Oh what a night!
(Early) December down at minicine?
What a very special night for Shreve….
Lots of artists, what a night!
(Now that that throwback is properly in your head)…
Something very special happened in Shreveport a few weeks ago, and Heliopolis was there to catch the action!
If you haven’t heard of CoCreative, it’s time to fix that. Founders Courtney Wimmert and Caitlin Lindsay, who met through art and became fast friends, started the organization over a year ago with one clear intention: to unite the local artistic community and help it thrive.
On December 5th, they hosted their biggest event so far – an all day music & arts festival featuring 7 bands and 11 local artists. The festival was a huge success, with people of all ages coming through to check out new music and buy unique local art.
“This was the biggest event we have had so far,” said Lindsay, “both in terms of the turnout and the amount of artists we were able to bring together.”
“This has been our vision for over a year, but we have really worked hard over the past 6 months to make it happen,” said Wimmert.
But the truth is that it’s been a much longer journey for Caitlin Lindsay. A Shreveport artist since high school, Lindsay graduated with honors with a major in Studio Art from Centenary in 2013. As she puts it, “Art was my life and my mission.”
She started the art-and-music duo Vela Nora with her now fiance’ Leigh Rose, performing in any venue possible around town. And she started to notice something; even though she knew the interest was here, there was a huge gap between artists who wanted to perform and the community that wants to support them.
They met multiple musicians and artists who were motivated to build Shreveport into a cultural hub for the creative, but who didn’t seem to have a cohesive, represented community in which to foster those ambitions.
“I love Shreveport, and there is so much potential here. However, young artists and musicians just don’t know where to start. Like any new band or performer, we had to work really hard to gain a larger audience. We played anywhere and everywhere. We had to our advantage that we’re only a duo. It’s harder for full bands to find places to play – even harder if that band is under 18 or 21. CoCreative is here to bridge that gap.”
Lindsay notes that the band Dirty Streets, now based in Memphis, played a show at a local bar in Shreveport about 2 years ago, “and no one showed up.” At the CoCreative Art Festival, this time the band was able to perform to a standing-only room full of their own fans as well as fans of other bands. The high-energy, back-to-back festival lineup allowed music lovers to check out different genres of music in a short amount of time, fostering the discovery of new music while also cementing local fan bases.
One relationship has already bloomed from this artistic cross-pollination; because of meeting through CoCreative, Dirty Streets was able to arrange a special show opening up for local favorite Shayliff later in the month. The two bands had never met prior to the art festival.
“It’s about creating connections,” said Wimmert, who was initially worried about hosting a music festival in a new venue. “It turned out great. This is an amazing space for people to play music and show art, and we got to share it with a lot of people.”
Ryker Hall, a solo artist self-described as a “one man wolf pack,” is one of these performers who was able to join the CC community and perform at the festival. “Since meeting Caitlin and Lee, I’ve played several events and gotten to collaborate with them, forming a kind of CoCreative house band. And tonight I got to meet the guys from Rella, whose sound is so different from my own. It’s been really fun.”
So did it all go as planned?
“I’m really excited about the turnout,” said Lindsay. “Tonight was one of the first shows where I didn’t know half the people who were here. There was a plethora of children! We had bubbles going, kids dancing, adults drawing – my nephew came and didn’t want to leave.”
Indeed the festival had a block party atmosphere that hearkened to a simpler time, where innocence and creativity were the orders of the day.
“That’s what I’m hoping to build here,” said Lindsay. “I want kids like my nephew to have a childhood where this is routine.”
Megan Walsh, who has joined the CoCreative team as public relations director, and herself a featured artist, is excited about where to go from here. She met Lindsay while working at another art show and hasn’t looked back since. “I started promoting, recruiting, and helping out as much as I could because this is a vision I really believe in.”
Lindsay surmises, “CoCreative is for everyone. Yes, we want the creative thinkers in our community to know we are here for them and to help them get started. But this is also for the venues, to show them that it’s beneficial to let in more diverse crowds.”
In fact, at a recent hardcore rock show organized by the group, CoCreative was able to raise $500 for Renzi, a local after-school arts program for children that survives completely off donations. “All we had to do at that show was tell people about Renzi and what they do and they were eager to donate. That’s COMMUNITY. I can’t wait to see what else we can do with the support of our creative family.”
Neither can we.
The next show is January 9th at Hot Shots Bar and is open to 18 and up. The show will feature Vela Nora, The Barn is Still Standing, and Limp Wizurdz.