Inspiration

This project came about through group text messages between artists who work in the festival scene often, and through conversations of checking up on one another. Artists keep each other safe, they build new ideas in their communities, but they can't do that without space.

Guava Jam is an event that provides space for local artists in outdoor arts movements to collaborate with and celebrate their city, to show some love to their neighborhoods and meet their own neighbors. It is to spark a conversation about the role of artists in our communities, and how artists can be more supported, with studio space, gigs, murals & events.

It takes a lot out of any artist who places their work outside, while some may measure the relevance of art by what is archived in a museum or on canvases that lasts throughout history, outdoor artists legacies disappear, and their value is determined by how many times. This project celebrates that effort that it takes for an outdoor artist to learn to do what they do.

Guava Jam is also inspired by Mama Guava, and the coalitions of artists that started Guavaween in 1985..