Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSWrx1BZjDI&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=46
Evan: So we're back here on the Choose 954 podcast, episode 54, with local artists and Zero Empty Spaces resident artists Lizzie Taber and James Wang. We're here from our third Zero Empty Spaces location, also called Ocean Mile in Fort Lauderdale, ahead of the grand opening reception of this location on Thursday, December 12th, from 7-9 p.m.
If you didn't know about Choose 954, we started the social movement to cultivate culture and community here in Broward County, to keep people in the know about all the great things that are going on, in an effort to make this a better place to live and not just a better place to vacation. The point of the podcast is to connect you with amazing people like them, doing important things in the community, and creating art definitely helps our fund out.
This podcast is sponsored by the Thousand Mermaids Artificial Reef Project, creating artistically crafted artificial reefs to provide marine habitats, ecotourism opportunities, research opportunities, and tons of other great benefits to the ocean. To find out more, you can log on to www.thousandmermaids.com.
Without much further ado, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourselves at a high level?
Lizzie Taber: Thank you for having me. I'm Lizzie Taber, and I am a mixed-media artist from South Florida. I grew up in Pompano Beach and recently moved back from Arizona, where I got my BFA in Fine Art at Arizona State University. Right now, I'm really excited to get back into painting. I work in different mediums, but right now, I’m really focused on painting and collaborating with ocean sciences.
James Wang: Thank you for having me. I just recently moved in from Northern Virginia and have been in the Bozeman area for about seven months. I've always known that I was creative. I have a degree in architecture and art, and I’ve been doing art seriously for the last 11 years, showing my work in Northern Virginia and my last national show in Brooklyn, New York.
Evan: We're glad to have you here. Lizzie, how did you initially get into art in the first place?
Lizzie Taber: I actually never did any art until I was in college, so I was a really late starter. I was 18, living in the dorms, and I was an English major. My roommate at the time, Julianna, convinced me to take an elective, and then I was hooked. After that, I just sped right through the art program. I took a couple of years off in between, so I’ve been doing art pretty seriously since then.
Evan: James, how did you get started in art?
James Wang: After spending a lot of years in a high-level executive management position, I decided to do something more creative. Even though managing people can be creative, I wanted to use both my analytical and creative sides, which led me to the art work that I do. I get inspired by artists like Jackson Pollock, and you can see that influence in my work, along with elements of Kandinsky and Joni Mitchell, who are more in the abstract expressionist movement. There’s a lot of emotion in each of my paintings.
Evan: It’s interesting that you mentioned high-level positions and creativity. There’s a trend now where they want executives to be creative, but they’re slashing art classes and art funding. How are kids, or anyone really, supposed to develop these creative skills unless they’re fortunate enough to get an MFA from Arizona State? But I’m glad you were able to make the transition.
We’re in James's studio in Zero Empty Spaces, and Lizzie’s is right next door. We have some of Melissa's work we'll show you as well. Could you tell us a little bit about some of your work and some of the pieces here? The one right behind us?
James Wang: The piece behind us is what I call "Losing My Marbles." It’s a very experimental piece. One of my goals in my work is to experiment and come up with new techniques. A lot of people use pour mediums, where they pour on the medium, move the canvas around, and let the image form. I’m using the pour medium, but with a knife, where I’m actually drawing and designing what you see, creating these circular motions which represent marbles. I like to try and create new techniques.
The one behind you, a lot of people say it’s reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, but it’s done slightly differently. Jackson does a lot of splatter work. I use what I call a piping technique, where I pipe the canvas to create the image. If you look at it from the side, you can see multiple layers. The one behind you has 12 layers of paint.
Evan: That’s interesting. Lizzie, could you tell us a little bit about your work?
Lizzie Taber: Sure. I’m really interested in ways to visualize data, which is fairly new for me. I have projects where I spend a lot of time doing research, reaching out to scientists or city planners, and educating myself on the issues. For example, I did a project on seafloor mapping, where I actually went on a research vessel with Schmidt Ocean Institute and learned how to map part of the seafloor. You’ll see a lot of themes of maps in my work. They’re colorful and abstract, but they also symbolize the unknown and depth.
Another topic I’ve been working on is sea level rise. I’ve been talking with scientists, educating myself, and learning what city planners and officials are doing to address the issue. In my last painting series, I measured the meters from the NOAA website and used hot pink lines to show in real time how much sea levels have risen in the past hundred years. My work is bright and colorful, but if you take a minute to look deeper, you’ll see an element of education or data visualization.
Evan: You both might find this interesting. During Fort Lauderdale Art and Design Week in January, we helped create the largest architecture fair with the AIA local chapter, and they had sections focusing on sustainable design related to sea level rise. That’ll be January 18th through the 26th at FAU MetroLab in downtown Fort Lauderdale. They’re bringing in phenomenal speakers and starchitects. Living here in South Florida, it’s something we really can’t ignore. It’s interesting to use art as a way of communication and raising awareness of the issue, and hopefully enacting some change.
You have this piece here. Do you want to tell us a little bit about what we're looking at?
Lizzie Taber: Sure. One of my first collaborations was actually with Rescue Reefs and Rasmus and Dalton. Dalton and his team took some of these photos, and this piece is titled "Our First Line of Defense." Dalton explained to me that the staghorn and elkhorn coral reefs that line our coasts absorb up to 95% of a wave’s energy, and that they are our first line of defense. I thought that sounded extremely poetic, so I used the photos Dalton sent me, etched them into copper, and made an addition of them. The connections between artists and scientists have been really empowering for me, allowing me to learn about the science I’m interested in and then digest it in my own way to create work.
