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Tim Fulton 00:09
welcome to the confluence cast presented by Columbus underground. We are a weekly Columbus centric podcast focusing on the civics, lifestyle, entertainment and people of our city. I’m your host. Tim Fulton this week, Columbus’s creative community often comes alive at the intersection of art risk and meaning a space where organizations like Wild Goose creative are working to make their mark. In this episode, I sat down with executive director Sarah Barr to explore her journey from art educator to leading multi million dollar cultural projects and how wild goose fuels the work of emerging and established artists alike. We talk about their exhibitions, mentorship programs and high school accelerator the realities of nonprofit funding and why deeper collaboration could unlock even more potential for the city’s art scene, plus Sarah previews their made by us fundraiser, pairing local celebrities with artists for unique one of a kind creations. You can get more information on what we discussed today in the show notes for this episode at the confluencecast.com enjoy the interview. Sitting down here with Sarah Barr, the executive director of wild goose creative. Sarah, how are you?
Sarah Barr 01:30
I’m great. Thanks for having me.
Tim Fulton 01:32
Absolutely you’ve been in the role for three years, three years in August. Excellent. First of all, tell us about wild goose. What is it? Yeah,
Sarah Barr 01:42
so wild goose is a multi disciplinary art space. We connect artists, creatives and community through accessible space, supportive programs and collaborative opportunities. Our mission is to build a creative community at the intersection of art, risk and meaning
Tim Fulton 02:02
cool. And did I hear Columbus or Ohio in there? We are Columbus based, right? But I didn’t hear that in the sort of definition, no. Okay, cool. So it is able to sort of like but you are focused in the Columbus community.
Sarah Barr 02:16
Yes, Columbus. We were centralized with the Columbus art scene, Central Ohio,
Tim Fulton 02:23
okay, and what is your background? How did you get to Wild Goose I
Sarah Barr 02:27
have an interesting background. Okay, okay, so I started my journey as a K 12 art teacher, okay? Around the Dayton area, okay. Decided in 2008 when the economy was shifting a little bit, we will say, to join a nonprofit
Tim Fulton 02:46
that was a good idea, right
Sarah Barr 02:51
to where I was doing a $3.8 million capital campaign to renovate a 1921 vaudeville theater, okay, into a Cultural Arts Center for the community.
Tim Fulton 03:03
Okay, where was and was that in Dayton as well. It was in Sydney, Ohio. Okay.
Sarah Barr 03:09
Beyond that, goal was accomplished, I wanted to do more. Okay, so in 2019 right on the cusp of covid, I decided, let’s take on this other capital campaign and build another Cultural Arts Center in Marysville, Ohio, okay, which is now up and running, okay, but
Tim Fulton 03:33
success through difficult slash challenging times, correct? Okay,
Sarah Barr 03:39
so I’m like, you know, I’m a visual artist. I want to get back to my roots a little bit. I want to still advocate for the arts and build community around this creative industry and sector and wild goose. I saw the opportunity through their social media channels, and I put my name in the hat, and here we are today,
Tim Fulton 04:03
okay? And you were already in Columbus, basically,
Sarah Barr 04:07
yes. So I had moved from the Dayton area to Columbus in 2020
Tim Fulton 04:12
basically, to work on that Marysville,
Sarah Barr 04:14
to work on the Marysville project, and kind of grow into where I’m at
Tim Fulton 04:18
today. Is the through line there that, like, of course, as an executive director, you have to raise money, but is the through line there? Like, I don’t want to just raise money anymore. That, like, it’s I don’t want or, or maybe you’re about to tell me, Well, Tim, we’re actually endeavoring on a capital campaign right now.
Sarah Barr 04:37
More to come. Okay, okay,
Tim Fulton 04:40
it would well, but
Sarah Barr 04:41
I did want to do more programming and advocating and really get down to the nitty gritty of, how do I help artists, not necessarily build a home for them, but it is building a home, right? Like we’re a gathering space where. An incubator for Columbus creatives, and that feels a little more nurturing and more of my, you know, being
Tim Fulton 05:12
then, right, rather than collecting checks building a building, yeah and Yes. What’s your background on building buildings, though? Like, how did you end up working on a capital campaign.
