Kick it and Create to foster community and inspire creativity
You know that growing list of creative projects you keep pushing back on your schedule? Do you ever wish there was a designated place that was separate from your home or school where you could sit down among other artists and dedicate a two hour chunk of time to? If so, you need to check out the Third Space Art Collective’s “Kick it and Create” event.
A second home for many, Third Space is a venue where students and community members can find creative refuge and commonality within its high ceilings and open atmosphere. The space hosts a wide variety of artistic and cultural events, ranging everywhere from poetry and storytelling nights, to music and art shows.
Sally Hensel, one of the founders of Third Space and the instigator behind this specific event, hopes that the space will help get people’s creative juices moving.
“The goal is to conjure up the magic that happens when people get into the same room and work on their endeavors together,” Hensel said. “It’s a flow thing. [Another objective is to] cultivate camaraderie [among] people working on creative projects.”
So far there have only ever been around 10 people at the space during one of the events, but Hensel would be excited to see more people show up. They have a capacity of 49 people.
“[It would] be so bonkers if 49 people showed up. It would be awesome,” Hensel said.
With dimmed lights, local music in the background and folding chairs for every bottom, the atmosphere is very much like a coffee shop, except there is far more interaction between persons and groups, and a lot more oil pastels.
Luis Aspeitia, another founder of Third Space and runner of the event, thinks being in that creative environment inspires and influences people a lot more than one might realize.
“When you meet other people that have different viewpoints or skillsets, it helps you see things from a different perspective,” Aspeitia said.
Eric Frankenstein, a fourth-year anthropology and Spanish double major, has been to the recurring event three times now and loves the vibes, the resources they supply and the fact that he is making time for himself and his work around like-minded people.
“There [is] some laughter and [there are] jokes to be had [but] it’s also a good time to bring some other ideas [to the table],” Frankenstein said. “[People often] plan things for the future or talk about music shows, or about something they want to collaborate on together.”
Both Aspeitia and Frankenstein address the fact that there seems to be an intimidating or exclusionary stigma associated with Third Space, and that they hope this event will take steps towards dispelling that.
Frankenstein told a story about a couple on their way home from the Rocknasium (which is very close to Third Space) and popped their heads into the building to see what was going on. They ended up staying and working on a collaborative project with some of the people there.
“People think it’s hard to weasel your way into Third Space, but it’s super welcoming,” Frankenstein said.
To stay in the know on future dates of this event, visit thirdspacedavis.com.
Graphic by Jennifer Wu.
