by Nicky Boyette
Artist John Rankine gave City Advertising and Promotion commissioners a snapshot of his history as “a passionate advocate for artists,” on Feb. 24. Rankine enumerated a litany of art events featured in print and other media around the state, even on the cover of printed publications, which brought valuable free publicity to Eureka Springs. He suggested a logical next step would be for the CAPC to sponsor artists and artistic events in the same way it sponsors musicians for the Second Saturday concerts in Basin Park.
He maintained a successful interactive art event that engaged visitors would send them home excited about their trip to Eureka Springs which they would recount to friends, thereby spreading the positive word about the town.
Rankine suggested the May Festival of the Arts as the opportunity to begin. CAPC Director Mike Maloney responded that Kim Stryker, assistant to the mayor, would be coordinating that event, and said he would join Rankine in meeting with Stryker for discussion.
Rankine reported he was working on a slide show presentation using a year’s worth of photos he would project onto the wall of the bandshell in Basin Park. As a follow up to engage visitors, he could produce small view pieces that a person could hold up to the light and see a miniature of one of the photos in the slideshow. Visitors could take them home as unique souvenirs from Eureka Springs.
Another suggestion from Rankine was for the CAPC to engage yarn artist Gina Gallina during the May Festival of the Arts to do a yarn-bombing of Basin Park – cover the trees, the doughboy statue and her friends, for example. To make the event interactive, there could be crochet lessons for tourists. Rankine anticipated events like this would generate much favorable publicity.
Interested observer Susan Harmon pointed out the CAPC does not have an easy-to-find form for the public to submit ideas like those Rankine suggested, and added that new folks in town do not know where to go to get their ideas heard. Sandy Martin offered the Arts Council Facebook page as a site for posting ideas.
Rankine reiterated that art events can be good for visitors and the city as a way to get the word out, and said he was very encouraged by commissioners’ response.