready to rock your world views!
What's keeping you busy outside of work this summer?
I’ve started back up with samba and belly dancing this summer. Finding the right flow to balance projects, hobbies, and downtime is a job in and of itself!
What are your creative goals heading into fall?
Keeping it simple goal wise for the fall is to carve out space for personal creativity in my life. Most of my work world involves me finding creative ways to curate spaces, connect artists with audiences, foster community dialogue amongst creative folks. I’d like to actively hold the mental space and time in a week to play and tap back into what creativity feels like outside of work.
What's your ideal summer Friday night in Austin look like?
That’s always fluctuating! Anything from heading out and catching a movie or local theater production, to exploring a funky venue with music, dancing, and art shenanigans, to having a cozy night on the couch watching tv, you never know which mood will strike - variety is the spice of life!
Your favorite place to cool down this year?
That’s an easy one! Paddle boarding on Lady Bird Lake. Did you check out our Spindrifter Art Island premiere, with music jams out on the water?
Favorite place for a work lunch in Austin?
Vic and Al’s is my new go to! (@vicandals) They’ve got chill NOLA vibes with delicious libations and noms and friendly staff.
What's an emerging trend in your industry that we should pay attention to?
Not exactly a trend but a shift in focus towards more sustainable methods of running organizations. The world has been on fire for awhile now and everyone is understandably burnt out, we’ve been running on fumes of passion and grit and that’s just not going to cut it as we keep trying to create and build. Dismantling organizational structures that no longer serve us I think is slowly but surely happening on a global scale as new generations put their foot down and set stronger boundary standards.
What local community is doing great things and we should support?
Esquina Tango - (@esquinatango) half dance studio, half cultural center, always creating a welcoming, fun environment for learning new dance moves and connecting with new people
Hyperreal Film Club - (@hyperrealfilmclub) they keep the Austin film scene extra funky with fun pop up screenings all over town on top of funding cool podcast projects (shoutout to @sraelopez and our Texas Film in Focus collab last year). Check out their residency at Hotel Vegas every Monday!
Almost Real Things - (@almostrealthings) they've expanded way beyond their original arts magazine core, they’re out here building new spaces for artists with a truly special collaborative spirit, check out their Disco Funk Night Saturday 9/3!
_OFCOLOR - (@_ofcoloratx) a new arts alliance doing rad work spotlighting underrepresented local BIPOC communities, check out their Latino Art Wknd 9/16!