Last October, I noticed a call to apply for a local public art opportunity called ArtPop Street Gallery. I was vaguely familiar with the program because 2 artists I follow on Instagram, and have met in person, were chosen in previous years. That was the sum total of my familiarity.
I pulled up the link and realized that the deadline was coming up within a week, so I called my daughter to see if she would be available to photograph an embroidery piece and crop an image according to the requirements. It was more involved than a quick photo - there was a bio to write and on and on. That said, I was able to submit it the day before the deadline. I honestly didn’t think I would stand much of a chance.
A little over a week later, Brooke Gibbons from ArtPop called me with the incredible news! I had to keep it a secret for a month until the reveal event in December. What a night that was! The big reveal was held in a local hotel and if I didn’t realize it at the time, it should have been a huge clue that my fiber artist life was about to change and become so much more exciting in the near future! That night the 20 chosen artists were each presented with a mini billboard replica “trophy”, a gift check, and a gold pin for the 10 year anniversary of ArtPop. We heard from Wendy Hickey, the amazing founder of ArtPop, as well as from several benefactors for this non-profit organization. I learned so much that night and met so many incredible artists, both from my cohorts for the 2023 year and alumni from the previous 10 years. Everyone was so welcoming and had such lovely things to say and great recommendations. That night, I couldn’t sleep as I was on a new high, recollecting all I had just experienced and learned!
The very next day, Charlotte is Creative, a huge local supporter of artists and the arts in Charlotte, featured the 20 new class members in a lovely online article… and a few friends called to congratulate me….Wow!
In January, we were away when I heard that “my” vinyl billboard was hung along our local Independence Boulevard. It’s along our main route to Uptown, so an exciting location. As soon as I returned to town, I went to see it on a rainy weekday during rush hour traffic, stopping to look around for it, and then, there across the highway it was. My eyes filled with tears - Wow again! Throughout the month, we each had a newsstand and a commuter train station erect a shared sign of our art, and then several digital media companies started displaying more images around town. We chose a frigid winter day to seek out many of the locations. Seeing a tall display with the night lights of our city and Panther’s football stadium in the surround, was phenomenal. The excitement just went on and on and we were all on a high!
THEN…..wait for it….we found that our art was being displayed in New York’s Times Square for the month of February. Of course we had to go! What a whirlwind but amazing 3 day trip it was! We took the subway from La Guardia airport to close to our hotel. Carrying our luggage as we looked for our hotel, I glanced down 7th Avenue and what do you think I saw? It was a corner of my art on a huge display. That was enough to get me all emotional and choked up - the hugest of Wows! Then we rushed to the front desk to leave our bags, but our room was ready so we could check in (at 10 am - almost unheard of anywhere, let alone there - took it as a great sign though.) At 11 am we were to meet up with 3 other artists with family members who flew up from Charlotte and what an exciting couple of hours we spent whooping and hollering for each other as our billboards came up. It was about a 20 minute rotation each time, and I can’t tell you how many of those 20 minute rotations we watched that weekend. Our hotel was so close that we walked past it every time we went out. Suffice it to say that my hubby was incredibly patient <3
The artists kept on commenting, “but it is just February - we have 10 more months to go!” So much happens every week and the opportunities that ArtPop and other local arts organizations present us with are phenomenal. I’m still trying to figure out how many of these opportunities can be applied to fiber art and fiber artists, because a lot of mural and painting work requests are out there every week :)
Please take a look at ArtPopStreetGallery.Com to read all about it. It’s a nonprofit so donations are more than welcome. You can sign up for their newsletter and will be in the know in case you qualify (geographically, etc) and want to apply for next year.
I took a chance and it is taking me on an unbelievably magical ride!