ADSS Poetry in Different Environments:
A Comparative Study
Published: September 5, 2024
Introduction
Context: Going into the year 2024, I was determined to get my work more broadly seen. I had recently created my first batch of ADSS “Declaration” poem hoodies, and turned my visual poetry EP into a physical, high-quality zine. I felt compelled to consider ways of how I could bring my art into the world.
Though I’m more of a tea drinker myself, coffee shops initially served as a great first option. In my quest to find a suitable one for my art, I happened to talk to a bartender at Crime and Punishment Brewing in Philadelphia, who told me they’d potentially be open to displaying my work.
After speaking with one of the managers, it was agreed that I’d show my poem prints, hoodie, and poetry EP at their location for the month of March. Somewhat of a pop-up.
This is my informal research into the following question:
How does the environment affect how people interact with my poetry?
Method
Methodology: Observations, Sales
Definition of Environment: In this paper, “environment” is defined as the physical environment, and the social context, in which my poetry is displayed. Including any surrounding activities.
Definition of My Poetry: In this paper, “my poetry” is defined as a range of my poetic expressions, such as: my poem prints, my poetry EP booklet, my poem hoodies, and even myself, the artist.
Ethical Considerations: All observations were made in public spaces where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. All observations were done anonymously and no personal data was collected.
Environment I
Environment 1 Setup:
Location: Bar, Crime and Punishment Brewing in Philadelphia
Time Length: 1 Month, March 2024
Items: 10 framed ADSS poem prints, 1 ADSS hoodie (“Declaration”), 6 Visual poetry EPs
Display: I placed the poem prints strategically around the bar, at about eye level in most locations. Hoodies were not for sale and the only one on display, was high up on the wall, alongside the other bar apparel. The EPs and poem prints were placed along a bar railing, with a QR code for payment.
Environment 1 Observations:
I was able to observe how people interacted with my poetry 3 times while it was displayed in March. The first time was when I went to hang up the work. I saw exactly 3 people look at my work for at least about 5 seconds. Most people enjoyed their drinks with someone(s), and barely at all paid any mind to the art on the wall. There was 1 sale of the visual EP, from someone who was there to support me.
The second time was when I walked by one day. There was no one looking at my poetry upon a short glance inside. I noticed a similar theme, most people were enjoying their drinks without looking around much. There were no sales the majority of the time my work was displayed.
The final time was with another person who was there to support me. There may have been one person who was looking at a poem, if that. The lighting was a bit dark, it was a rainy evening, not many people were out. I noticed that people had thumbed through the EPs and the poem prints that were on display. A few people were in conversation with who they came with. The person who was there as support also purchased a visual EP.
Learnings and Reflections, Environment 1:
On a personal level, I wrote about the disappointment I felt as I had to clean up my stuff from the bar, without any sales outside of people I knew. While the feeling was tough, the experience did make me consider what I would do differently.
Choose to Believe in Your Work - I could have doubted my work, but I chose to believe in it. I didn’t take the lack of interest in this one space as reflective of my work; I chose to see it as a mismatch of environment alignment.
Where will people go to look at art? - I consistently noticed people were engaged in conversation. I wanted people to be in conversation about my work, two different things. I needed to somehow get people’s attention without being invasive like a social media company. The way I got in front of people had to align with the values of my brand.
Find an Event - While someone suggested it to me early on, I was afraid to ask the manager for a night to read some of my poetry. Partly I wasn’t confident enough in my performance, and I also had the feeling he didn’t like me. So that made things difficult.
Build Relationships - Because of my lack of relationship with this bar manager and the people in the bar, it was uncomfortable for me to promote my work.
Total Sales:
0 Poem Prints
2 Visual EPs
Environment 2
Context Cont’d:
In May of 2024, I was accepted to a local art show called Waffles and Wine, where select artists would display their art in a local art gallery for an evening while patrons were served-- you guessed it. I thought this would be a great way to help answer my research question.
Environment 2 Setup:
Location: Gallery, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia
Time Length: 1 Night, May 2024
Items: 4 framed ADSS poem prints, ADSS hoodie rack (“Declaration”), 10 Visual poetry EPs
Display: Poem prints were hung on the wall. The text of my poems, while enlarged for shows like this, can vary, so I placed one of the poems that has smaller text closer to eye level. Hoodies were sale on a clothing rack. The EPs and poem prints were placed on and besides a small table I had for display.
Environment 2 Observations:
From the outset of the event, even as I began to set up, I noticed more folks look around the room and pause with my work. There was one gentlemen, who was part of the staff, purposely read multiple poems soon after I was done finishing up. He read them silently and quietly walked away after.
As the event began, not all attendees spent an equal amount of time with my work compared to the other visual artists. I noticed some attendees, I approximate about 1/3, as I kept an eye on my display area, would stop and read at least one poem. There were many people that glanced and kept walking.
A few people would grab a hoodie to angle it so they could read the entire “Declaration” poem on the back of the hoodie. There were compliments on the embroidery.
The event was about 3 or 4 hours, and during that time I spoke with multiple artists and attendees about my work. One person was brought to tears by “Black Boy Don’t Dream So Big”. Another person said they were “touched” by “Psychic Veins”. Multiple people said they enjoyed “Declaration” and had to read it multiple times.
