Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a Kun V studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Anika Jones 0:16
Let's get scratching. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the vibrant world of graffiti Park radio, where creativity knows no bound, we'll tap in with artists, educators, our proud partners and community stakeholders who believe in empowering the next generation of visionaries beyond the hidden alleyways abandoned warehouses and local city transits, where artists are known to leave their mark, graffiti Park Foundation has redefined and re imagined the persona a street Museum.

Dan Moloney 0:44
Hello, good morning, good afternoon, all you cool cats and kittens or whatever time of day, wherever you might be listening. It's another episode of graffiti Park radio. We got Dan and Dan here. Hey, hey, and as always, Miss Anika Jones, well, hello. How y'all doing today?

Dan Bulgatz 1:02
Doing well, I'm good. I might cat or a chicken,

Dan Moloney 1:08
both. I do want to say it's cool cats and kittens. So the kittens are cool too, but it's not cool cats and cool kids. Thank you for thank you for letting so whatever you identify as, like the feline Metaverse, anyway, we're back episode eight. It's been a fun ride so far. We're excited back in 2025 here and the last seven episodes have been a fun journey. We've interviewed some awesome artists. Gave them the platform to tell their story, tell us a little bit about their journey, hopefully give some other aspiring artists some tips, tricks of the trade that have helped them get to where they're at. And today it's just us three. So I'm excited the foundation. The foundation, solid foundation, as we say, What

Dan Bulgatz 1:55
do you mean by that? Why are we the foundation? Dan, what do

Dan Moloney 1:58
I mean by that? So, you know, we had an episode last June where we kind of kicked things off at graffiti Park radio. Admittedly, we were a little, you know, we were a little, not loosey goosey, excited to say on that green, we were a little green. That's a better way to put it. And so we, we didn't really cover some of the things we wanted to but graffiti Park Foundation, for anyone listening, and for Dan, because he asked me the question, we are a five, one, c3, nonprofit based here in Las Vegas, but we, you know, our arms reach wherever there's an artist we can help. And our mission is to protect, promote and progress local artists through unique art opportunities and education. And so graffiti Park radio is one of those platforms programs where we get to elevate and promote, as I was just mentioning, artists, and we have a myriad of other programs, from our art and action program in collaboration with Boys and Girls Club, where we're working with the teens in the Las Vegas Valley, there's 13 clubs, and we're working with the teens there and kind of putting them through a four week workshop where they can learn how to design and install their very own mural. We also have our Del Webb adopt a school program. So that's in partnership with Clark County School District Community Engagement Office, and so that's a lot of fun. We'll be there tomorrow, actually, or whenever you're listening to this. So we were there on Friday, one random Friday, and I speaking of which and foundation activities, I had to buy 200 pounds of clay earlier. So that was an undertaking. People at Hobby Lobby were a little

Anika Jones 3:36
distressed. Little side note, what will you be creating? It's air dry

Dan Moloney 3:40
clay. And Becca, who is a previous guest of ours, she's going to be facilitating that. So that's a fun thing that we do with the foundation. Perfect example of how we really like to our you know, our unofficial tagline of collaboration over competition is, how can we take the artists that we work with and give them another platform to share those skills, in this case, with middle school aged art students. And so Becca is going to be leading a class on air dry clay and making pinch pots, little animals out of pinch pots. So I'm excited. I'm just as much of a student as they are tomorrow. I'm just the guy that got the clay and had to schmooze some people at Hobby Lobby to get the

Dan Bulgatz 4:20
back clay, to get the massive amounts of size. She's like, What

Dan Moloney 4:24
are you doing? Are you a teacher? I'm like, Why is everyone so upset that I'm buying all this clay? But anyway, that's graffiti Park Foundation clay aside, some of the stuff that we do, and Dan and I founded that in 2021 I guess the the kind of elevator pitch that I say is we started graffiti Park, connecting artists to canvases. We were doing all these projects, and we found that there, you know, we identified a skills gap between artists that have this awesome skill and technique and talent, but don't, per have the professional or business acumen to go get jobs. On their own or or the patients, and I understand to work with clients and budgets and do RFPs and stuff. And so we're like, Okay, I think there's something here. There's an underserved group where we can provide a service. And then that was kind of how the nonprofit rolled out. And then we brought Miss Anika Jones. I like saying that whole phrase. I like hearing every time. You know, we brought her on about a year ago, at this time, as our director of development to help us increase our presence and in the community and amongst other nonprofits and municipalities. Or for profits, whatever you got, we got a nonprofit that's looking to partner. You know, if there's a if there's something that makes sense. So we find creative solutions to challenges, and so that's who we are. Sorry, that was a long answer.