Sarah Barr 05:24
I love history. I love architecture, okay, I started my education journey as an interior designer, okay, pivoted to education, it seemed more secure at the time. And just loved community and those engaging aspects of the arts and building that and so I don’t know, but I can build you a theater, okay,
Tim Fulton 05:52
fair well, and I imagine, for those that don’t know, in the nonprofit world, it is your board that hires you correct. I imagine that your background and any nonprofits board has some goal of raising money in order to do more or better versions of the programming and adhering to their mission. Everybody wants to grow. Yes, like, that’s the, you know, welcome to capitalism. I imagine that when they hired you, the idea of your capital campaign background was very appealing to them. Yes,
Sarah Barr 06:28
my development and fundraising skills, I think, is something that attracted them to me to this position. So yes,
Tim Fulton 06:38
what talk about, sort of the programs that you guys offer, and anything that maybe you’re particularly proud of, that you’ve instituted since, because the building was that you guys had your physical space. Yeah,
Sarah Barr 06:49
so we started in Clintonville in 2008 stayed there in 2019 wild goose was looking at expanding and having two locations, one one in the So, HUD area, one in
Tim Fulton 07:05
Franklinton, right? Well, and Columbus purists would correct you, this is not Clintonville. Clinton okay,
Sarah Barr 07:12
I
Tim Fulton 07:13
Ruby. That’s fair. I’m learning that’s fair. That’s totally fair. As a kid who grew up in Old North I’m like, we’re not Clintonville. Okay, so,
Sarah Barr 07:21
so HUD area noted, yep,
Tim Fulton 07:23
yep, yep. We’ll get into the peach district and all that later. But so they were looking to expand, and they were thinking, at one point, maybe we will have two spaces. Is that what you’re saying?
Sarah Barr 07:34
That is my under, yes, okay, my understanding, cool, as we all know, we’re still talking about this covid, yeah, nothing that happened yesterday and lingers to this day. And so they had to make a choice. Franklinton was,
Tim Fulton 07:51
was the winner? The winner? Well, my barber, who now occupies the former Wild Goose space. Thanks, you. So you’re welcome. Yeah, and then, and so what sort of what programming it happens there at Wild Goose so
Sarah Barr 08:08
we took a really deep dive into our programming over the last two years, okay? And today, we launched our wild gallery Exhibition Program, our call for artists. That is something that we did in our Clintonville location, but it’s a monthly exhibition where we welcome emerging and established artists, performers, curators, to a space in order to take risks and really execute an idea that they have.
Tim Fulton 08:38
Okay. Should I think of it as a residency program or more of a like, Hey, you’re going to do this thing and you just happen, like, are they going to use it as a studio in addition to the place in which either an exhibition or a happening happens?
Sarah Barr 08:54
So it’s more of a gallery exhibition, okay, that we change out monthly. Okay? So we give resources on you know how to curate the show. We pair them with mentors. We do the marketing, if you will, right? We have an opening for them so it’s specific, like wild gallery is specifically for a monthly exhibition. Okay? Got people to get that experience, or to try something new or gain some mentorship working with another artist. Got it like I said, we take emerging artists and establish today is Franklinton Friday, which is our monthly opening of the exhibition. Tonight, we’re featuring Lance Johnson and Alex Schultz. Lance is a established artist in our area, graffiti artist. He has a background in inspiration from hip hop okay and his time in Brooklyn, and he’s paired with the. Emerging artist Alex Schultz, okay, who takes digital images in this infrared looking
Tim Fulton 10:10
material, I guess, right, okay,
Sarah Barr 10:12
and displays them translucently, okay. And so they’ve collaborated on a show which will be opening tonight.
Tim Fulton 10:19
Got it so when you hear this, it will still be up, but I’m sorry you missed the opening, yes, so that’s fair. No, it’ll be open all month. Okay, yeah. And then have you established sort of who’s going to be throughout the next year? Or, because I thought I heard you said you have a call for artists, yes, so
Sarah Barr 10:37
we opened our call for artists today. Oh, okay, that will go until August 15, and then we will have a jury that will select our monthly shows. Okay? For 2026
Tim Fulton 10:50
do you get a vote?
