Get to Know Ogden Contemporary Arts

SHANE OSGUTHORPE, OGDEN WIRE:
Welcome to the Ogden Wire. We are joined today by Venessa Castagnoli. She is the Executive Director of Ogden Contemporary Arts, otherwise known as OCA. A lot you'll hear a lot of people around town refer to it as OCA, and we just kind of want to do a little, you know, we had a couple of our top historians in here for our last episode to talk about women's history month. And look, a lot of people travel for history, but also a lot of people travel for art, and they want to come see the art installations and the art, whether it's museums or installations or murals or any kind of, you know, the arts community, and Ogden certainly has a vibrant art scene, and you guys are one of our crown jewels.

So we kind of wanted to just kind of talk a little bit about OCA as an organization, but mostly like what what a visitor can experience, and why OCA needs to be a stop on their list when they're in town, even if you're only here for a few hours. So let's jump in wherever you want. Just why don't you tell us a little about what Ogden Contemporary Arts is and does, and then we'll get into kind of how it works for visitors.

VENESSA CASTAGNOLI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OGDEN CONTEMPORARY ARTS.
Yeah, sure. So we're nonprofit art museum. We have basically three pillars to our organization, which is our art education program, our exhibition program, and our artist-in-residence program. We have an artist-in-residence that comes in once every year for two months, and they actually live and engage and stay in Ogden during that time, and they create a whole new body of work. Our previous exhibition, that was our artist in residency show, Suzanne Sparge. She was amazing.

And then our current exhibition right now is actually “Reclamation.“ Three Filipino-American artists that are talking about, you know, being displaced from their their land, their culture, and how they, you know, deal with that in current day and keep their culture alive.

And then up next, actually kind of segues into our education program. We have our next exhibition is the Artist Factory Exhibition, saying “exhibition” a lot, but we're basically taking a handful of our teaching artists that we utilize in that program. We have a roster of like

40 artists that participate in that. You're one of them. [referring to Taylor Hartman]

And we send these artists to Youth Impact, YCC, Utah Neighborhood Connection,
we used to do it with Boys and Girls Club. And we also actually have a studio space in the Monarch that we rent that's a permanent classroom. And so we've curated four of these artists into this upcoming exhibition, and as part of that exhibition and showing their work as artists, they're also teaching workshops about that art that they're showing. And so we'll actually… each artist will be able to choose five students to be involved in that exhibition as well.

SHANE:
Yeah, that's fantastic. Okay, so often contemporary arts, I think some people can be a little bit intimidated by the word contemporary art because they're not sure quite how to approach it or how to engage with it. And I was one of those people, I always felt a little bit intimidated by contemporary art like, what if I don't get it? Do I look like an idiot while I'm standing there trying to sort out what this thing on the wall is. But I will say every, every experience I've had when I've come to the gallery has been very moving. If you take your time really, like, immersed in what the artists are saying about their pieces, and then study them. I've always had good time. You guys have a great environment for a first timer to engage with contemporary arts, I think.

VENESSA:
Yeah, that's the goal…is to make our space as inclusive as possible. You know, we don't charge for anything we do so there's no entry fee. There's no cost to participating in our Artist Factory workshops. They’re 100% free to the community. It's all about educating. It's not about like, I agree when I first got this job, what I didn't want this to be is an intimidating space that you don't feel like you belong. When you walk into a contemporary art gallery, gallery and you don't get something, you're like, Okay, I'm gonna leave. I'm not going to ask questions. I don't feel comfortable. It's going to make me feel dumb. I'm not going to do it. That's the opposite of what I wanted this to be so, you know, we try to be a welcoming space. We want to make sure that everyone feels comfortable walking in, that whether you're, you know, just a kid skateboarding down the street or an art lover to come right in. We try to make sure there's educational materials for everyone and at a level that anyone can understand. So making sure that our wall text is super accessible, we also translate it to Spanish, and then through our artist factory workshops. I mean, it's all about just building that art for love and. What better way to do that than to actually create art yourself?


TAYLOR HARTMAN, VISIT OGDEN
Can you talk about what art does to a community? Like, what is the importance of, you know, having that art, having it open and accessible to people, and then, you know, tying in that educational part, like, what is a community without art like? And what does a community with a vibrant art seem like?