Dan Bulgatz 5:52
No, I like it beautifully said. Well, the first episode, we didn't really get into that. And a lot of what Dan and I are learning is that, like our beginning story is, well, Dan and I, we lived it. We were there. We were part of it. And so as much as we just kind of deal in the now, and almost in six months from now, it's it's good to jump back and tell the story of how it all started, because that was our reason, like our why, kind of how it all started. And so the graffiti Park Foundation, which is cool now that we've got our executive cabinet here. Obviously, we talk about a lot of things. We try and promote a lot of the artists. If you've seen any of the content that we've started to put out, a lot of that is to really highlight some of the beautiful souls that we get to work with and some of the extraordinarily talented individuals that are here in the Las Vegas community. And so we'd be remiss if we didn't tell you guys that properly, either on the airways or if you're watching this on a podcast or anywhere that you get your media. This is the graffiti Park team, or the graffiti Park Foundation team rather. And yeah, we're excited to dive into some fun topics that we think are things that we're noticing as as we embark further into this art experience that we are all a part of. And so without further ado, I'll pass it on over to Nica Jones, Ooh,

Anika Jones 7:10
thank you, Queen of curve balls. I mean, I think it's been a great way, that was a great way to say it. I think it's been a great way of creating not just a community within the group of artists that you've already worked with, but just a sense of community here in Las Vegas, like it's really bringing people together, specifically within the schools, kids being able to see that they're creating a legacy. Just with these small pieces, we have a couple of different schools where there are different generations of families that are at those schools that can go back and see these pieces, or be part of them when we're there, working on those murals so on in every aspect, whether we're downtown, where they're supporting another event, or specifically an artist, if we're doing our own event, we're showing that community is at the forefront of what we've got going on, and we're definitely wanting everybody involved, not just artists, but people who appreciate art as well. So you guys have done amazing job of that before I even got on board. So it was really just kind of bringing all those people together and saying, Hey, what's next? Like, what? What is our next chapter and, and I don't know, I guess we'll see

Dan Moloney 8:10
that in the next couple weeks, and we're writing it, no But writing it

Anika Jones 8:13
soon, my friends,

Dan Moloney 8:17
well, yeah, hot topics. We got I wrote, We got 25 on here. We're not gonna touch. It works. We we're not gonna touch on all 25 but are there any that stood out to you guys, or just us talking right now that makes you want to talk about it more? Well,

Dan Bulgatz 8:36
we talked about the business of graffiti Park and the foundation of that. And so one of the topics on here is the business of art and how artists can make a living without compromising their vision. And so I like to say a lot of what we do at graffiti Park is we act as a little bit of that conduit to ensure that the client's satisfaction is met and that all of their visions are, you know, come to life, and that also that the artist gets to explore their creativity and use their professionalism and experience on that front to create something that's visually appealing for everybody else to look at. And so what we've run into recently, I would say, Dan can kind of attest to this in some of the operations stuff, is that some of the artists do take it a little personally when their first render doesn't necessarily get approved. And so, you know, that's we love to have those conversations. And Dan always says we've got real thick skin to to handle all of those. I say that

Dan Moloney 9:36
to the client, we have thick skin. You tell us you Yeah. We'll we'll figure out how to tell the artist, yeah,

Dan Bulgatz 9:41
and relaying those information, like that information and that to the artists, and that it's not personal, and that it's So Dan, I'm gonna pass it on over to you. How can artists make a living without compromising their vision? Yeah,

