Members of the downtown Phoenix art community gathered Tuesday for ASU’s Downtown Phoenix Campus Arts Expo on Taylor Mall to attract ASU students to their venues.
The event ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Attendees included the Trunk Space, Herberger Theater Center, Torch Theatre, Space 55 and FilmBar. Gallery Hazel, Alwun House, Spread the Weird, Phoenix Symphony and Local First Arizona also attended.
Liz Smith, outreach director at the Walter Cronkite School, helped organize the event. The idea came at the end of the fall semester and was coordinated over winter break.
“It’s to get students to hear about the great places in their own backyard,” Smith said.
ASU’s Office of Public Affairs sent an email to downtown art organizations and asked them to invite their members.
The event had 14 slots available and 11 businesses reserved a spot.
T.K. Campo represented the Trunk Space and gave out fliers, event calendars and their ‘zine, “The Slide Rule.”
Campo said he was happy to interact with students, but thought it could be more effective.
“Maybe have performances, because tables just get walked by,” Campo said.
Shawna Franks represented Space 55, an experimental theater company. The theater’s artistic director and founder was eager to talk about the company, which started six years ago.
“We’ve yet to tap into the downtown [student] community,” she said.
Franks said one way to better communicate with the Downtown campus is to create a website students can use for events and discounts. Franks said Space 55 offers two-for-one tickets and other deals for students.
The Herberger Theater Center’s Lauren Stephenson said it’s not difficult to attract ASU students since the theater is close by. For other venues, she said, “students are an untapped resource.”
Kyl Ledbetter, a political science junior, walked up to the Trunk Space table to ask what the art and performance space does.
Ledbetter has been living downtown for a year and is aware of many local arts venues and businesses.
“It’s a lot more genuine and unique than Tempe,” Ledbetter said.
Rachael Schneider, a kinesiology freshman, signed up for the Herberger mailing list.
Schneider lives in the Taylor Place residence hall, but enjoys exploring downtown. She said the event was a good way for businesses to reach out to ASU, as many students in the dorms only hang out around campus.
Local First Arizona promoted shopping locally. The nonprofit coalition helps businesses advertise their goods and services. Chrisal Valencia, who works at Local First, said it’s a misconception that it’s a better deal to shop at retail chains.
Erica Pederson, another Local First employee, said if people visit a local place just once, they are likely to return.
“The major challenge is getting students involved with all the great places they can go,” Pederson said.
ASU’s Smith wants to continue doing similar events to increase awareness of local establishments. She is considering a food-focused event sometime in the fall.
“This is step one of what we envision. It’s the pilot, the experiment.”
Contact the reporter at josselyn.berry@asu.edu
