Highlights of our recent projects.
Check back often as we add stories to our virtual scrapbook.
Last updated December 2021
Upcycled! with Winterthur
Winterthur began new work in the community engagement world through an initiative called Upcycled! in 2021. The project called for community artists or collectives to propose a collaborative art installation using recycled objects and tying them to the grounds or collections of the Museum. In this pilot year, Winterthur brought on Flux to manage the communications and consult on best practices regarding engagement and working with community artists. The Museum selected Michael Kalmbach of Creative Vision Factory to lead the artistic project. Flux loved getting to work side by side with CVF and to be able to ease the communications and burdens that come with an institution stepping out into long-term community building through art.
Grant Writing for Cityfest, Inc.
Flux has been instrumental in grant writing for Cityfest projects. Most recently, Cityfest was awarded $25,000 from Bloomberg Philanthropies for the Asphalt Art Initiative (AAI). AAI is only in its second funding cycle and this award places Wilmington among 1 out of 200 cities nationwide that have been given this opportunity.
DHS History Maker Awards
Flux came onboard with the team at the Delaware Historical Society to plan and produce their annual History Maker Awards event. Each year a person of historical distinction is honored and highlighted at this fundraising dinner. Flux managed the event from soup to nuts—mailings, RSVP management, guest communications, catering, city permits, musicians, and event set-up and design. Additionally, this was a hybrid event for the first year in a row so Flux was able to offer a smooth transition for the audience to a new medium. Flux also employed their team of event managers to make sure an event of this scale had the necessary time and attention.
Emerging Artist Residency
Flux worked with Cityfest to re-launch the Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency in the summer of 2021. This two-week intensive residency invites emerging jazz composer/musicians to Wilmington to nurture their sound and grow them as musicians. Flux managed the rollout and oversight of the residency which included the logistics of housing, feeding, moving, and programming for 11 visiting artists for 14 days. Flux also ran point on marketing, fielding applications, communications, and follow up. It was a rewarding and impressive project to work on and we are excited to be doing it again in 2022.
Re-Imagining a Fundraiser
Flux came onboard with the team at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota to help re-envision a signature fundraising event—Avant Garden. This year, with the Covid-19 pandemic still impacting in-person events, the fundraiser needed to adapt. Flux met with the staff and planning teams and created a report of possible hybrid event solutions. As master event translators, Flux envisioned a vibrant at-home/walk-through event that preserved the essence and atmosphere of the anchor event in a safe and socially distant way.
Hybrid Premiere
Flux worked with the Wilmington Children’s Chorus to manage and produce their end of season documentary screening and premiere. The event featured the world premiere of their documentary “And Still We Sing” to an in-person audience at the beautiful Howard High School auditorium along with a real-time stream to families and stakeholders at home. Flux managed the event from soup to nuts: ticketing, red carpet, event flow, venue location, and live streaming.
Clifford Brown Year Round
Flux is working with Cityfest and the City of Wilmington to program monthly Jazz performances in anticipation of the yearly Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. Each month Flux works with the planning team to determine the show content, delivery, and marketing and then executes those plans. Each show pulls together artists of all kinds and even from across the globe to deliver a top notch experience. These events have been in-person, hybrid, and virtual. Flux has been able to respond to the fluctuations of the public health crisis and ensure that the show goes on!
Photo by Joe del Tufo.
First Fridays @ TDC
Flux is working with The Delaware Contemporary to program community and audience engagement for each of their First Friday events in 2021. Beginning in February, our team managed a hybrid in-person/virtual event to open a new exhibition featuring dance performances by Wilmington Ballet choreographed in reflection of exhibit pieces and live demo of Raku clay firing and wheel throwing. Upcoming events will partner with other area institutions to enhance the audience experience. Connecting organizations together around a common thread for the enjoyment and education of the community is what projects like this are all about.
True Blue Jazz Fest
Flux was brought in to transition this in-person festival to a digital audience. Our role in events like these is to consult on production scheduling, head up communication between all vendors and artists, and stage manage all the moving pieces on the days of the event. This festival required two stages which meant making sure artists and hosts were not only on their appropriate marks when live time came but that all Covid compliance precautions were followed throughout the two days and over 10 hours of studio time! We had a great time working with Mid South Audio, Jay Delp Productions, and of course the heads of True Blue Jazz themselves—Peggy Raley and Eddie Sherman.
Delaware Art Museum Community Programs
Flux worked with the Delaware Art Museum to program several community performances and programs in the Copeland Sculpture Garden in fall of 2020. We worked with amazing community partners like Delaware Shakespeare for a socially distanced Shakespearian experience, booked and live streamed bands to play after the Museum’s happy hour, and ran point on showcasing area choreographers’ works in progress. These programs are everything that Flux is about—connecting artists, community members, and institutions through creative experiences.
BLM Community Murals
In partnership with Moonloop Photography and Cityfest, Flux worked with private donors to commission local Black artists to paint murals on the boarded up windows of Downtown Wilmington businesses. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent riots many businesses downtown were boarded up with plywood. We saw this as an opportunity to create moments of connection and beauty in the midst of turmoil. To date, three Black artists have completed murals on the outside of storefronts to bring awareness to the Black Lives Matter movement and as an artistic form of activism. James Wyatt’s piece “The Revolution Will…” (pictured left, photo by Joe del Tufo) was displayed outside of SpaceBoy Clothing on Market Street. JaQuanne LeRoy and Erica Jones painted pieces on the outside of Blitzen on 9th Street. This project is still ongoing—J the Artist will be painting a mural on Nomad bar in late October.
Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League Candidate Debates
Flux joined forces with the MWUL to produce two full day debates with local and state candidates. In late August we coordinated an in-person forum that was then live-streamed to the public. In October, we had to be even more flexible with rising Covid concerns and managed to run a full day of Zoom debates that stitched together in-person moderators and hosts with virtual candidates for 3 state-wide races including the Gubernatorial race. From coordinating messaging, streamlining logistics, and managing complicated communication between participants and vendors Flux got the job done.