Dan Moloney 9:56
I think this is a great topic. I think this is like our bread and butter. Um. Both from a for profit and non profit side. And I think, you know, and I may mention that several times throughout this episode, because it's a double edged sword, almost right, because you have a for profit. And so some people are like, Wait, I thought you guys had a non profit. And that's admittedly some, you know, an image we've had to clarify. I don't want to say combat, but something we've had to clarify, you know, in the community and other artists that we haven't worked with, or other groups, you know, and helping them understand we have both. You know, two things can be true at the same time, and there's a time and a place for both. So, you know, on the for profit side, from like, an actual How can you, you know, art and business, I think, and I want to highlight, and it was said by almost, if not, all of our guests, most of the seven guests that we've had. And one of the things they really highlighted, that I appreciated, was there's two types of art. There's art I make for myself, and, you know, I think Becca said, no one will ever see that, you know, and then there's art I make for clients. And black did a good job of highlighting that of you know, the starving artist, and then the working artist, that whole comparison he made. And so I think it's important to recognize that if you're going to be a professional artist, black calls it your draftsmanship. You know, Can you can you do a logo exactly how someone has it? You didn't design that logo, but they're not paying you to put your creative spin on it, you know. And the fact of the matter is, you know, you're not Picasso. Someone's not in the market for you, or you're, you know, they're not looking for a bassier. They're looking for their vision. And you to kind of extrapolate that. And so I think, you know, when it comes to art and business, that, to me, has been the biggest lesson. Biggest standout is working. And Dan mentioned, you know, some newer artists having their feathers ruffled a little bit when it comes to the design process. And I could totally understand, like, when you put your heart and soul and hours into a design, you know, does you know what I don't want to hear? No, I don't want to hear, you know, Oh, I hate it, you know, let's scrap it. That's not really what I was looking for. Well, okay, I just spent hours working on it. And it's like, you have to recognize that, you know, Don't hate the player, hate the game, like, that's, that's the name of the game, you know, don't it's, it's just, Okay. Well, let's find something that that works with, you know, and then there's other ancillary things that you need to consider, have a good service agreement, you know, so that you're, you're baking in two revisions to a rendering, and anything after that's an hourly rate, so that you're, you know, valuing your time on top of that. And and I think it also comes with the territory we've been in. We've been doing this five years now, coming up on our sixth year this fall, of actually doing projects, and now Dan and I can identify like, oh, that client's going to need a service agreement for sure, you know. And that's not, that's not a an analysis of who they are as a person or personal at all. That's just we know that they want a very particular thing. So we need to protect our time and our artists time. And I think that's where us as a conduit, as a platform for for artists, you know, when you come work with us, that's kind of the value we provide, right? Is, you know, you're not going to go back and forth with the client. You're going to talk to us, and you can speak freely to us, you know? And we're going to be able to translate that, if you're familiar with that bit with Obama and his translator off of the key appeal, yeah, I believe that's key is the of key, and peel is his translator. So Obama will say something very statesman like, and then he'll have his impersonator

Anika Jones 13:36
for laymanster, yeah, well, I guess that's a that's a great that's a great way to describe it. How do you, on the other end of it, show the artist to put together a great portfolio, a great body of work, to be able to present in a way that you you know that you could be paid for it, and that you feel like you're giving that level of client and Artist Relations.

Dan Bulgatz 14:00
It sounds crazy, but the easiest and quickest way for them to do it is Instagram, yeah, like, it's like, and it sucks that that is the way. But it's, it's one of the things that's, there's a couple of universal platforms. So it's a YouTube, Google, you know, Instagram is another one of those that you can get to on almost any website in any country. And so I would say that that's the easiest way. And then following that, there's obviously CVS and portfolios and all sorts of slews of different ways to project your stuff and put it on a website. And you know, you can get down that whole rabbit hole, and that rabbit hole is something that we try to unravel a bit through the graffiti part catalog, and we've got videos on some of those, and Dan's teaching a class coming up here in like a week about it. And so I think the that's definitely the first way, and the way that we've honestly found a lot of these artists has always been through Instagram. And so if nothing else, start, yeah. I

Dan Moloney 14:52
mean, Dan and I have a joke, I'm gonna refer to some pop culture videos here or not. And. I've already done one, so if you're not in tune, I apologize, but we're giving you homework. But you can see that's how we communicate via memes and gifts. But another, another thing is just the video I was talking about is he's kind of he's making fun of Gary V who's pretty big on making content, and this guy is trying to make shawarma, and he's making fun of Gary V's like, are you making content? He's like, No, I'm making shawarma. He's like, No, but are you making content? And he's like, No, I'm making shawarma. And so the joke there is Dana, and I always say, like, are you making content? And it's like, half feels like sometimes half of the day we're, we're making content for our platforms. And so, to Dan's point, like, you know, people don't know what. They don't know. So and so. And we do, we try our best. Like, if you, if you look at our iPads, or we have little brochures that we bring to clients, and it's, you know, it's our entire portfolio of all these different artists. And so they kind of have, okay, I really like that one. So it's like, Okay, then we'll get that artist to design this. Or, you know, if we find different themes, like, if there's artists that are really good at scenes, or, you know, landscapes, it's like, we know if that's what the client's looking for, we know where, you know where to point. And I think that it also lends to another point. And kind of how we got started is that's kind of the graffiti Park Foundation is, you know, the nonprofit side of things is, if you need a space to come paint, we have a place at the lead Boys and Girls Club office of hair in Decatur. You know, you can reach out to us on Instagram. And, you know, we have put, you know, opportunity for you to paint. We have used used paint. We call em scrap cans. We sell them at a discount. You can buy new paint. You can bring your own paint. You can come and practice. And so our first 18 months in operation, where these, we call them C caps, community collaboration art projects, where, you know, Dan and I are coming out of our own savings to pay for paint and supplies and stuff. And, you know, an artist would come and try out and and we've heard that from a couple artists too. Oh, I heard my buddy invited me to this school, and so I came and painted. And so it's, you know, we'll try our best to find you and you can reach out to us, and if we can see that you're awesome on Instagram, like we're going to put you in the Rolodex. And you know, we're looking to find ways to have more of those c cap type projects, and looking for a strategic partnership. So if you're interested, you know, if you're looking or have a space that's on, you know, that's visible, or whatever, and you don't care what kind of art, or you care what kind of art, but the quality of that art can vary. Like, you know, we're always looking for opportunities to give artists that chance to kind of build their portfolio. And I think that's a part of it, is, if you can't build it yourself, we want to give you a chance to help build you that portfolio, give you the skills

