Dissatisfied by the lack of events for artists, one Guelph woman is behind a series of events 'unlike anything seen in Guelph,' aimed at providing a platform for creatives and their work.
“I want them to showcase their talents, their art and I also want them to make profits and sell,” said Lilia Mohamed, the coordinator of Backyard Fest and the upcoming Indie Art Fest, the first of which happens Friday, March 18.
An abstract artist herself, Mohamed wanted a space for creatives and the general public to interact and build relationships. That idea expanded to include small business ventures that started during the pandemic and performances, resulting in Backyard Fest.
"It was just an event I wanted to put together," said Mohamed about Backyard Fest, which took place September 2021.
For that event, Mohamed said she and a friend constructed a stage using wood they sourced from Kijiji and a neighbour, who helped them build the stage. There were some challenges along the way, including finding vendors and a ticket from bylaw, but Mohamed said she was proud of the turnout.
“Last Summer when I did Backyard Fest, I was so stressed out, but then the amount of love I got for it afterwards it made my whole day," said Mohamed. "I was pretty happy with that.”
After Backyard Fest, Mohamed said the student group, Curtain Call Productions, hired her to be their event coordinator. Now, she has organized another upcoming festival called Indie Art Fest, where door ticket proceeds will support the group and its production of Freaky Friday Musical.
“I saw that there was a need for everyone to showcase their own talent, and I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I should put on another event,'" said Mohamed.
“I’m getting absolutely nothing, which I’m okay with, because I would love to see this myself. I would pay to go to events like this myself."
Happening March 18 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., Indie Art Fest will have performances from students at the University of Guelph, a local artist and different vendors. Door tickets cost $15 and $10 for students with student ID. Mohamed said the event will take place at Grassroots restaurant, located at 17 Gordon St., just south of downtown.
For Grassroots, Mohamed said this event will be their last.
“They’re closing down on Friday, which is very sad, but they have exhausted all of their options," said Mohamed, who had previously worked at Grassroots. "I hope to send them out with a bang at least.”
The experience of putting together events has been a learning curve for Mohamed, from learning how to develop a floor plan, building connections and promoting events online. As an artist, she said the events have also been an opportunity to showcase her own art and build her confidence as an artist.
“It’s definitely improved my confidence,” said Mohamed. “I would like to sell, but there’s no time. I’ve put all my efforts into organizing and I don’t have the time to create my own art right now, but, the next show that I do, I want to do something in the summer and I want to do something on a bigger scale, like in a park, and I would do my best to get my art out, but right now I like the way I’m exposing my art.”
In the future, Mohamed would like to see these events become profitable.
“My hopes is that when I do another event, I can make it profitable, and that I can share some of those profits with the artists.”
For future events, Mohamed has created an Instagram account called WeLoveFests to share upcoming events. To see the Instagram page, click here.