Art in Odd Places (AiOP) 2015: RECALL is our 11th year and while this year’s festival is all about looking back at past artists and projects, we are also taking time to catch up with some of the former AiOP staff. Without the support of these dedicated volunteers, these festivals would not have gotten off the ground. We here at AiOP are honored to have worked with these individuals over the years and are taking the time to see what they have been up to, ask how working with AiOP has impacted their lives and, above all, hope to run into them on 14th Street during this year’s festival.
Victoria Inguanta.
How many years did you volunteer with AiOP? Which festivals and years were you a part of?
I volunteered with AiOP for one festival: 2011 AiOP, “Ritual”. I volunteered for several months, starting in September. .
What position did you hold during your tenure with AiOP?
I was the social media intern and I designed memes, tweeted out event dates and times, and held a meeting with artists to show them how to use one particular website where they could post photos and recorded segments about their work and themselves.
In what ways did working with AiOP assist you in your professional development outside the festival?
It helped to hook me up with gallery jobs I’ve gotten and my current job at the MoMA PS1 as a gallery attendant.
What is your fondest memory from participating in an AiOP festival?
My fondest memory was getting to see the artwork and performances in action and to see the whole festival come together. There was an opening night event at some performance art space on 14th St. near Pratt. I remember several different artists on the roof of the building performing, one woman giving advice to folks and then handing them a pseudo Christian palm card with an imagine on the front and a poem on the back (like the ones you get at a funeral)..I still have mine in my wallet actually! There was a man doing portraits on plastic “thank you” bags, the ones with the smiley faces on them and there were folks outside, in front of the building with colored body suits on and lights around themselves and one woman who was wearing aluminum cans and different metal pieces walking around, making all of this noise. It definitely drew people in who were just walking down the street and also confused the hell out of them, that’s when I’d tell them about the art festival.
People were drinking wine and checking out performances that happened at designated times. It was such a fantastic night to be a part of.