I had one long conversation about race, sparked by one of my poems “Celebration”. Before the event was over, one person said they really liked my writing and wanted to buy an EP.
A handful of folks asked for my business card. About 7 folks began to follow me on social media. I made valuable connections at this event. One connection lead to my first poem being published.
Learnings and Reflections, Environment 2:
There was more engagement from what I could observe in the gallery setting. Not only being besides other artists, but also being present with the art allowed people to directly engage with me if my work sparked their interest. I also noticed how many people enjoyed my writing and appreciated something different in the gallery space.
Whatever hesitations I had about my art by displaying it in the bar were not present with me this night at the gallery. I noticed I felt much more secure with myself and my art. Despite not everyone spending a significant amount of time with my work, I understood that having poetry-based work in an art gallery may challenge expectations, especially when seen for the first time.
There are also valuable networking opportunities when you are around art and other artists. One connection I made lead to my first poem being published.
Total Sales:
0 Poem Prints
0 Poem Hoodies
2 Visual EPs
Conclusion and Key Learnings
After comparing both situations, the evidence points to the environment playing a significant role in how people interact with my poetry. There were more observable interactions with my poetry at the gallery, than at the bar. My poetry, because of its visual elements and auditory elements, is not a passive art and requires engagement with its audience.
While art may be displayed in a bar or coffee shop setting, that is not the main intention for the patrons going there. They are most likely there for a drink, and maybe to catch up with someone. Their primary focus isn’t related to the graphic design poetry on the walls. This likely contributed to the lack of engagement my work received at the bar.
In comparison, the gallery space, especially for an event like the Waffles and Wine event I participated in, is designed for people to look at the art on the walls. The increased engagement at Waffles and Wine reflects a better alignment with my goal as an artist, in getting my work more broadly seen. This likely contributed to the increased interactions I observed in the gallery setting, despite the sales being equal in both spaces.
The intention of those who go to galleries is to see art, while the intention of those who go to a bar, is to have a beverage, or a meal. Waffles and Wine has beverages and food as a playful secondary option to the art, knowing that their audience is there for the art. If I want my poetry to be seen, I need to display my work in places where people expect to art.
The equal amount of sales across both events points to a possible lack of connection between audience engagement and their willingness to purchase. Further data could be collected to further support this claim, but my results showed no noticeable impact of the environment on my poetry sales.
I’ve consider the lack of sales since these two events. I believe my prices were too high across the board. I’ve dropped the price of my poem prints by 50%, the poetry EP I’ve dropped by 40% and the hoodies by 33%. Since these events, poem prints, and poetry EPs have sold at a more consistent rate. Hoodies, possibly because of their price point, don’t sell as quickly so far.
My original prices reflected my very high expectations. While my work is valuable and creative, meeting people where they are at is something I’ll need to learn how to continue to refine.
Also important to note is that I was present at the gallery. While hard to predict, there is no telling if my work would have gotten more interactions if I was present more often at the bar, or if I had organized some type of opening night performance or reading. Being present at the gallery allowed for me to hear reactions to my own work as well as make a connection that would benefit me in the future when it came to getting a poem published. Being around art and artists proved valuable, even in this limited situation.
While the length of time my work was displayed varied greatly, the focus of having an evening dedicated to attendees viewing artwork drove a focused crowd toward my work that lead to more interactions observed by me in one evening, than previously observed at the bar over the month.
I acknowledge my research is limited by a small sample size and brief observations over the course of multiple months. It is also learning for my own, ADSS poetry. Because of my unique visual branding through multiple mediums and the acapella poetry style, further research would be needed to learn how environment impacts how people engage with poetry at large. I hope my research can serve as a starting place.
Continuing this research could look a variety of ways. My unique style of poetry and the many ways it intersects language with different mediums provides ample room for sustained research. Continuing to explore how environments can bring poetry, and more broadly art, alive in their spaces as well as the impact of integrating poetry in everyday life, specifically fashion, could provide novel insights about how the arts can fulfill their purpose; making an impact on people’s lives.
Going forward I want to continue to present my work in spaces where people expect to interact and engage with art. I use “art” because sometimes those spaces will be specific to poetry, while also recognizing my work is broad enough to find room within the larger artistic word, like in a gallery.
My next case study will dig into how I’ve begun to experiment with engagement by performing my acapella poetry to possible supporters.
Key Learnings
Environment Matters - The gallery space is designed for people to look at art, contributing to significantly more interactions with my poetry compared to the bar.
Consider Audience Intention - People go to the gallery to look at art. People go to bars, to drink and socialize. If you want people to look at your art, consider why they are going to the location in the first place.
Follow Your Art - Being around my art led to more interactions. People could tell me their reactions and/or discuss their own art. While it may not lead to more sales, it’s beneficial to be with your work.
Events Drive Traffic - There is space for casually displaying your work on the walls of bars or coffee shops. If you’re looking to be seen, look for events that will increase the foot traffic around your art. More people is more opportunities for someone to purchase your work or engage with you.
Engagement ≠ Sales - While engagement increased after switching from the bar to the gallery, sales remained the same.
From love,
Towards togetherness,
In forgiveness,
ADSS
