As June comes to a close–always far sooner than any of us anticipate–we wrap up a remarkably collaborative and collaboratively successful month over at PATTERN.
As this summer’s Writing Intern, I had the opportunity to pick the brains of several of the movers and shakers in Indy’s creative scene:
- Fred Miller, Jes Nijjer, and Devon Ngo on collaboration at CreativeMornings
- Polina Osherov, Executive Director of PATTERN, on the dos and don’ts of collaboration
- Nicole Hay, Leah Brinkman, and Carrie Kelb on collaboration within graphic design
Each conversation was a glimpse into the world that creatives inhabit, cultivate, and carry with them so that the rest of us can enjoy a world filled with art and beauty. It became immediately clear to me that this world is sustained by combined forces and shared visions.
This past month has been, as is every month at PATTERN, an amalgamation of diverse talent–from the astute eyes of Indy’s photographers to the quiet brilliance of our graphic designers. We have been tipsy on creative juices.
Collaboration brings an exciting, colorful cast through PATTERN’s doors–creatives, artists, models, visionaries, business owners (you name it). You see this in our interviews, editorials, features, events.
Further still, PATTERN, itself, is made possible only through collaborative effort. From the brainstorming sessions to the partnerships between writer and photographer (shoutout, Chelsie Walsman!) to the hours that go into editing and promoting (I’m looking at you, Téja Simmons). We deliver our beloved, shiny final product to you, dearest reader, on a silver platter made from collaboration.
In this same spirit, I sat in as a month’s worth of PATTERN team–and hard–work culminated in a highly successful, inspiring June Think Tank.
This past Friday, a crowd gathered at 10 East Arts HUB to soak up the musical passion and insight of Ryan Lott of Son Lux, collaborator connoisseur and Academy Award nominee for the score of Everything Everywhere All at Once, a film that took the world–and the Oscars–by storm.
As with any big thing, EEAO is the manifestation of a million helping hands, moving bodies, and enthusiastic minds. Lott recounted with a reminiscent smile the initial outreach he received from directors the Daniels, who recognized and readily put to work the collaborative nature of Son Lux, a composite of the three very individual artists and sounds of Lott, Rafiq Bhatia, and Ian Chang.
Lott shared fondly some of the dream collaborations that EEAO opened for him–Mitski and André 3000 sound familiar?–but closed with an emphasis on the collaboration closest to his heart: raising their son with his wife, Jennifer, who is as lovely and poised in parenting as she is in her world of professional dancing and choreographing.
Without the many hands to nurture and weed, the garden doesn’t bloom. Such is EEAO, such is PATTERN, and such is life.
The team at PATTERN is one of the lucky ones. We get to work with like-minded and ambitious creatives and trailblazers, teachers and learners. And we get to work with you, dear reader.
Cheers to the things we make possible when we collaborate together,
Kate x
