A Note on getting to Know us.

As those of you watching the blog will know, Indyish is branching out in new directions - we’ve got the Monthly Mess getting started, and the Fringe Fest stuff (which I’ll be releasing more info on soon), and of course the relay experiment Tessa’s been managing, the Assembly. We’re working with an expanding team of people who are still meeting each other and learning to work together, and I’ve been encouraging them to blog a bit about that experience, in addition to the arts blogging, because I think it’s interesting to see these connections as they happen. With new projects there is a lot to learn, and I think by trying to document our processes we’re able to unpack some of that tacit knowledge that gets produced, and hopefully other people interested in community building art can learn from what we go through. I actually have a pretty big theoretical and artistic interest in the idea of documentation which I’ll spare you right now, because it’s before noon on a Friday, but if you ever get a look at some of our granty applications you’ll see I ain’t lying. And actually, Tessa grabbed some of my writing on this subject for inclusion in the Assembly zine, so if you get your hot little hands on one of those you’ll get a glimpse as well.

With the Assembly in particular I think it’s really important to blog like mad, because the version we’re doing now is kind of a microcosm of how we want to do it in the future, when we’ll be organizing it so it works with wider international cooperation. Also, it’s inspiring I think, to see a person as young as Tessa produce complex event art, while also preparing to play at one of the world’s biggest music festivals. Effective/chaotic multi-tasking makes for a good read in my opinion - and I hope with this we’ll be able to provoke more indyish artists into letting us in on their juggling, because though some are shy, they’re all up to some wildly diverse stuff, like playing in bands while designing clothes that are big in Japan.

My interest with Indyish - and I know this is what has drawn people like Tessa to get involved - is to try and build real good links between individual artists who inspire me, to foster personal connections especially in my local, and to have those relationships be something you can follow online, so you get to know these peeps. Ideally this will mean you’ll have a feel for where they’ve come from when they make it big, or when they invite you to do collaborative art. I’m still trying to cultivate a tight team of writers/event managers who have this magical mix of aesthetic smarts, positive energy for others’ work, and hard core follow-through. With Tessa, Marilis, Josh, Maryanna and Tristan in particular I feel like we’re getting some good chemistry goin, and artists like Amber Goodwyn are what it’s all about. We have some big plans for the months ahead, and when we’re harrassing y’all to get entangled, we think it’ll help if you know who we are.

And you’ll note that Elran, though a kind of quiet presence on the site compared to some, has been programming towards that goal as well - for example we have these new profile pages that track a lot of action on the site (click on my name and you’ll see what I mean). These are brand spanking new so we’re still getting people to update them with new pictures etc, but I think they’re neat - not least because they are a quick way to check out an artists products each time they post, which I actually think is already translating into new sales!

Anyway, we hope you’re enjoying what we’re dishing out. We promise to keep much arts and community writing coming, along with the fine indie goods. And if you want us to cover something in particular, don’t hesitate to let us know!
Keep warm yall,
r.