“A Convo with Designer Geoffrey Holstad” / Artist Panel
Presented with support from Alluvion Arts and Traverse City Arts Commission and hosted by Curator Jessica Kooiman Parker
Featuring a live acoustical performance, a special screening of the short film “Cabin-Time: E. Sierras” and a possible post-panel adventure?
Geoffrey Holstad is a Michigan-born art director, designer, lake surfer and trail runner who currently lives most of the year in the small, mystic mountain town of Ojai, California. Geoff has worked for over a decade as a Senior Art Director on product at Patagonia, focusing primarily on Trail Running, Mountain Bike and Kids product.
During his tenure at Patagonia, and in his off-hours, Geoff has collaborated with dozens of grassroots enviro NGOs on creative strategy-building, many based in his heart’s home of the Great Lakes. Prior to working at Patagonia, he founded and directed Cabin-Time (501c3), a roaming creative residency to remote places.
Geoff and his wife Sarah Darnell (fellow Michigan-born Patagonia designer) have an all-season cabin with their two little girls, on fifteen acres bordering Palmer Woods Forest Reserve. They are so inspired to be a part of thoughtfully preserving Leelanau’s natural magic and to connect closely with Northern Michigan’s thriving (and growing) community working/playing at the confluence of art, sport and environmental action.
Jessica Kooiman Parker has a BFA from the University of WI-Stout. She has held the role of Small Business Owner, Freelance Graphic Designer, Creative Director, Executive Director and Visual Arts Curator. Previous work includes Executive Director and Curator at the Firehouse Art Center in Longmont, CO, where she increased the budget and attendance while fulfilling the mission of providing life enhancing experiences through art. After becoming a mother, Jessica transitioned to independent curation, working with Redline Contemporary Art Center in Denver and Artworks Loveland, before becoming the Visual Arts Curator of the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, CO. One notable unpaid role was serving with the Boulder County Arts Leadership Forum as an advocate and art activist along the Front Range. She also founded a monthly film program in 2012 and created Longmont’s only film festival, the Front Range Film Festival, now celebrating its tenth year!
Her curatorial work has been featured in the Boulder Weekly, The Longmont Times Call, Denver Westword, The Denver Post, The Daily Camera, Westword, Voyager Magazine and Boulder Lifestyle Magazine.
In 2018, Kooiman Parker partnered with multi-disciplinary artist Drew Austin and founded Studio.Public. Through digital interviews, critical discussion, and a print publication, Studio.Public documents what makes an artist thrive and brings the person behind the work to the forefront.
Free to the Public / Suggested $10 Donations Benefit the FCFF Making Waves Commitment Grant
General Admission / First-Come First-Served Seating
$10 Suggested Donation to the “Making Waves Commitment Grant”
Bar Service and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Available