(no subject)
I keep feeling like I should write something about the end of MEAT. There's so much to say, and so much that's impossible to articulate. It's still all extremely surreal. poking through some of the old photos dredged up mountains of memories. I guess I'll ramble a little here, all stream-of-consciousness and see what comes out.
It has been an amazing experience, and brought me close to so many people. I could spend paragraphs thanking everyone who helped out in some way, and I'd still end up missing a few people inadvertently.
It's bizarrely humbling to have put together something that got so many people really excited. From the get-go, we tried to make it an event that would inspire people to get involved. Many of the things that were eventually recognized as part of the core MEAT experience were things that came from other people's involvement and participation in the event. This was an event that made people want to get involved, to contribute, to be more than just a customer. I look around at a lot of other events, and find this situation to be exceedingly rare. Such a large portion of the crowd, especially in the early years, were active in shaping and altering the event itself. I'm really glad to have been able to put on an event that tapped people's drive for participation and interaction, as opposed to attendance and consumption. The last 2 years or so, were sadly a little lighter on the former, and heavier on the latter.
It still floors me that MEAT was started as pretty much a one-off, and managed to last 8.5 years. The first one, was at an underground space owned by a friend of mine named Richard. It was there that we met mattbot, who did visuals for us for a few years.
People keep asking me what I'm going to do next. Despite having done MEAT for this long, and collaborating with so many other events, it still sometimes feels a little weird to be asked that. The other things people ask, is for more tea and more art. I suppose I'll have to give all of that some thought. I keep trying to allow myself some breathing room, and not dive immediately back in to throwing some new sorts of events.
I'm getting sleepy, so I guess I'll end with a huge thank you to all the MEAT family and all who have attended and supported it over the years. You all have been amazing, and I feel privileged to have been a part of all this.
It has been an amazing experience, and brought me close to so many people. I could spend paragraphs thanking everyone who helped out in some way, and I'd still end up missing a few people inadvertently.
It's bizarrely humbling to have put together something that got so many people really excited. From the get-go, we tried to make it an event that would inspire people to get involved. Many of the things that were eventually recognized as part of the core MEAT experience were things that came from other people's involvement and participation in the event. This was an event that made people want to get involved, to contribute, to be more than just a customer. I look around at a lot of other events, and find this situation to be exceedingly rare. Such a large portion of the crowd, especially in the early years, were active in shaping and altering the event itself. I'm really glad to have been able to put on an event that tapped people's drive for participation and interaction, as opposed to attendance and consumption. The last 2 years or so, were sadly a little lighter on the former, and heavier on the latter.
It still floors me that MEAT was started as pretty much a one-off, and managed to last 8.5 years. The first one, was at an underground space owned by a friend of mine named Richard. It was there that we met mattbot, who did visuals for us for a few years.
People keep asking me what I'm going to do next. Despite having done MEAT for this long, and collaborating with so many other events, it still sometimes feels a little weird to be asked that. The other things people ask, is for more tea and more art. I suppose I'll have to give all of that some thought. I keep trying to allow myself some breathing room, and not dive immediately back in to throwing some new sorts of events.
I'm getting sleepy, so I guess I'll end with a huge thank you to all the MEAT family and all who have attended and supported it over the years. You all have been amazing, and I feel privileged to have been a part of all this.