Sarah Barr 10:53
I’m a tiebreaker, okay? I like to stay out of
Tim Fulton 10:57
the President of the Senate. Yes. Okay, that’s fair. And then how do you curate the the jury? Like, is that artists and established arts professionals throughout Columbus, in addition to, I imagine, you have, like, a board representative on, yep, committee
Sarah Barr 11:15
representative, sorry, I’m just answering. You’re absolutely right. Like you’re, you hit it on the head, so you’re absolutely right. But in addition to wild gallery, we have an Arts Incubator program, okay, which is somewhat new. We’ve, we’ve tweaked it a little bit, okay, it’s a nine month program that is focusing on mentorship, okay? So it’s helping emerging artists realize their goals, turn ideas into tangible projects, build their brand and just gain valuable experience on navigating like the arts here in Columbus, okay, from that, we saw a need for a high school accelerator, okay? And so this is brand new this year, okay, thank we are very thankful to the pin Chuck Foundation, because they also saw the impact that this would have on our next generation of artists. And so we’re starting off as a one day workshop designed for sophomores and juniors. Okay, to come in and spend the day, um, just getting to know real life artists, working artists, working artists, right? And we’re talking from um, graphic designers, interior designers, fashion designers, tattoo artists, the whole gamut, okay, and being able to interact with them and just be exposed to those industries where they may not have that opportunity, okay in their
Tim Fulton 12:53
school and is the plan to do. You know how many kids you’re gonna be able to accommodate with that?
Sarah Barr 12:59
So currently we have 75 kids, okay, coming from Southwest schools, Fort Hayes, okay, Franklinton High School, okay, so we’re working a lot with underserved communities, okay, to make sure that they have the exposure to the arts as
Tim Fulton 13:20
well. Got it. So it is not an opportunity. If I had a rising sophomore or junior, that opportunity is passed for now, but you are working directly with the schools to get these kids. We
Sarah Barr 13:31
are working directly with the schools, but it’s happening in October. Okay, so there is still time.
Tim Fulton 13:37
Got it. So you have, basically, you have slots for kids from these districts. But is there some way, like on their web, your website, to reach out and be like, Hey, I’d be interested in this program?
Sarah Barr 13:49
Absolutely. Got it. Yes. Cool. Those are the schools that have already Yeah, RSVP, RSVP, if you will. Yeah, more to come.
Tim Fulton 13:57
Yeah, that’s awesome. Yes, any other programs that you wanted to hit on?
Sarah Barr 14:03
Um, just one more that has to do with kind of segueing into our wild gallery, is we do, like a professional development session called portfolio Okay, where we’re partnering with urban art space, and we bring in artists to and the community, maybe Heartland Bank, a marketing firm, CPAs, to talk about what is needed to set up a business portfolio alongside of your creative portfolio, okay? And just talking about real world themes that come up with a business in art,
Tim Fulton 14:49
yeah, so the sort of nitty gritty of like, Hey, if you’re going to accept a grant or want to pursue one, you may need to find a fiscal sponsor. And hey, you need to make sure that you’re accounting for those dollars, because you’re probably going to have to file a report on what the outcomes were of this grant. And, oh, by the way, you have to pay taxes too. And there’s a whole like the litany of adulting right, that folks need to do, and that I imagine folks who you know are just entering that space. Maybe they’re just out of college, or they’re just finding some success in their creative practice. They did. I didn’t. I didn’t know that, right? I didn’t know I had to clean the lint trap. You know
Sarah Barr 15:40
exactly, and also how to care for yourself, right? As artists, we get told no, on occasions, more so than than not. And so how do you cope with that?
Tim Fulton 15:53
Yeah, and arm yourself for it. Yes. And so, I mean, it is. I mean, you’re doing your mission, right? You’re empowering creative communities. Talk about, sort of the first of all, given that you’ve been here for three years, you sort of, you’ve gotten your feet wet as you will, what has surprised you about it?
