Last weekend (December 6th) I was honored to be involved in the setup and execution of Virgin 2.0, the latest event from SquareOneFl headed by Okie Tilo. http://www.squareoneflorida.com/ I was completely blown away by the camaraderie of the Florida group of artists, and then blown away again by the actual event. Virgin 2.0 boasted an amazing and diverse network of almost 90 artists, a contemporary dance group, jazz band,opera singer,yoga/movement performance art piece and 3 fashion shows. I personally had to step in at the last moment and tease the hair of the 10 University of Tampa dancers in one hour, but it only added to the fast paced excitement of the night. Promptly at 7 pm a line formed around the Ritz Ybor that extended all the way to the 15th St Parking garage. Attendance is estimated at 1600-2000 patrons, 90% of the artists sold their work, a respectable amount of donations were collected, and the Ritz Ybor did extremely well regarding bar sales. But what struck me as the most amazing was the fluidity of the night. It was truly a coming together of creative minds, having fun, drinking, talking about and selling art, and making new friends. The age range went from toddlers to seniors, we had fashionistas, business professionals, high society, and people stopping through on the way to a wild night out.
Virgin 2.0 was a culmination of the efforts of the SquareOne team. It was the product of the first several shows and a perfection of an idea. I want to congratulate Okie Tilo, Kat Wilson, Jason Moriarty, Jedd Lancaster, Melissa Fair, and the rest of the SQFL team for creating such a memorable event. Seeing it all come to fruition was amazing.
Now we just have to top that.
Action>Motion has to be different--more diverse, more forward thinking. We have to create that same vibe up here by finding a great network of New York artists. We have to push the envelope and do things that other people dont think to do. Most of all we have to support eachother, and support this idea that all we have to do to succeed is get our work out there.
And we will.
If its anything I have learned from the beginning of starting this venture--its that all it takes is a little thought turned into a little action to create something truly amazing.
Virgin 2.0, if nothing else was solid proof of that.
Regards,
Gary Randall
Now we just have to top that.
Action>Motion has to be different--more diverse, more forward thinking. We have to create that same vibe up here by finding a great network of New York artists. We have to push the envelope and do things that other people dont think to do. Most of all we have to support eachother, and support this idea that all we have to do to succeed is get our work out there.
And we will.
If its anything I have learned from the beginning of starting this venture--its that all it takes is a little thought turned into a little action to create something truly amazing.
Virgin 2.0, if nothing else was solid proof of that.
Regards,
Gary Randall
