Santos on meeting new artists and friends
Santos here. For those of you who don’t personally know me or follow me on instagram, you can read a quick blurb about me in the “about” section. This writing isn’t so much about me personally, but it is about meeting new people and what it takes to do so.
As an art student, I often had and heard others have conversations about working alongside peers and never knowing them beyond art critiques. Even the friends I did make once shared the same space without us really knowing much about each other. Some of them I was naturally drawn to. Others it took a semester or much longer before the ice was truly broken. Now as graduates, a select few of us keep in regular contact, but many of us could’ve very easily moved on without any real connection if it hadn’t been for something that allowed us to create stronger ties. In the end, all it took was the willingness to simply speak and ask questions; a genuine attempt to want to know someone is always key in establishing good relationships.
This will is what ultimately defined my time as an art student, working alongside talented artists and wanting to connect with them on a level beyond language ritual. My focus as an artist morphed drastically from theory and design to communication and human relationships. I realized i had an interest in understanding others and learning how their experiences influenced the work they created - often even the lifestyle they embraced. This eventually influenced the model on which ñ was built. When ñ was in it’s conceptual stages, it was apparent that there was a safe zone that needed to be breached. We had to put ourselves out there if we wanted to create the very opportunities we seek to collaborate with other artists. Without that effort, there is no opportunity to further connect these artists with prospective viewers and community members.
Although ñ is new - new to the scene, new to you, and even new to us - we are constantly working to meet new artists. Some of the artist we are collaborating with are also new friends to us. The same way we are dedicating our willingness to reach out and meet new artists, we invite you to do the same. If you have questions for any of the artist you see on ñ, we try and provide information on where to reach them. If you have questions for ñ, you can contact us to get a conversation started whether it be through official emails or social media. Our goal as a platform is to connect people, but our goal as individuals is to make friends. Feel free to reach out, and engage the willingness to create new friendships.
-Santos
