Q & A | Something in Particular, Documenting Southern Creative In Need of Support

Because you’re a creative person from the South, you’ve thought about leaving—at least once you did. When you couldn’t find money or support for your ideas, when you heard people talk about places such as New York, California or Europe. Or maybe when you realized the South isn’t normally viewed as a creative place.

Well, here’s something that can help change that reality. A project called Something In Particular is seeking funding for three creative minds to travel in a van called Big Red to 13 or more Southern cities in 32 days to explore and document creative people, organizations and projects.

The three creative minds are Melonie Tharpe, James Martin and Cubby West. Melonie gave CommonCreativ more insight into their project and what impact it could have for Southern creatives.

She really hopes you stay in Atlanta.

“Atlanta is a great, growing creative community,” she says. “On top of that, it is inexpensive to live here, there are new galleries, art service organizations and co-ops popping up all the time, and we have great history and culture all around us.”

She also hopes you support their Kickstarter campaign before it closes at 12 p.m. on Thursday, February 16, so the trio can begin their journey on March 1.

CommonCreativ: What do you think are some things holding Atlanta back as a creative place?
Melonie Tharpe: More financial backing for artists and creatives would be wonderful. More open process for discovering funding, spaces and other needs would really be useful. As a creative, it can be hard to know where to look or where to get started. Combining all of these things, the outlook for new or emerging creatives is intimidating.

CC: What can you say about the Atlanta creative community from your experience? 
MT: It can be very supportive, but also very insular. I feel like I see the same groups or types of people at each event. And it seems that the people making up the East Side creative block don’t mix with the North Side/Buckhead creative groups and vice versa. We could really use more cross support, especially to grow our entire creative outlook.

That being said, the people who do come out to events and creative activities are very supportive. In a recent interview for our documentary project, someone said that Atlanta has a very scrappy arts community. They are very used to doing things for themselves.

CC: What are some things, people, projects, ideas that most inspire you about Atlanta?
MT: There are too many to count. It seems like every day new creative projects are popping up. A few we really love: WonderRoot, they are doing a lot of really interesting projects and have really helped to revitalize their neighborhood of Reynoldstown. Dashboard Co-Op has some amazing artists and shows and has unique way of using spaces (like their show on Edgewood filling unused store fronts with art). We recently interviewed Radcliffe Bailey. Work from individuals like him helps propel the Atlanta art community.

CC: What is the best possible outcome of this project?
MT: We hope that both the documentary and our proposed multimedia website can be used as tools to attract and keep creatives local—both in Atlanta and the rest of the South. The documentary will outline why it is great to work in the South, straight from the mouths of artist and designers while the website will provide a directory of all the places, spaces and people we come across. We hope to continue building the site after the trip, adding to it as best we can.

CC: How are you discovering the places you need to go / the people you will see?
MT: Some of the people and places were chosen because of their influence on us. We did some research for each location and found a lot of great things. It is always best to get information from locals or people who have seen things first hand.

CC: Your website says “Recently the South has seen a revival in national interest.” Why do you say this?
MT: It seems that since Katrina, people across the U.S. have woken up.  Its like they suddenly realized “Hey, there is some great stuff happening down there!”. From TV shows like Treme to increased sales in regionally planted magazines like Garden & Gun, to the plethora of Southern inspired restaurants opening across the nation, the South seems to be on everyone’s mind. And for once it is for a good thing.

We have a history with some dark moments, but this is a great positive recognition for what we have become. A place with a unique history and culture and a diverse nature that can foster creativity like no other. This is what we want to highlight.

CommonCreativ: If the South were to see improvements created by creative people, what kinds of changes might we expect?
MT: I think a better use of public spaces would be great. Blending art, design and utility (like roads, public transit, parks) is a great way to involve creative thinking in a way that benefits everyone […] We would love to see history blended into design for modern needs and wants. The architecture here is much different from anywhere else in the country, and that could be very influential in how we design our world. Also, creatives can be great at finding new approaches to solving social and environmental problems. There are already some great creatives taking up that banner.

CC: You hope to continue this project beyond March. What other, related ideas do you have?
MT: We want to create dialogue around creativity in the South. We are not sure exactly what that will look like beyond this initial project. We want the ideas to develop organically, based on feedback from the people we meet.

CC: Anything else you want to add? Particularly that creative people in Atlanta should know / would be interested in?
MT: Hang in there! Atlanta can be an amazing place to work and even just to ‘be’. The more people we can retain and acquire, the better it will be.