Creative Co-op offers student artists an outlet for them to promote and sell their creations, as well as purchase the creative works of other students.
Creative Co-op, formed in September 2012, is an organization that seeks to acclimate student artists with a marketplace and help them develop an understanding of what it takes to promote and sell their products. It is an independent student organization that operates under Creative Campus and is currently under the administration of seven Creative Campus interns.
Ally Mabry, a junior majoring in digital media and printmaking, played a key role in the development of the organization along with a team of Creative Campus interns who were excited about the idea of an organization that supports the talents of young artists.
“It’s not just about providing affordable student art to UA’s campus, it’s about connecting artists with the marketing world and allowing our peers to appreciate our work,” Mabry, president of Creative Co-op, said.
The organization has been well received by members of the UA community. Charlie Bice, secretary of Creative Co-op, said the club’s first semester was met with a lot of support, providing the organization with a solid foundation for success.
“The club started out strong,” Bice, a senior majoring in international studies and Spanish, said. “In the first semester we had a very successful Christmas sale where we sold around $200 worth of merchandise. We plan on having the sale again.”
Past events have also included the Fall Art Stroll, which was set up in collaboration with Creative Campus and SGA, where students displayed their creations in the Ferguson Center Promenade and promoted their works to potential buyers. The club has also hosted a guest speaker that educated the students on important aspects of customer relations and effective pricing and packaging of artwork.
The club has many events planned for the upcoming semester, which serve to expose student artists to a variety of learning opportunities.
“Our plans for this semester include two guest speaker events, an art show and sale in the New College Gallery in February, and we will be working with DIY UA to put on a DIY Book Arts workshop,” Mabry said. “In between our four main events this semester, we are planning to have sales in the Ferguson Center much like our 2012 Creative Co-op Christmas Sale.”
Creative Co-op is open to students from all fields of study who have an interest in promoting their individual creations. Students do not have to be majoring in art. In fact, the club’s Facebook page states they use the word “artists” as an umbrella term that includes everyone from painters to knitters to poets, so it is not limited to one specific type of art.
To become a member, students can visit their website and fill out an online application. Once students have paid the $5 membership fee, they can begin uploading their works to the website.
For student artists looking to get involved with Creative Co-op, they can reach the organization by email at [email protected], visit their website at creativecoopua.com, or “Like” their page on Facebook.
