Neon Rodeo: The “Living, Breathing Prototype” at the Center of Technology and Art
Events
I was drawn to Neon Rodeo’s central idea: Creativity is at the core of everything. Described as a “living, breathing prototype” by co-founder Grant Barth, Neon Rodeo Creative Conference draws people from all sorts of creative backgrounds together for a day full of insightful conversation surrounding creative innovation and its role not only in self expression, but in progressing humanity.
As someone who considers herself a serial hobbyist, with shelves and rooms dedicated to arts and crafts, I arrived at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts excited to learn from and meet people who are applying their individual creativity in inspiring ways. The panel lineup showcased thought leaders in business and entrepreneurship, community development and visual and audio arts. Attendees included college students, young entrepreneurs, designers and artists. As might be expected with such an influx of design attentive and expressive people, the fashion wasn’t to be missed. Neon stilettos and hand-painted jackets caught my attention upon arrival. As I joined the audience in filing into the auditorium, I heard a conversation about a project in early development coming from two attendees behind me as local singer-songwriter and animator Ardy played acoustic music for the crowd. Long-time friends embraced each other in the aisles and people reached over rows of auditorium chairs to shake hands with someone new.
“You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel, you just have to put your fingerprint on the wheel and the world will be grateful for your effort.”
As someone who strives to be well-connected to local thought and stay informed on local issues, I found the first panel of the day to be the most interesting. Panelists in wide-ranging fields spoke about how they utilize creativity to build community. Sophia Malik, founder of Malik Office of Architecture & Development, spoke about the importance of a community focus in architecture, saying, “If you create a beautiful place that people actually maybe don’t even notice because it’s really more about the experience they are having in it, that is a win.” The panelists discussed designing spaces to foster community growth in the digital and physical world, and how creative approaches to issues can bridge community divides. The discussion then moved into creativity in visual and audio arts, with the audience interacting with community leaders such as Laura Hurtado, Executive Director of the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) and David Meikle, a gallery and commercial artist, amongst other inspirational leaders. While the conference took place on the University of Utah campus and formal study was mentioned by panelists, I was able to speak to Hurtado individually while we broke for lunch about the accessibility of a formal education in the arts. Hurtado explained to me that a person’s education is never over when you finish high school or college, and it is vital to be a lifelong learner. She advised young creatives who do not attend formal school to make connections: “Keep learning, keep researching … Find mentors, but expand it beyond social media because that’s just an echo chamber. It actually feels big, but it’s narrow, so you need to find voices and people and perspectives that are very different from yours, and make the world bigger.”
I also spoke with Cassandra Schwartzman, a conference attendee and community organizer who is working on establishing a group for creative queer women called Creatrix Coterie. Shwartzman said they came to Neon Rodeo in search of their flavor of community. “That’s why I wanted to make sure I was here for the community session this morning,” they said. “I really wanted to be here to be inspired by other people and make connections—to kind of be surrounded by other people in Salt Lake who are doing cool creative things.”
The day was closed out by a “trailblazers” panel featuring keynote speaker Eric Haze, a founding member of The Soul Artists, a graffiti crew that came together in 1970s NYC. Haze recounted his career moving from street art to gallery art, and how he balanced commercialism and authenticity in his art and later in fashion and design career. Haze spoke about the pressure on young artists to be groundbreaking and the importance of individuality, telling the audience, “You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel, you just have to put your fingerprint on the wheel and the world will be grateful for your effort.”
After the daytime portion of the Neon Rodeo wrapped, excitement bubbled through attendees outside as the night time portion approached. Neon Rodeo started four years ago with an experimental house party, and the tradition was kept alive with a nighttime party at local social club Edison House.
“If you create a beautiful place that people actually maybe don’t even notice because it’s really more about the experience they are having in it, that is a win.”
Edison House, a beautiful building in downtown Salt Lake City, is normally a members-only club, but the doors were lit with neon lights and opened to attendees of the conference. As I mingled with guests beside the rooftop bar, I was approached by two members of the club who asked me what attire would be appropriate for a Neon Rodeo. When I responded with “anything creative,” they said they wished they had brought their cowboy boots. String lights dotted the rooftop and reflected off of the pool while bedazzled hats, high heels, suits and ties brushed past ribbons, tank tops and miniskirts as people made their way to and from the dance floor, where DJ and violinist PFUZZ (aka Alexis Harris) stood with violin at their side ready to harmonize with their live DJ set.
Guests explored the gorgeous clubhouse building and took in the art in the stairwells, mingling with attendees from across the country. I heard talk of projects, new mediums, technology, business and music. With so many inspiring, creative, smart and dedicated people coming together to talk, connect, pitch ideas (and party), the optimism is undeniably infectious.
Neon Rodeo plans to return next year with more creative content and community opportunities, keep up with the details at Neon Rodeo’s website or on their instagram @neonrodeo_.
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