Sarah Barr 16:18
So I think what surprises me is just the impact that the arts have on a community, and how that isn’t spoken about out like out loud, okay, right, and how we as an organization can advocate for artists a little bit more and really have their industry showcased, yeah, and help them along the way. Right? Because I remember being in art school and then leaving that institution and having real life. And it was like, well, now what? Right? So if we can be that, I don’t want to say praxis, because that sounds
Tim Fulton 17:10
too well, but clinical, but catalyst for that, that continued growth,
Sarah Barr 17:17
yeah, and really listening to what the artists need,
Tim Fulton 17:21
right? Well, and not insert so there’s a big conversation in the nonprofit space, and there probably always will be that, like, somebody’s like, I’ve got this great idea for a nonprofit. I’m going to go do it without thinking, Well, does somebody else already do that? And like, maybe you could go and help them, because we shouldn’t maybe be spreading resources across two different organizations where one has found some efficiencies. And like, can be good, we’re getting into capitalism again. But basically
Sarah Barr 17:51
yes and, and I just listen to Lisa Cordis from United Way say, like, there are a lot of nonprofits here in Columbus, too many to be frank, right? Yeah. So why? Why can’t you reach out to a nonprofit with an idea that you have, yeah, why can’t you execute a program that you want to do, but you
Tim Fulton 18:15
but under the auspices of, right? Yes, it’s the whole reason why the fiscal sponsor model kind of exists, right? So I don’t know if we’ve been explicit about what a fiscal sponsor is. Let’s say I want to throw a street festival, and there’s some grant money available for a street festival. I am not a nonprofit. I do not have a nonprofit, but the grant requires that a nonprofit receive the money. I could contact Wild Goose creative and you please correct me, if any you’re great. I could contact Wild Goose creative and say, Hey, I’ve got an idea for this festival. I’m gonna go fill out this grant, but it says I needed a fiscal sponsor. And I heard you do that sometimes, yes, and then you would at what, to what extent would you want to review my grant application?
Sarah Barr 19:08
Yeah, so that’s we do offer fiscal sponsors to artists and to people who want to execute an idea or a program or an opportunity. We do have an intake form, or, if you will, that we would do review fiscally and just the overall scope of the project, yeah, because we want it to match our mission as well. Budget is important, right? And we do through fiscal sponsors, because we do so much of the back end work financially. You know, we do have a fee associated with that, but at the same time, it has to go through, like our treasure, and it has to go through our financial steps and then also connect to our mission before we’re like, yes, we will. We would love to enter into. Agreement of fiscal sponsorship,
Tim Fulton 20:01
right? Well, and we’re not talking about the fact that you, by accepting the grant, you are actually becoming liable for the grant being executed, like I have to throw the festival,
Sarah Barr 20:12
yeah, you will, you will be held accountable for doing what you said you were going to do, and, and, you know, um, not to throw anybody under the bus, right? But there have been, there have been times when it hasn’t been able to be like, the project hasn’t been able to be completed, or it was completed at a different timeline, and we are responsible for being kind of that mediator, of saying like, hey, you need to talk and be absolutely transparent to these grantors because they’re providing you money, or you’re going to have to give the money back, right, right? Like that’s just full transparency, and that’s just the
Tim Fulton 20:51
Yes, absolutely you can’t steal from people, right,
Sarah Barr 20:56
right? So it is a lot of accountability, making sure people are accountable for doing what they say they’re going to do.
Tim Fulton 21:05
Yeah, what has I would be remiss there. You know, arts funding, at least at a federal level, is like gone. That’s a good way of putting it. How has that? Has that negatively impacted you? Or do you feel like you guys have enough of a mix to keep going
Sarah Barr 21:29
so we don’t receive any federal funding, but the funding we get state and locally, yeah, have been
Tim Fulton 21:38
affected. You don’t receive federal money directly, correct, right? Yes,
Sarah Barr 21:44
and giving, USA just did their study from on their annual giving. And really it’s individuals and foundations. And I believe that wild goose does a good job of that we could, we could do better at that. And I think moving forward in the environment that we’re in, we’re going to have to rely on those type of donors and gifts, right, opposed to
Tim Fulton 22:19
larger grant just expecting grants to show back up. Yeah, and does it, do you feel like maybe it’s going to affect your programming mix as well, that you will need to do programming that generates revenue alongside, you know, the mentorship programs? And is that? Are those conversations happening?
