BGGC Spotlights Community Artists and Creatives in a Virtual Artist Alley

BGGC held its very first Virtual Artist Alley in September of 2022. For a period of two weeks, the Discord server was transformed into a veritable artist alley, showcasing the community’s talented artists and creatives.

BGGC’s Artist Alley featured multidisciplinary artists and creatives from the community. The Community Events team set out to create a space for artists to showcase their work and market their art, much like an in-person artist alley. This event, happening amidst the pandemic, focused on creating an accessible space for creatives to network with other creatives and promote their work safely and remotely.

The event was not limited by its online status, however, as the structure of the Artist Alley allowed for meaningful interactions between people. There was a main stage set up, where all announcements regarding the event were broadcasted. Then, artists were given podium platforms in the form of voice/video channels where they could interact with an audience of other creatives and consumers alike. Some used their platform to livestream art, giving insight on their process and methodology. Others treated the space as an open forum for discussion, in which the audience could participate via text chat or voice chat, according to preference.

A marketplace area was set up for artist to showcase and sell their products, and each artist also had a booth where their existing artwork lived. These channels were open throughout the two weeks for people to visit on their own time.

BGGC’s Virtual Artist Alley was hailed as a meaningful experience and a great way to make connections within the community. We were glad to be able to support independent community artists in despite the isolation and difficulties of the pandemic.