Anika Jones 17:51
so and certainly give you the opportunity to take one of these classes to learn how to do so. Pick the pick. Be able to highlight your best work and just a lot of things that I've seen you guys be able to roll out in the last couple of years that have been really beneficial to the industry. What are some other maybe tips or ideas for artists who are wanting to get involved in some of the things that we've got going on, whether that's from an artist perspective or from a teaching perspective. So,

Dan Moloney 18:19
you know, not a shameless plug, but next Wednesday. So if you're listening to this before Wednesday, February 12, we have a free class 7pm at that lead location, and it's how to apply for mural jobs. And so we're going to talk and cover if, that if. And I think the first thing is, you know. So we have that class. It's an hour long, you know, there's gonna be a Q and A we're gonna kind of showcase everything we've learned in five years of doing this, and the hundreds of 1000s of square feet we've been able to paint. And so if you've identified, you know, you have the skill set, you had the portfolio, but you don't know how to apply for these jobs, then that might be a good opportunity, you know, and also, you know, recognize Clark County offers these types of classes, City of Las Vegas when they can. And so, you know, utilize your resources would be the first step, if you're listening after we will have that available on our YouTube that you can go watch other other than that, though, I think I kind of just answered going back a little bit like, You got to identify what, what you need to upskill yourself on, yeah, you know. And it's also goes back to just having thick skin, like, you know, some artists need to be told no on their design, yeah, you know. And, and that's not, you know, I'm again, like, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, 100% but not from a paying client, you know. And so I think you'd have to recognize, like, maybe I need if I shouldn't be trying to get commission mural jobs, if I don't know how to have a clean workspace or, you know, so if you need to help on how to prep a space or what material to buy, you know, identify that we can point you in the right direction. Either via a free class or just tell you whatever,

Anika Jones 20:04
isn't that like? More about channeling and knowing your audience and being able to kind of understand like, Okay, I want to go after mural installation projects solely right now, knowing how to channel that particular client, opposed to going after everybody, hoping that they want a mural installation like you guys have shown in different ways, too, through these classes, how to kind of scale that and and find what that journey is for you as an artist. Do you find that that's a little difficult too, to kind of get an artist to say, Hey, this is what's like making you money. Like, I know you love making these sculptures over here, but this over here is making you money, and this is good for you, so maybe that's your pleasure piece, and then over here maybe focus that way and like, deal with your artists, I mean, with your clients in that way, yes

Dan Bulgatz 20:50
and no, but in a lot of ways, like, we're teaching all of these artists how to do exactly what we're doing at the caliber we're doing. Like, the whole purpose of graffiti Park is not to take all of the mural jobs or to become this giant entity that oversees it all, but it's more so to bolster up our community to where they feel like they're confident and able and willing to go out and do the work at the caliber that should it should be done at, I think, which is important to notice, and so like For Dan and I, it's, it's no skin off our back if you don't want to work with us, you know, it's no skin off our back if you just want to show up for some of the for some of the classes, or secretly watch our videos or something, you know, like, that's no skin off our back. We're teaching you the skills that Dan and I have learned the hard way. And the whole premise behind this is not, again, to be that entity, but it's to show that eventually, when we build this graffiti Park, when we have this place where we can teach all these classes, where you can come in for free, where you don't have to look over your shoulder of like, who's I am, you for spray painting and learning a skill that can be translated into a very lucrative career for some you know. So I think that's really important to highlight that we're not here to to monopolize, to do any of that, we're here to cultivate a space in a community where people feel like they're able to do that. Yeah? For anybody listening, know that that's the impetus, that's our why. That's what we're working towards. That's where we're going. Yeah,

Anika Jones 22:12
collaborative sort of effort, I think, helps people channel that network for themselves. And maybe that's what it is. Maybe that's why people are so kind of not really finding their space in their audience, because they don't really have a community, a collaborative effort to work with, to say, hey, you know, I'm seeing you're doing really well over here. Maybe focus on that. Or maybe, like, you know, I know some people who might be into that, that, yeah, you could work with. I think,