VENESSA:
Man, a community without art is a drag. You know, I think that art gives… art does a lot for an individual. It can heal, right? I mean, it's not the answer to all sicknesses and mental health issues, but it certainly helps; gives you an avenue to actually express yourself. It also brings people together. So when you have one person who maybe politically believes on this side and the other one on this opposite side, it provides an avenue for dialog and to have these really hard conversations. And yeah, it gives you a path towards having a meaningful conversation. It also, like, you know, it brightens up our streets. It makes it… personally, I feel better when I'm walking down the street and there's a beautiful mural or a piece of public art, rather than just a sterile, cold environment.

SHANE:
Well, I can think of examples of what OCA has contributed the community that tick all those boxes in one piece. And that's that giant mural along the east side going down the alleyway of the Monarch. That was an artist-in-residence, I believe, that was here for how long? Six
weeks?

VENESSA:
He was he was here for two months. He and his family. That's kind of the cool part of our residency program is that it's family friendly. So we actually will provide a childcare stipend for artists coming in so they don't have to worry about, like, where am I going to put my kid when I'm in this residency? It's like, bring your whole family along. We want you all here. We want you as part of our community.

And yeah, that was Eric J Garcia. He's based out of Albuquerque, and he is just this amazing activist artist that is all about bringing community together. He's an art educator. And so what we did with that project, which is actually really amazing, because it really does bring everything into one amazing project, is we hired eight teams from Youth Impact to actually get paid and work alongside Eric J Garcia for that stretch of time that he was here. I think they were involved for like six weeks where they actually got to be part of the mural process from beginning to end. So, conceptualizing the mural, taking community feedback, designing the mural, executing the mural, learning the grid system, learning safety skills, like being on scaffolding and learning how to paint, and all these really cool skills that they wouldn't learn any other way. And we had a huge community painting day, which was awesome. Community got to contribute. We had one day. There was like 70 people there. It was crazy. In fact, we meant to have two days of community painting, and it was so successful that we had nothing left for anyone to do, because it would mean putting community members on scaffolding, which is a risk, obviously.

SHANE:
Well, and it's a colorful, vibrant mural, and it certainly makes a statement. I mean, he clearly immersed himself in the community, realized what the issues that we're facing here with the lake and some other things. And I mean, if you haven't seen it, if listeners haven't seen it, they need to go check it out. It's probably one of my favorite murals in all of Ogden and I love that it was an artist-in-residence that was here for a while, that immersed in himself in our community, and just cranked out that great work.

TAYLOR:
So the Ogden arts community, I would call special, especially in Utah, I think you know, you have a group of people here right now who believe in it. You talked a little bit about the community showing up, but what what's special and what's strong about ogden's art scene?

VENESSA:
I think what's special and strong about ogden's art scene is that everyone's collaborating, everyone's working together. This is not a competition. We want to uplift each other. We want to uplift each other's organizations. We want to uplift each other's careers. Ogden Contemporary Arts has started offering art business one on one classes to students and maybe emerging artists that never got that education when they were in school, because it's not something they offer in school like and so it's, it's it should really just all about being part of this team, collective and and, yeah, working together celebrating Ogden for all it is.

SHANE:
So if you're a visitor or a community member and find yourself in town, I know you guys kind of keep a regular calendar. You have. You usually do clearly an event on First Friday as part of the Ogden First Friday Art Stroll. You do something on second Saturdays? You do something on third Sundays?

VENESSA:
We do. So we our Artist Factory schedule is pretty robust. We're doing six workshops a month right now, sometimes more. And you can find that on our website. You can find it on the visit Ogden Community Calendar.

SHANE:
Might as well just say the website right now. What is it again?

VENESSA:
ogdencontemporaryarts.org

And so they're free workshops, art workshops, where we're paying local artists to come in and teach. And that's another fun part of Ogden Contemporary Arts, is that we pay everyone we don't ask artists to do anything for free. So yes, come and participate in our artist factory workshops. Come see our exhibitions and hang out with us and don't be afraid to ask questions.

SHANE:
I want to reiterate that. That going from a guy that would feel awkward in a contemporary art gallery to just like making it a point to get and see every exhibit while it's in, while it's installed, has been one of the biggest changes for me. And you really have cultivated that environment like, it's welcoming. You don't have to feel dumb. You can ask questions. I think you've done a phenomenal job up there.

What else? Oh, so your address and business hours, let's get some of the basic housekeeping items out of the way. So you are located in the Monarch… and for those who don't know, the Monarch is right in the heart of the nine rails Creative District in Ogden on 25th Street and Ogden Avenue in and your street address is just right above Ogden Avenue.

VENESSA:, Yeah, 455, 25th Street.

SHANE:
And the gallery hours are?

