Arts Conversations

Squid and Beard fans and followers may have noticed that we have been having a lot of meetings and conversations with people from our arts community recently. People have emailed and called asking what these are about (and how they can join these conversation). Iced tea on hot days and talking about art, community and action—who wouldn’t want to join in on that? Well, consider this an open invitation letting you know that we would love to speak with you (artists, patrons, companies, non-profits and art fans alike).

We love the power that art has to inspire and engage the world. And we love the way community brings these inspiring ideas into dialogue and action; or conversely, how the ideas and actions of a community can inspire the artist to create. Artistic expression can be a very personal and private whisper or a loud shout from the hilltops. Whichever the case, once it enters the public sphere, there is always a unique place of connection with those who experience it. It can make you laugh, make you cry, send a shiver down your spine, make you smile, fascinate you, excite you, disgust you or slip away deep in your subconscious without you even taking note. But you do experience it and we think that is a wonderful thing.

Charlottesville is so fortunate to have great museums, galleries, organizations and patrons that are sharing art and artists with our community. We are shocked to see how many great resources are out there providing physical space to be with the art and meet with the artists. And we are working to continue to grow in being a part of that important work of introducing art and artists to the community and introducing the community back to the artists. We love helping tell these stories and bringing together innovative ways of letting people experience these works more fully.

So, lately, we have been having a wonderful time talking with folks about the simple idea of how to do that even better. We’ve been asking, “How can Squid and Beard work to help the arts in new ways? How can we help you in your work? And what are ways we can encourage others in this pursuit?”

The dialogue and conversation around these questions have been exciting. We’ve met artists who want to tell their story. We’ve met galleries that want to show off their space and archive their shows. We’ve met non-profits that want to reach out to new parts of the community. We’ve met community members who want to volunteer and see more art. And so much more.

Squid and Beard believes in our ability to tell these stories through film and photography. Through our documentaries, panoramas and commercial work, we are working hard to connect people and get the stories of art, artists, shows, galleries and community members out there for more and more people to experience and share. And as we do what we believe we are best at, we also are always searching for new innovations and ideas. Some of them may just be ideas that we pass on to a friend, some may be things that we create ourselves and some may just be an idea that inspires a completely different idea. Whichever the case, we are always searching.

So let us know how you are working to tell your stories and hear others. Come pay us a visit or shoot us an email. We are excited to know what you are doing. And if there are ways we can aid you in that pursuit or offer advice on where to go next, we are glad to help. And you may even get a nice glass of iced tea in the process.