Always looking for a fun challenge, this season brought plenty of opportunity for engaging design from our friends at Revolution Gallery in Buffalo, NY. On December 11th, Revolution Gallery hosted the Krampus Holiday Bazaar and Flash Gallery to help support local artists and create some magic and excitement for the holiday season. With submissions from talented artists and a small army of devotees to spread the word over social media, Maria Pabico LaRontonda curated Gruss Vom Krampus in just four days. Despite being planned in a short period of time, the socially-distanced, alternative holiday shopping event was an immense success thanks to the support from the OtherWisz Creative design team.
About Krampus and the flash art exhibit
The event was inspired by the German folktale of Krampus, the half-goat-half-demon companion of Saint Nicolas who rewards good children and punishes poorly behaved children – fitting for the dark, surrealist theme of Revolution Gallery. This Krampus Holiday Bazaar included “Gruss vom Krampus” : a one-of-a-kind flash art exhibit of Krampus artwork created specifically for this event. Goth & industrial background music provided the atmosphere for casual shopping, while an outdoor Krampus display provided a fun selfie opportunity for guests. This imposing 8-foot tall figure of the yule demon himself was crafted by local artist Sarah Hemingway. Patrons were also able to pick-up a variety of to-go drinks and food highlighted by a special Krampus Cocktail, bottled wine and cheese plates, and “Buffalo’s Best Tater Tots.”
Digging our teeth into a strategic social media plan
As the pandemic has hit local small businesses and artists hard, gallery owners and artists Craig LaRotonda and Maria Pabico LaRotonda have devised a collection of unique products to showcase their artists and deliver creative gifts to patrons over the holiday season. These all-in-a-box treasures – the Gorilla Box and Black Box shrines – provide mini curated art collections at your doorstep, with fun ephemera to complete the gift. Assisting with the promotion of their curated curiosities, the OtherWisz team suggested a heavy marketing push on social media platforms to showcase the gallery’s offerings, the owners’ artwork, and the artists represented by the gallery.
The graphics for the Krampus Holiday Bazaar were created to complement the established Revolution Gallery brand, channeling their recognizable pop-surrealist style. The overall social media strategy required us to break down the messaging that was needed for communicating to the gallery’s audience in preparation for the show. We developed graphics that uniquely corresponded to the event and the messaging needed to prepare those who would attend the event in person, along with viewers who are more interested in participating online.
Each asset for the event was custom-made to recognizable for the die-hard Revolution Gallery fans. To promote these events, the OtherWisz team designed graphics inspired by the provocative imagery of Revolution Gallery – imbued with dark beauty, emotion, and mystery – for use in social media, animations and on their website.
Introducing our friends at Revolution Gallery
Revolution Gallery has proved an influential addition to the Hertel community, recognized as a hot spot for art and cutting-edge events. The unique pop-surrealist gallery features artists from around the world –creators of contemporary figurative art, juxtaposed with fantastic or incongruous imagery and often infused with pop-culture references.
Located at 1419 Hertel Avenue, the Revolution Gallery has hosted dozens of art opening receptions and exhibits, live music concerts, comedy shows, DJ parties, burlesque shows, cultural events, paint nights, cheese and wine pairings, and fundraisers, attracting a diverse audience of dedicated followers both locally and online.
Check out the gallery’s collection and recent happenings on their website.
An overarching theme with good intentions
Throughout the winter months, OtherWisz and Revolution Gallery will be collaborating on a larger event campaign, dubbed Mid-Winter Melancholia. The art-focused event series aims to bring light into the dark winter months, calling upon artists to share their work with the world. Mid-Winter Melancholia ties together a series of events held through the holidays and over the toughest months of the year, when the days are short, dark and often dismal to inspire hope and joy. The series kicked-off last week with a gift and shopping event, Krampus Holiday Bazaar, celebrating an alternative version of the holidays based on the German folktale.
Melancholia continues this week with the “Eleventh Hour Gift Shoppe” an event targeted to last-minute panic shoppers out there looking for just the right holiday gifts – original art and prints, jewelry, postcards, t-shirts, sculptures and more.
Future events to be revealed as the winter days wear on…