VENESSA:
Thursday through Sunday. We used to be open on Wednesdays. But it's hard for a nonprofit, because we are a nonprofit, and we’ve got to pay staff. So we're from Thursday through Saturday, 10 to six and Sundays, noon to four, because I refuse to be closed on a Sunday.

SHANE:
Just to summarize, in addition to the gallery, you also curate and maintain the sculpture garden across the street. Tell us a little bit about that exhibit, because that's a very visible spot you're going to drive by as you go down 25th Street.

VENESSA:
Yeah, platforms, the sculpture park on Adams and 25th Street. Right now we have, it's a semi-permanent exhibition that the Argos sold. They don't live here anymore. Used to be Ogden artists. I don't know where they are right now, but I hope they are doing well. However, that show is coming to an end, and we're currently working with Weber State University and their public art program to get some students involved in putting art there and turning it into an outdoor classroom, and so that's going to be some fun stuff coming.

TAYLOR:
We talked about the Monarch. I just want to talk about the Monarch and just the hub and the Nine Rails Creative District generally. What happens when you concentrate art into a location, does it become stronger like, you know, what’s the beauty of that? There's that hill right above Washington Boulevard, and it's just so unique to Ogden in both what it does for our city and how it looks.

VENESSA:
Yeah. So the Creative District, the Nine Rails Creative District, we're doing some work with Ogden city to help program that district more frequent frequently. So we'll be doing some projects with Ogden Downtown Alliance. We'll be doing some projects with Ogden City and Lester Park, because that is also part of the Creative District.

I hope to do some collaborations with the library soon. And what happens in a creative district, you know, it's a little controversial. The only way a Creative District fails is by pricing out those who started it. And that's what I want to solve as an organization who deeply cares about getting artists paid, and that's where we come in when it comes to providing opportunities for artists, right? So we want to pay artists to teach in our Artist Factory program. We want to pay artists to show in Ogden Contemporary Arts. We utilize local videographers and photographers to actually document so any anytime we can hire local we do and we pay. Well, that's also, I think, something pretty unique to Ogden Contemporary Arts, being a, being an art organization, they don't always pay, well, they say, Well, you know, you'll have it for the exposure. Yeah, that's, that's not something we do. And so, yes, the Creative District, I think it's just going to continue to grow and become more vibrant and have more programming. The challenge we have is to make sure that everyone who has started that program aren't priced out of the area.

TAYLOR:
Amen.

SHANE:
And I'll tell you from the music side. And that part of the arts world, the having the community together the way it is up there, creates so much cool interaction and opportunities for collaboration. I think, you know, you stop into the Banyan Collective, like we'll be there doing a music thing, but inevitably, I'm talking to the letterpress artist. I'm visiting with a sculptor. I'm checking out an oil painter’s latest work, and that community, it's beyond just looking and experiencing one another's work… that you'll you meet for coffee, you start talking, you end up doing mixed media art together. You do… it's just, it is a very special thing. Taylor's right. To have that location in our town that is the hub of our art community.

And so in addition to the the mural we mentioned, there's dozens of other murals right around there. That’s how you're going to find the Creative District. If you're not from around here, and you get up in there, you'll know you're in the Creative District. There's no question once you see the artwork and the murals and so those things up there..

VENESSA:
I really like to think of Ogden contemporary arts as the heart of the Creative District, because we're just like, right right in it, like, right where it's most vibrant.

SHANE:
You definitely are one of the crown jewels in our arts community. We thank you for coming in.

Anything upcoming we need to know about special event wise, or for the next several months? We'd like to have you come in more than once a year and kind of keep us updated on what the exhibits are doing and what maybe the workshops are, what are happening. But for now, what were the upcoming ones for, say, the next quarter? What are we looking at?

VENESSA:
Yeah, well, this Friday, I don't know when this is going going out, but this Friday, we've got First Friday. Obviously we've got two Artist Factory projects going on. So we have the Filipino club from Weber State University doing some watercolor and poetry bookmarks, which will be a lot of fun. And we also have Melissa Chang doing future shapes of architecture in our Artist Factory studio. That's studio 32 in the Monarch and then in May for first Friday, we actually have one of our artists coming back, Killjoy, who's based out of Houston, Texas, to do basically a printmaking shop so you can come and get your own print from Killjoy and turn it into this cute little wand. It's going to be a fun project. And she'll also be selling some of her amazing prints that she and her partner do.

SHANE:
Well, Ogden Contemporary Arts, thank you so much for coming in. Right there, on 25th Street just above Washington Boulevard in the heart of the Creative District. You can find more about them at ogdencontemporaryarts.org. Thank you so much. Venessa.