Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Bodde.
Hi Helen, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
ArtesRVA is a project that was founded roughly a year ago by myself, Helen Bodde (she/her) and Gabby Valle (they/them). We are two Guatemalan-American artists based in Richmond, Virginia. Our goal with ArtesRVA was to create an art market that provided opportunities for local Latino creators to sell their wares and create connections. During our first year we had 10 events, several of which collaborated with iconic Richmond institutions such as the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, University of Richmond, and many more.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Definitely not. When we first started it was difficult to find anyone that was interested in our project and willing to have us use their space. We also had incidents of other market organizers trying to sabotage our project/push us out of the event organizing space. Thankfully now that we are more established we have been offered many amazing opportunities and have been able to work with a lot of lovely people in the Richmond community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Gabby and I both have creative ventures outside of ArtesRVA. I sell my work under my business- BerryCat Designs – and I am in the process of opening an online store as well as vending more regularly. Gabby has their brand ArcadeTurtle, which they describe as “a love letter to all the millennial nerds and weirdos”. They also organize another popular local art market called Rainbow Road!
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
In our experience the best thing has been putting ourselves out there despite the initial rejections. When we first started we couldn’t even find a venue. However, as more people learned about the project we now even receive offers from local institutions to host events and do local collaborations. Our perseverance has definitely paid off- we’ve met so many awesome people in the community and I have made a lot of friends through the project. It’s validating to know that we had a great idea and people are beginning to recognize its potential.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/artesrva
- Facebook: ArtesRVA
- Other: find me @berrycatdesigns on Instagram, and Gabby @arcadeturtle
