On Persistence, Patience & Getting it Done with Isaac Marquez

In this episode we talk to Director of Cultural Services, City of Eugene, Isaac Marquez, about his journey of becoming director of the city's cultural programming by way of his position as Public Art Manager, the staging of a comprehensive visual arts festival, and the contentions of the art community of a small city: high and low, performing arts and visual arts, old guard and new initiatives. We come up against issues of scale, and the proximity of the full spectrum of art in a small city.
Changing the conversation, one step at a time means asking "what can we do with what we have?" We learn about the value of persistence and patience, can-do enthusiasm and burnout. We hear ideas on how to get critical discourse going, the artist’s skill-set, and what it takes to grow art and culture in a small city. Pro tips? Isaac has them - Emotional intelligence, smart partnerships, humility and willingness to collaborate and recognize your own strengths and weaknesses. He also discusses the pitch and the process, and letting people in to your world. What about marketing and social media as the voice of the artist, the importance of being able to talk about your work, “ruining your market,” and other issues with branding? We hit it all.
Other topics include the particularities of public art, how to be a lucrative artist by selling t-shirts and promoting each other, cover bands, and a fiendishly genius move by artist Rebecca Morgan involving a jug and a state fair.
Links:
Cultural Services, City of Eugene on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CulturalServices/
City of Eugene Visual Arts Festival 2018: https://www.eugene-or.gov/3934/Visual-Arts-Festival
Julia Oldham’s online store: https://juliaoldham.bigcartel.com/
Elliott Earls on “above and below the couch” art: https://youtu.be/J41-ZCiLiq4?t=141
“Artists@Work” at the Arts Center in Corvallis, OR: https://theartscenter.net/myers-adams-oliviera-oldham/
Rebecca Morgan: https://rebeccamorganart.com/home.html
This episode was recorded at the offices of AHM Brands in downtown Eugene, Oregon.
Theme music by Das Verlin.
Mixed by Pinball Jukebox
Bottleracks & Fountains is a project of Eugene Contemporary Art.