Apr 15, 2009
Chords and Oil
It is an art collective with a progressive agenda. And it is one of the most exciting things about life in Topeka right now.
Saturday was our public debut. Three weeks of intensive planning and collaboration led to a fantastic success.
More than 250 people experienced original visual art, poetry, film and music at the Upstage Gallery.
But what is Chords & Oil?
It started in Chad’s basement. Or maybe it started in Sam and Michelle’s living room. I’m not really sure. We realized that instead of hanging out and complaining about the city’s lack of things to do, we could collaborate and create things to do. So we put on an art/music show at Tavio’s house in January. We had a dance night at Bosco’s. We had a pot-luck dinner meeting at Chad’s house. And then we had a founding meeting to elect officers. I’m Promotions and Communications Chair, or Proms & Comms for short.
We want to do public art. We want to do illicit art. We want to change and challenge public perception of art. We want to move beyond art into the realm of education. We want to grow and cultivate the community to share ideas and communicate better.
Heartland Visioning has been very supportive. They are thrilled that we’re young and active in this city. Most of us are young professionals or students, and I feel like we’ve suddenly all realized that there is no point in working or creating if you’re not contributing to something bigger.
