Collaboration: A Love Letter

I recently had the pleasure of going to the Druid City Arts Festival this past weekend. I normally come to an art walk of this sort and stay for an hour and leave; but something about the Druid City space always has me staying from open to close. It’s the world’s largest space of collaboration. Even the other people, those who deem themselves the un-creative, walk the same space as makers, painters, sculptors, and singers. I couldn’t walk ten paces without hearing someone asking how something was made or just the quiet wonder of someone taking in a piece they enjoy.

This is why I love spaces like this. They bring out the pure, unadulterated joy in anyone who steps into them. Creators play off of civilians. We bring out the best in each other. I got to meet and work with multiple artists just making small sketches or writing small improv pieces. I was still making long Druid City closed by just feasting upon everything I absorbed during my time there. Even the simple act of eating a popsicle with friends while listening to live music fueled drawings and writings.

I may be biased as a painter, but I know that people who don’t make art benefit from spaces like this. It is a safe space to make even in the simplest of terms. You can take a load off and discuss a poem you read at a booth and you,ll be met by people who are excited to talk about the same things. I can’t even begin to describe the smiles I saw, how excited people got talking to artists about how things are made. I even discussed painting with a very talented pig named Buttercup.

My review of this art festival is simple: I don’t think people realize how much they benefit from spaces such as this; but it is important for your mind and body to have outlets like the festival. The world’s greatest collab, right here in Tuscaloosa.