After witnessing the organizations’ many successes this past year, the three directors of RAW:natural born artists -- Founder and Executive Director Heidi Luerra, Marketing Director Matthew Klahorst, and Development Director Vy Pham -- made plans to launch their local showcases nationally and open up 17 new locations so that artists from all over the country could have a chance to be a part of their artistic movement.
Armed with four wheels and a videographer, the RAW team set out on their road trip at the end of December to meet with independent artists everywhere and promote the launch. The group travelled 10,000 miles, in less than a month, to 17 different cities across the states. The trip was sponsored by Magic Software’s UniPaas Jet, a new program used to build applications geared toward young people. The cross-country journey served two purposes: to promote the RAW locations in each city and to capture the stories of artists everywhere through a DIY documentary.
“We picked these cities because they are in major metropolitan areas,” says Pham. “We’ve noticed that in these cities, take the L.A. market for example, it’s only the big players that get all the great chances. We want to be able to open up new opportunities for the starting, starving, independent artists living and working within these communities.”
“A big part of our motivation for our RAWcross America endeavor is to provide mobility for artists” says Luerra. “With our new program rolling out in 2011 we can send a local Phoenix artist, for example, to New York. Our nationwide network allows us this privilege. To be able to pass this along to our artists is priceless in the indie arts world”
The team was able to conclude their trip with no accidents, no blizzards, and no flat tires, however, were set back when the videographer, Vinnie Martinez, was was rushed into emergency surgery early in the trip. The team of four dwindled to a team of three, who filmed the documentary themselves as they were busy meeting and greeting local creatives in each city. All the while, working on a huge nationwide launch from the backseat of a less-than-spacious SUV. Now back from a long, labor-intensive journey, the three are reinvigorated and their passion for any aspirations for the organization’s growth and the support of underground artists is stronger than ever.
RAW:natural born artists is scheduled to launch its 2011 season in Hollywood, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento, Orange County, San Francisco, Portland, Austin, Nashville, San Diego, Chicago, and New York City throughout the month of February and continue monthly arts showcases in each city through October 2011. The RAWcross America documetary is set to launch in late Summer.
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