Deer Bear Wolf celebrates its second year
One of Atlanta’s leading art collectives dishes to <i>CL</i> about turning two and future plans.
Deer Bear Wolf came together in 2014 to a fill a then-void in Atlanta’s art scene. Since, the collective has shape-shifted an expanded to include arms in book publishing, a print magazine, a record label, and a comfy seat towards the head of the city’s cultural table. CL got with DBW mainstays Davy Minor, Elizabeth Jarrett, and John Carroll over email to chat about the organization’s origins, future plans, and why a birthday bash just ain’t the same as an anniversary party.
Deer Bear Wolf is two! When first starting out, how did you envision DBW’s second year? How does that image hold up with today’s reality?
Davy Minor: When I first started Deer Bear Wolf, I didn’t have any real expectations of what would happen, but I had always hoped and intended for this project to eventually become extremely collaborative. I always saw it as a platform above all, one that I hoped to make as open-sourced as a curatorial platform could possibly be. And at this point, it’s definitely evolved and become a collective with a whole pack of talented badasses doing so many cool things under one banner.
Elizabeth Jarrett: Davy first approached me about creating and hosting a variety show as a way to showcase artists around the city in a different format than what was being presented at the time. I put up the first Natural Selection in the fall of our first year at The Goat Farm Arts Center, and did seven more after that. I wasn’t sure where it would lead, but as we continued on, we assembled a team who were interested in finding new ways to present our ideas. We’ve begun to take that innovative experience practice, and figure out a way to apply it to create opportunity for the arts community. I am no longer doing Natural Selection because the need for that type of opportunity has been filled by a lot of other variety-type events in the city. So now we’ll use those resources for something new. It’s all about finding what works and what the communities needs are. We’re comfortable with growing to fit those needs.
How is a birthday party different than an anniversary party? How did you decide on the specific birthday vibe?
EJ: There’s a specific mood that the term “birthday party” evokes. Everyone has a birthday. It’s a relatable term and I think a little more “us” than an anniversary party. Sometimes it is alright for arts events to not have anything in particular to say other than “here’s a place where we all come together for something because we love it.” It really comes down to people and getting acquainted with the personalities behind the work.
DM: All of us at Deer Bear Wolf strive to make things fun. Even if the content of the art is heavy or disturbing or whatever, we try to make the entry point to the art as accessible as possible, and just about everyone loves a good party.
<a href=”http://dotsdotsdots.bandcamp.com/album/jellyfiss”>Jellyfiss by Dot.s</a>
What kind of special treats can guests expect?
EJ: Attendees can expect a completely unexpected and new use of the space (Downtown Players Club). We’re utilizing multiple floors and bringing life to entire rooms. You will get an opportunity to see parts of the old dental office that hasn’t been open to the public yet. We’ll also have sounds from local favorites Dot.s (who are on the DBW record label), and are excited to work with Grand Prize Winners from Last Year and Xavier BLK for the first time. There will also be literal treats down the street in the form of hotdogs; a new vendor moved a few doors down from the Players Club and is going to be slinging wieners into the night.
Tell me about how Katie Troisi came to curate the visual artists for the shindig’s gallery component.
DM: Katie curated our first gallery exhibition, Ocularis, last year at the Mammal Gallery. I thought that was such a killer show, so we brought her in for this. She’s put together a strong roster of artists, and the work I’ve seen so far is incredible.
EJ: She has an incredible curatorial eye. We’re lucky to have the opportunity to work with her.
DBW has some exciting stuff in the hopper. Anything you can tell us about just yet?
John Carroll: Transgression, our immersive reading series hosted by Laura Relyea and myself, will be announcing our fifth volume of the series later this month. There’s been mention of a yellow brick road …
EJ: Going forward we’re going to keep some of our regularly-scheduled programming, but we are about to take a pretty interesting new route. We’ve been going through the process of legitimizing our business and thinking longterm. Events are great. The magazine is great. But we want to use that momentum to do something really good that isn’t being offered in Atlanta or really anywhere. I’m sorry if that’s vague, but I don’t want to show all of our cards just yet because we want to do it right. I will say that going forward, we will be more of a resource with a strategic and specific mission. For now though, look forward to more Transgression, Phoenix Festival programming, book releases, and a new issue of the magazine with guest curators and new collaborators.
Explain the Phoenix Fest pop-up events. How did that come together?
JC: We wanted to keep the spirit of Phoenix Fest alive throughout the entire year. Ray Geier, one of the organizers of Phoenix Fest, has taken the reigns of planning a handful of experiences that capture the essence of the event.
Speaking of, how’s Phoenix Fest shaping up for this year?
JC: We’re currently in planning mode for Phoenix Fest 2016. We’re not ready to divulge any details yet, but we should be announcing the venue soon, along with a big surprise regarding the theme for this year’s festival.
How will DBW look in another two years? What about 10?
EJ: I don’t think any of us expected to be where we are now. We’ve had a lot of ideas not work out, and we’ve had a lot of ideas work better than we ever could have hoped. We’re lucky to have a fanbase that supports all of the crazy directions we’ve gone in the past couple of years, even the ones who have said, “We don’t really know what Deer Bear Wolf is, but we like it!” In two years, we’ll be operating as a business and community resource. Hopefully we can continue to grow the network of artists we work with. There’s really no telling where Atlanta will be in 10 years — and because we are Atlanta-centric, the future of the city will very much determine our future as well. I hope that we reach international city status, but there’s a lot that needs to happen here at home first.