Karina Lopez - 2023
Artist Market
Artist's Statement
For my final project, I decided to coordinate the beginning of an annual event for The Suites community on campus. This annual event will be an artist market and each year there will be a theme. This year, The Suites 2023 Artist Market’s theme is the Earth and sustainability. We called it “ArtisTREE Day.” The Suites area includes the Canyon Crest and Central Suitesbuildings and the market will take place in the courtyard that they both share. The learning outcome for this event is “healthy lifestyles” as the theme is the Earth and sustainability. Residents will be able to identify the USU Sustainability office as a resource, implement sustainability in their daily lives, identify their personal values and beliefs, and practice reflection of personal choice outcome.
One of the first things I needed to do was create a space where I could easily access all of the information for my event. I immediately created a master spreadsheet with tabs that included artist information, hours worked, table set-up, the event schedule and the budget. My budget for this initiative was $1,500. The money came from our Energy Wars and Sustainability grant.
Publicizing the Artist Market was by far the most fun part of the process. We advertisedby creating flyers, painting butcher paper posters, emailing our residents and inviting them to the event in person. One of my team members was in charge of the USU Residence Life Instagram account to further advertise the event by posting on the story. We interviewed our artists as well as took pictures of the event and their art.
Unfortunately, due to the weather, our event had to move inside the Canyon Crest Lobby but it was still a very impactful experience for all. We had about 112 community members attend. The USU Sustainability team attracted many guests with their engaging ‘Spin the Wheel’ booth and they were able to share their mission goals with all. Our Glacial Melt soda bar was also a complete success and very fun. Our most requested soda mix was called “The Polar Ice Cap” which consisted of Sprite, Lavender and Lemon. These drink names allowed conversations to spark about the serious topics.
Overall, the Suites 2023 Artist Market was a complete success and team members who are returning next year are eager to recreate this event. I am proud of the work that was accomplished and I would do it again. Hopefully the 2024 market will be able to take place inthe warm Sun, outside.