I'm Jannell, the Creative Director for On the Mark, For the City. I'm passionate about making the city brighter, more fun, and an even more positive place to live through art. I'm also a DJ--all I’ve ever wanted to do is make large groups of people dance.
What does a Creative Director do?
I just try to listen to ideas and pay attention to the others' aesthetics and steer the creative side of our projects into a cohesive and rad direction. We are all reeeeeeeeeally different in how we make art. But somehow, we're all on the same page on projects. Combining all of our attitudes, outlooks, skills, and interests into these projects is something I enjoy helping with a lot.
What do you know about art?
Academically? Not a lot. I took some art history and appreciation classes in college. But most of my art knowledge is self taught. I pay attention to other artists and read a lot about art, color theory, others' processes, etc. Graphic design is the area I want to improve the most, so I actually just started an online intro course. Anything you REALLY want to know more about – you can. I love learning and art is a great catalyst for exploration.
So... what do you know about Muncie?
I know that I originally felt like this is a place I got myself stuck in. I ended up staying here after dropping out of school. My life had fallen apart and this place was at least cheap. Then, I started making art and slowly started trying to just DO again. If I would have taken off to a bigger city I really don't think I would be doing as well. With art and community – I now feel like this is a place I can thrive. And I want it to feel that way for others as well.