1) What’s the Art Cart?
It’s a mobile performance space. It can be transported basically anywhere and we provide amps, mics and everything that performers need. We’ve had bluegrass ensembles, a string quartet, a brass group, hip hop dancers, poetry readers, a jazz ensemble. We’ve brought it out to the Erb Memorial Union and other spots on the Eugene campus.
2) You’re the Edmund A. Cykler Chair in Music and professor of music theory and musicianship. How’d you get involved in putting art on wheels?
I was chairing the Committee for Equity and Inclusion in the School of Music and Dance two years ago and our thought was, what if we built a thing that would bring the arts to people around the university? We thought this would be a way to make these wonderful performances more accessible to more people. We received a grant from the Division of Equity and Inclusion and I hired a tiny-home construction company and gave them the specifications and they built it.
3) What’s the response been like?
It’s been such a thrill to see. The first event, we parked it on the EMU Green and had roots bands, poetry readings, jazz groups, and students just flocked. The performers were interacting with people and I thought, this is it. I was overwhelmed that it worked. It’s been super successful.
4) Why is the Art Cart a success?
It’s the surprise element that’s really powerful. The Art Cart provides an unexpected, spontaneous place for people to come across some wonderful music or see a great performance. Usually when you go to a concert or an art museum or a performance, you choose the thing you’re going to. But with this, you get to experience a wide variety of things you might not know about, because you never know what’s going to be there. It’s also a chance to take a break and hang out with other people.
5) What’s next for the Art Cart?
We’ll be in downtown Eugene Saturday, Sept. 26, for Ducks Downtown, a first-ever full-day celebration introducing incoming students, their families and the greater Eugene community to everything downtown Eugene has to offer. Our lineup includes percussion and jazz ensembles, indie rock and an artist-bass player. We’ll also be at the ASUO Fall Street Faire Oct. 14. My hope is that over time the Art Cart will become a fixture on and off the Eugene campus, bringing all sorts of people together around the creation and experience of art.
Do you know a UO employee with an interesting angle? Email Matt Cooper, University Communications