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Behind the Scenes: Virtual Artist Talk with Poppy Garcia

Posted on March 28

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This is how we approached our first virtual artist talk since the COVID-19 mandatory museum closure because, well, why not? We were over two weeks into developing our virtual presence - redesigning our website, posting education prompts on social media, processing refunds for in-person classes and events, etc. - and we knew our visitors and followers, like us, were probably starting to feel the effects of isolation. We needed to lift their spirits, make them comfortable, and engage them remotely in a way that made them feel like we were together.

We were all discouraged when the closure and event cancellations, including Poppy’s exhibition opening, were first announced,. We work on a timeline months, if not years, in advance in order to plan exhibitions and related programs, and suddenly everything changed . Our mission was to stay motivated, and to keep on the track set forth as much as possible.

Poppy has a strong social media following and he regularly interacts with his followers, particularly on Instagram, through fun stories, music, process posts, studio tours, and the like. We wanted to not just generate viewers, but also encourage continued engagement with the PMA. It was important that the interview be accessible afterward in case viewers weren’t able to watch in real time, so Facebook became an essential secondary platform. We decided to stream to both platforms using different devices - a webcam and computer for Facebook live, and two personal phones featuring a split screen interview for Instagram live. We spent multiple meetings figuring out logistics, mics, timing, marketing, and other details to make sure the tech side of things went off without a hitch. Our driving question was, “Why live stream when we can pre-record?” Live streaming mimics the experience of an in-person artist talk. Our visitors have the opportunity to interact with the artist, listen to a first person account of their process and reflection on their work, and ask questions with immediate answers. This was the first step in the right direction of thinking about all of our programming from a distance. It allowed us to dip our toes into rethinking everything we’d planned for several months, and gain insight into the success, and challenges, of virtual museum programming.

We are learning from Poppy’s perspective, and growing as we move forward one live stream at a time.