Sarah Barr 22:37
Those conversations are happening. I hope that our pillar programs, like our wild gallery and our Arts Incubator and portfolio continue to be free. That’s what our mission is, and that we’re able to get local sponsorship to cover those we do have workshops like we do a figure drawing class. We have Speak Easy, we do a writer’s workshop. We charge a minimal fee for that. Again, we want to be accessible, yeah, and so it’s just looking at that in a creative lens of how we’re going to be able to continue to offer,
Tim Fulton 23:19
yeah, those free programs, those great programs, when I think I also saw that you guys were trying to push yourself as a venue as well, that, like, somebody could come in and, like, do a conference, or do a very, very small wedding, or like, that sort of thing. And that’s, you know, that’s earned revenue as well, yes,
Sarah Barr 23:38
so we do lend to a social enterprise of renting our space. What we would like to do is move a little bit more towards the creative energy of we have a grant from, you know, GCAC that we want to execute. And how do we do that within Wild Goose is mission, and become like and become partners and collaborators and that, or if there’s another organization that needs space that we can, you know, tag team on that leverage, I think that’s more of what we would like to move to a more program oriented rentals. But right now you can use our space like we are renting it out for conferences, professional development. We’re renting it out for weddings and and workshops. So
Tim Fulton 24:35
yes, yeah, you, I mean you are. The change is creating an environment. Where you just have to look at like, Okay, what’s my what’s my revenue mix, so that we can keep the doors open on this place, yeah,
Sarah Barr 24:49
yeah. I think everyone is looking at that from a different lens these days, especially in the art sector,
Tim Fulton 24:56
yes, also the sort of occasion for you. Being here today, you have a fundraiser coming up. Can you tell us a bit
Sarah Barr 25:03
about that we do so, made by us, made by us. That’s the name, okay, that’s the title. So it’s our signature annual fundraiser. It’s where we pair eight local celebrities, okay, with eight local artists, and they collaborate on making a piece together, okay? And then September 27 we’re gathering at Gateway Film Center to auction those items off. Okay? It’s been wild. This is our third year doing it. Our lineup. We have the winner of the circle, okay, okay, Brandon Baker, okay. We have Mikey’s late night slice, uh huh. We have influencer Julie Miller, Andrew Lipa, Matt Hoffman, Amber Nicole from Mojo flow, okay? Melanie Matthews from the WEX mecha Dawn, so we have this very
Tim Fulton 26:12
you’ve been kind of range, yeah,
Sarah Barr 26:14
range, okay, of people, and it’s about connecting them with the creative community, but also like bringing them in and introducing their their people in, yeah, and introducing them to what Columbus creatives have to offer. Okay, again, building this community at this intersection of art risk and meaning, right? Yeah, but this is our annual fundraiser.
Tim Fulton 26:41
Tickets are available online. Are available
Sarah Barr 26:44
online? Okay, all the proceeds go to providing free and reduced programs, just like we talked about,
Tim Fulton 26:51
okay, I end every interview with the same two questions, what do you think Columbus is doing well? And what do you think Columbus is not doing so well, and this does not need to be within your professional life.
Sarah Barr 27:11
I feel that, and I’ve had experience outside of Columbus, yeah, like in the art scene, right? And I do feel like Columbus does art really well. Okay, there’s always room for improvement, of course, but based off of my past experiences in different communities and working throughout the state like we do a really good job of supporting artists and engaging in activities that have some type of creative backing, right? If you are bored in Columbus, you’re doing something wrong.
Tim Fulton 27:53
You’re not there. There used to be this underground like calendar that these kids would print up. And it was just all the upcoming, like, local band shows. And at the very top of it, it just said, Columbus sucks because you suck. And it was basically like, if you’re well, if you’re not seeking out these cool things to do, then yeah, that probably sucks anyway. Sorry, Mike, but that’s
Sarah Barr 28:19
exactly right? Yes, if you are bored, that’s, that’s, that’s a you problem, right?
Tim Fulton 28:25
And what do you think Columbus is not doing so well?
Sarah Barr 28:29
I think we could do a lot better in just collaboration. Okay, I think that. And again, I think there’s opportunity, especially in the nonprofit world, to look beyond like our silos of We are the arts, we are the, you know, Humanities like that, and really dive deep on collaboration more okay? And I think that would help with
Tim Fulton 28:58
funding. Indeed. Sarah, thanks for your time.
Sarah Barr 29:01
Thank you so much for having me. Thank
Tim Fulton 29:15 you for listening to the confluence cast presented by Columbus underground. Again, you can get more information on what we discussed today in the show notes for this episode at the confluencecast.com Please rate, subscribe. Share this episode of The confluence cast with your friends, family, contacts, enemies, your favorite arts administrator. If you’re interested in sponsoring Confluence cast, get in touch with us. We can be reached by email at info, at the confluencecast.com our theme music was composed by Benji Robinson. Our producer is Philip Cogley. I’m your host. Tim Fulton. Have a great week.
