I did an arts festival as a non-pro artist and here’s how it went
June through August of this year, I spent a ton of time prepping for an arts festival called The Paseo in Taos, NM that happened on September 16th and 17th. I was originally supposed to present in 2020 but then…well, you know. And then in 2021, well…you know.
But this year thousands of people descended into the center of Taos to look at art by amazing artists from all over the world.
And me. I was also there.
So how did this happen, what did I make, what did I learn, and why was this a super hard and also super rewarding experience for me?
How did I get here?
Submitting
It’s 2019. It genuinely feels like I can do anything. I’m a first year graduate student at the MIT Media Lab, doing work around identity, projection, lighting, and computer vision. I decide, at the suggestion of a then post doc (now Professor!) Dr Dan Novy to submit part of my thesis work to an arts festival in Taos, New Mexico. A bunch of Burning Man people are going. Lots of cool artists have been before.
The festival accepts me! Awesome! I am going to find a way to use this data in my thesis. AND have some fun presenting in the American Southwest! What a great deal. I have MIT’s full support.
