Crowdfunding a Public Art Project with Romy Owens (#76)

I live to track down art off the beaten path — traveling to
out-of-the-way places to see works of art that delight and inspire,
or even confound me. I found just such a piece last year when I
traveled to the Midwest, and the success story of the artist behind
the art is just as engaging as the piece itself.

My guest for this episode is Romy Owens, an artist and curator
who makes site-specific installations, as well as smaller
objects, in reaction to place, community, and transformation.
Last fall I had the opportunity to visit Under Her Wing was The
Universe, her enormous public sculpture that was installed in
2020 in Enid, Oklahoma.


In this episode I talk with Romy about her commitment to raising
$100,000 for that outdoor public sculpture and native prairie
landscape as a gift to her hometown. As it turns out, $100,000
was just the beginning, and while it all worked out in the end,
it wasn’t exactly easy getting there. Not only did Romy have to
raise a lot more money than originally projected, she had to
stand up to the naysayers in the community.


Romy is an artist that knows how to effectively measure success.
Community collaboration, fundraising, overcoming controversy and
yes, using spreadsheets are just a few of the topics that you
won’t want to miss in this conversation.


 


Highlights




Romy Owens shares the leap of faith she has taken with her
art and with her community. (3:30)




Conceiving the project Under Her Wing was the Universe.
(9:55)




Relationships that informed the piece and Alyson’s reaction
to seeing it in person. (12:10)




Naming the piece and finding value in all that is revealed in
the universe. (16:06)




Securing space for the project and making the connections
that brought city approval. (20:04)




Funding from the city and how Romy planned to cover the rest.
(23:50)




Launching a GoFundMe fundraiser. (26:40)




Meeting tight deadlines and overcoming obstacles along the
way. (28:26)




Overcome your fear of hearing “no” when raising funds.
(30:33)




Handling the controversy that comes with creating interesting
art. (33:02)




Key collaborators and supporters in creating a piece of this
scale. (36:27)




Keeping track of your progress with a system that actually
works. (41:09)




Measuring success and setting goals in specific and
meaningful ways. (43:24)




Ideas for generating interest in your art. (49:32)




 


Mentioned




Romy Owens




Under Her Wing Was the Universe




The Pursuit of Art by Martin Gayford




City of Enid, Oklahoma




 


Resources




Full show notes including photos and listener comments




How to Price Your Art




Art Career Success System




Art Biz Success Community




Intro and outro music by Wildermiss




 


About My Guest


Romy Owens is an artist and curator living in Enid, Oklahoma. She
makes site-specific installations, as well as smaller objects, in
reaction to place, community, and transformation. Her curatorial
work attends to a similar focus. Both Owens' artistic and
curatorial practices are presently centered around community art
designed to impact social change, using art as a method to
broaden our understanding of specific issues.