the idea: create a meet-up group for the Creatively-Inclined

Earlier this year I realized that I went to school for community art and worked in a community art department and neither of them had strong communities.  A big part of this is just the nature of the profession: artists spend a lot of time alone in their studios working on things while art teachers spend all their time alone with kids teaching things.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  In fact, many of the best artistic innovations we’ve had have come from groups of artists. Just look at the Impressionist, Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group, or any of the 17th-19th century French Salons.

Since January, 2013 I have been meeting monthly with a group of my friends, co-workers, and classmates to exchange ideas.  Now, as I reemerge from my work on Don’t Make Art, Just Make Something, I’ve formalizing this group as the Somerville Salon.  It even has its own website now: http://www.meetup.com/The-Somerville-Salon/

We’ll meet once a month to have an Idea Exchange.  This will be the most formal of the events, where each members comes in to either with an idea or ready to listen to ideas from other people.  These ideas could be anything from your next art piece to where to look for a good job.  Apart from these meetings, we’ll hold informal gatherings at art openings, open mics, jam sessions, pot lucks, or whatever else strikes our creative fancy.

So join the meet-up, pass it along to your friends, and get ready to spread the inspiration.