Welcome to Sun Road
I hope you enjoy your stay on Sun Road, a street of local creators who make up your city’s culture. Perhaps you’re visiting from another area and see that there are not many or none at all who represent the place you’re visiting from. If you’re a creative, we welcome you to remedy that problem by creating an account and uploading your work. Who knows, an elderly couple on their evening leisurely stroll through town may happen upon your work and fall in love. Maybe they will reach out to you with a financial opportunity. Maybe they will connect you with someone else. Maybe they will merely learn your name and think, “this is my new favorite local artist.” We hope that happens and that is why we created this site.
This has been an exceptionally long journey; a road to the sun if you will. I have learned a couple things on the way while attempting to build out a platform that would house local creatives. The first, is that artists desperately need a rebrand. It’s not that creatives need to change what they’re doing, their cities need to change their perception on how they view artists. Cities often use the arts as their primary way to showcase their city. Their reels are filled with museums, venues, and they are sure to mention the breakout artists who grew up in town. What you don’t see is the unique individual people who make up the culture. My success rate of raising funds (zero percent) shows me that every time I’d mention the problem of locals not being able to discover those who make their city’s culture unique, the panel’s eyes would glaze over. They didn’t understand. They’d always end the call with, “We love your story but…” They loved the story, (the art of storytelling) but could not connect it to a problem- which was the problem itself. They used the arts but didn’t see its value. Artists, in their mind, were perhaps quirky people who stuck felt together and sprinkled glitter on top. Yet, no doubt, when they’d get off the call and have visitors in town, they’d bask in the glory of their city’s uniqueness by saying, “If you’re in town, we have to go to this museum, this venue, see this band, go to the place where this film was made, and eat at these particular culinary experiences.” They used art to attract others- so why wouldn’t they see the problem that artists simply need a way to be found on their own?
Sun Road makes sure that locals get to discover who their local artists are. Tech companies may scoff at artisans but then have no problem understanding the immense value of their own brand teams. Cities are brands and local artists are the ones who develop the brand whether it is recognized or not. Each city, each town, each few square blocks could have an immensely unique take on life that locals should be proud of. Supporting the arts is not just through suit and tie galas and endowments where certain non profits get to distribute funds to what they deem to be worthy. Supporting the arts can simply be knowing the artists around you- because when you support the arts, you enrich YOUR culture.
Sun Road is a street that shines a light on creative people and their businesses. In a world of evolving artificial intelligence and global access, maybe it’s time to meet someone who you’d run into at a cafe. Maybe it’s artistic intelligence that you really need; uniquely human. If you’re needing a photographer to snap photos of your family’s memories, a pianist to play at your daughter’s wedding, or a custom coffee table from a tree cut down just across your home- Sun Road might be the street where you find someone who understands your unique city culture.
I’m glad you’re here. If you’d like to join a community of creatives, please feel free to create a profile today. You can add your city, the category of services you provide, and several portfolio items in photo, video, or sound. If you don’t immediately see your category, feel free to reach out to us. We are brand new and growing, so please be patient with us as we grow this thing together. Speaking of growing, please also feel free to share your profile and to others you know who might benefit from creating a profile. There is great value in a free profile, (bento box 1) as you get to display your portfolio and share it to those who may want to see your work. There is further value in joining the directory, (bento box 2) which helps locals in your area find you based not only your category but your location. You’d also be able to add more portfolio items and be directly reached out to through our contact form.
All that said, I am glad that our roads have intersected and you have found yourself on this particular one. Community takes time to grow and it’d be wonderful if you could make this one worth sharing.
