Greg Esser and Brian Boner Speak About Collaboration at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

By Lilia Menconi Mon., Mar. 22 2010 at 2:08 PM

Categories: Arty Girl

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fncll/145149313/

Go team!

I realize that New Times blogs and writes an awful lot about Greg Esser, founder and Executive Director of Roosevelt Row, a non-profit 501(c)3 community development corporation that focuses on the arts and urban revitalization. And we spend many words on Brian Boner, a successful local artist.

Well, we can't help it: They're good at what they do. And they're always doing stuff.

The latest project these two have gotten themselves into happens this Thursday. You can see them in action at SMoCA's 5th "Artists on Artists" series. This round is titled "Collectivity: Artists in Collaboration".

Anytime you have to interact with other human beings, you can have problems. Major ones. And once you throw strong-minded creative types in the mix, things get tricky. It really takes a lot of experience and strong leadership to pull collaborative efforts off.

So how has the artist collective-run eye lounge gallery pulled if off so well? And what about Postcommodity, the interdisciplinary Native American art collective? They've been running a smooth ship for three years.

How do they do that?

Allow Esser and Boner to answer those questions.

Esser has been a life force to the downtown arts scene since he moved to Phoenix in 1996. Back when hardly anyone but a brave few wanted to set foot along Roosevelt Street, Esser started snatching up vacant buildings and renovating them to create gallery and studio spaces. He's an artist, a writer, and all-around lover of the arts. Not to mention, he's responsible for founding eye lounge and five15 arts.

Boner has worked as an artist nation-wide. And as an active Phoenix artist, he's participated in many benefits and symposiums. He's a current member of eye lounge.

SMoCA's Artists on Artists series: "Collectivity: Artists in Collaboration" starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 25 at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, 7380 East 2nd Street at the Stage 2 Theatre. Admission is free. Visit www.smoca.org.