On Tuesday, Stuart and I hosted the pop-up gallery for BICAS outside of the Joseph Gross Gallery. We displayed pieces of jewelry made of recycled bike parts from Carrie's students, six pieces created by 520 students, one mini skirt made by Dr. McClure, and one incredible felted piece by a 420 student. The event lasted from 12-5 and in that
time, between 40-50 students and faculty visited our little gallery.
About half of the participants knew about BICAS and were excited that it was being promoted on the UA campus. Although these students knew about BICAS, they were unaware that the auction was occurring on the 3rd and 4th of December. Students were quite excited to hear about the auction and took flyers and brochures for themselves and their friends.
The other half of participants were unaware of BICAS. They stated that the "cool, funky" pieces of art caught their eye and spurred their curiosity. Stuart and I explained the concept and mission of BICAS to all newcomers, who took the information with excitement. Many of the students who did not know about BICAS are in their first or second year at the U of A. Hopefully, now that they know of the program, they can build a relationship with BICAS
that will last the remainder of their college experience.
The day was riddled with surprising events; from students laughing as they put on Stuart's Kanye bike glasses, to a famous landscape photographer purchasing one of the pieces! Jay's gorgeous flower bouquet was purchased, making it the first donation to go to BICAS from UA students! Congrats, Jay!
Later in the afternoon, Casey stopped by and loaned us some awesome welded works from BICAS artists. These works garnered more attention to our little tent and made participants curious about the auction. The pieces Casey brought were so intricately made that students were amazed that they were comprised of bike parts. A few students even said they would attend the auction just so that they could bid on the pieces shown at the pop-up gallery!
Another great part of the pop-up gallery was that it enabled Stuart and I to promote the workshops and events of our fellow classmates. Excited to learn more about BICAS, participants seemed eager to learn about Pedro's LGBTQ&A workshop and Leon's film screenings. I hope that some of the students we talked with will attend these events and grow to love and support BICAS.
Overall, I think the pop-up gallery was a success. Although Stuart and I may have had more participants if we would've set up the gallery on the UA Mall, I believe that the participants we spoke with reflect a group more rooted in the arts. Setting up in front of the Gross Gallery made our intended audience quite specific: students and faculty of the various schools of art. We believe that this population is invested in the arts and in the community arts scene; therefore, it was a great audience to pilot our pop-up gallery concept.
Finally, I want to thank all of you who loaned Stuart and I pieces for the gallery. Every piece was well received! After the pop-up gallery closed, I drove all of the pieces to BICAS. (So no worries, your works made it there safe and sound!)
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