Evan: We briefly talked about it, but now that you’ve correlated this, I’d love to explore collaborations with the Thousand Mermaids Project. It’s so interesting and important to raise awareness about the issues impacting our coral reefs, so kudos to you. You’ll be able to see Lizzie's work as well. Lizzie’s studio is in the next space over here at this Zero Empty Spaces location.
For those who aren’t familiar with Zero Empty Spaces, artists like Lizzie and James kept coming to us asking where they could find affordable studio spaces. As arts advocates, community builders, and creative problem-solvers throughout our county, we were working to address that need. At the same time, developers and real estate people were coming to us, asking if we could do cool stuff in their spaces with art. My partner, with a background in shopping center retail development, and I came up with this initiative to marry the two: taking vacant commercial real estate and making them affordable artist studio spaces on a month-to-month basis.
We assume the liability, provide general liability insurance to the owner, pay the water and electricity, do any necessary build-out, and handle the marketing and PR around it. This is an effort to make Broward County one of the most affordable counties for artists, even though it’s one of the least affordable counties for housing. We’re very excited about this third location we’re opening. We have 18 artists working within our spaces and are continuing to acquire more and more spaces to provide more opportunities for artists. If you’re an artist looking for an affordable studio space at $2 per square foot, you can find out more on our website.
Evan: Where were you guys creating before this?
Lizzie Taber: I recently did an artist residency in Savannah for the month of September and October, so I did a big body of work there. For the past month or two, I’ve been researching and trying to find a space here, and now, here we are.
James Wang: Luckily, we found a house here in Wilton Manors, where I have a separate house that serves as part of my studio. But having the opportunity to join Zero Empty Spaces is a great initiative. It’s wonderful that you provide these opportunities for artists to come out, collaborate, and meet other artists, as well as having the opportunity for people to stop by and see the work.
Evan: The studio space initiative is definitely a perk. The benefit of having potential walk-in traffic is significant, especially in an affluent area like this. People with condos, snowbirds who live here, come to dinner and are walking around. They’re able to pop in and see the art as they’re shopping throughout the week. It’s a beautiful thing when it works, and we’re super grateful to be able to provide space for artists, especially for someone like you, Lizzie, who’s from Pompano, from South Florida.
Unfortunately, most artists have to go to other places to pursue their craft, passion, or profession. But you should be able to be an artist in a place like Broward County. You shouldn’t have to go to Miami, Palm Beach, Savannah, or Arizona. We’re excited to continue expanding this program. If you’re a real estate owner with vacant commercial real estate, we activate it at no cost to you. We provide all the benefits of having artists making the space beautiful on a month-to-month basis.
If you’re in the arts, if you’re interested in art supplies, or if you want to support artists, feel free to reach out to us. Most people never get to see an artist's studio, maybe they go to Art Walk, Miami Art Week, or Fort Lauderdale Art Walk, but they don’t get to see the process. Connecting with the process and the inspirations behind the art adds another layer of connection, which we’re working to foster here in Broward County.
You have the opportunity to meet James, Lizzie, Karen, Amanda, Tania, and Alan, the resident artists here, at our third Zero Empty Spaces location this Thursday, December 12th, from 7 to 9 p.m. It’s a free event with bites, drinks, and studio tours. Talk to the artists, ask them questions, find out about their process. Maybe you’ll see something you like, or maybe you want to commission something for your house. Even if you don’t buy a piece, just showing up and attending supports the arts.
We appreciate you taking the time to participate in the podcast. If you’re interested in engaging with the arts, we’re excited to continue the Choose 954 Local Artist Discovery Series. It’s a live art pop-up that takes place every Wednesday at Yolo in downtown Fort Lauderdale. We provide the canvas, easel, and table at no cost. We market it, make the flyer, and provide a food tab. It’s another effort to connect local artists with the downtown crowd.
We’re on our 146th consecutive week of bringing different local artists to downtown Fort Lauderdale. We’re always glad to continue expanding and bringing more artists in. Feel free to reach out to me if you’re interested. We’re also glad to continue supporting our friends from RAW Storytelling, a true stories untold event that takes place the second Thursday night of every month. It’s a free event in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Then, the morning after that is another event I’m proud to host, AAF Creative Zen. It’s a multi-purpose lecture series, like a mini TED talk, with thought-provoking, inspiring speakers. It’s where I had my aha moment and guidance into the arts and culture, so I like to pay it forward by hosting this monthly. Chiavari Warren, an amazing speaker, author, activist, and gallerist, will be speaking this Friday morning, December 13th, at The Hub Spark in the MASS District in Flagler Village. The doors open at 8:30 a.m., the talk starts at 9:00 a.m., and you’re out by 10:00 a.m. It’s a free event, with coffee and breakfast bites provided by our partners at Cow Bakery. If you want to find out more, type in AAF Creative Zen and RSVP.
Last but not least, if you like music, we’re proud to support SoFar Sounds, Songs From A Room, an intimate music listening experience. They reward true music fans by bringing them to locations they’ve probably never been to, to discover independent musicians. You have to request access or be invited. It’s a very intimate, eclectic experience that takes place in over 400 cities around the world. We’re fortunate to have a chapter here in Fort Lauderdale that Choose 954 is proud to sponsor. If you want to find out more, look up SoFar Sounds, Songs From A Room.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m Evan Snow at EvanSnow13 on social media, or Choose954, Zero Empty Spaces, or Art Fort Lauderdale. Our fourth annual art fair on the water is coming up, January 23rd through the 26th. You can find out more at www.artftlauderdale.com. We look forward to seeing you this Thursday night from 7 to 9 p.m. and finding out why you choose 954. Thanks!
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