Dan Moloney 22:33
I think there's two things I want to add to that. To Dan's point, not only are we, you know, trying to create that to that community that you're talking about, I think, you know, admittedly, like, we're trying to make it as turnkey as possible for you. You know, when you and anyone who's worked with us on a commission Job knows, you know, once, like, we're going to work with the client, you're going to show up, it's going to be prepped. We're going to have the paint ready for you. You're literally showing up and painting your piece. And if and any other artists that hasn't that's doing it on their own. You know, you're paying for your own insurance, you're paying for your own workers comp, you're paying the scissor lift fee. You got to buy all the paint and all that's coming out of that, that bid for that job. And so, you know, we're trying to make it to where there is a benefit. You know, it's, by all means, take what we've learned. We're going to tell you what we've learned, go get your own stuff. But we also want to create the opportunity for you to recognize, like, oh, it's fun working and and then that also adds to what you were just talking about. That collaborative aspect is, you know, we just did a project at, and I'll just leave names and location at, but we just did a project at six different artists on it. And, you know, one of the artists put and we use discord for our communication. And one of the artists said, I, you know, I love working with you guys. I always feel so much more creative, like I want to do more fun projects like this. And this is an artist that, you know, he's a graffiti artist at heart, and, you know, and we can get into the whole vandalism, graffiti park or graffiti thing, because we have about six minutes left, and I want to touch that, because I think that's a fun hot topic and relates to what we're talking about, but, but that's him expressing, you know, hey, I feel more creative, and I feel welcomed and included in this environment. And, like, that's, you know, if we, if we had little testimonials to kind of summarize the environments we're trying to create at these projects, like, that's one I would point to, is, yeah, you know, yeah. We want to make you feel creative. We want you to show up. We want it to be fun and and easy. Like, create the art. Focus on that. Like, I don't want you having to track down a city of North Las Vegas business license, and then that's not why you're that's why you're not doing the project, you know. And those, all those things are important and necessary in your journey if you want to be that professional self sufficient artist, and we'll teach you how to do that too. But if that's not where you're at, like the

Anika Jones 24:50
very first thing that I said as soon as we started, was, how can I contribute, and, you know, communicating with people and being able to connect with people something that I do well and be able to do. It on this platform is something that have valued very much, so, and I'm sure that the artists have as well. So you definitely have shown me that creativity and that space for a platform as well. Well,

Dan Bulgatz 25:11
that's awesome. And let's dive into that a little bit, because I think one of the coolest things that you get to talk about as the director of development for the foundation is, is that, is it vandalism? Is it graffiti? Is it, you know, and that's something I think that is a hot topic, because everybody loves to point to vandalism or graffiti or yada yada, but Dan, what is your take on it? What is your

Dan Moloney 25:35
I'll try to be as brief as possible. Brief, concise. I think there's a time and a place like we're by no means we intentionally chose graffiti Park as a name because we wanted to elevate graffiti artists and street artists, and we can that's a whole debate. Is it street art, or is it graffiti? Whatever? I'm not here to debate that, but we wanted to elevate the individuals that had that talent, gain those skills via graffiti, that want to become professional artists or get commissioned for their work, or dive into that space. If you're a graffiti writer that wants to be a traditional graffiti writer and live by the rules of the graffiti street world like that. That's a community that's existed and we can get into that's a whole separate podcast, like, exist there. Like, awesome, you know. But there's also this other, other untapped market where you can exist and not work a nine to five, and so that's what we're trying. So to me, it's like, I think the bigger question is vandalism, art, you know, and that you could just kind of depends. I think it's a gray area. Well,

Anika Jones 26:38
I think the only gray area is space and legalities, right? Yeah, so if we're providing a space for you, and that space is allowing you to come and express your art, that is the difference, and being able to show people that and then seeing that, hey, we put this here. We wanted this here, and we wanted to invoke some sort of emotion out of you. That emotion might not be positive, but we wanted you to feel something from what we feel by creating this art. And that's really no pun intended. Pun intended. That's the art of it all is people's reaction and the community that's built around that. So if we can create that space for you, if we can make it legit for you, in the sense that it's legal, and then it pays you, and it's a living that you are proud of. I mean, how who has a problem with that? You know what? I mean,

Dan Moloney 27:26
right? And, and there's also, you know, there's people that, like, I was saying, like, committed to the I'm a writer, you know, I'm a graffiti writer. Like, Heck, yeah, man, you know, you set the foundation. Like, like, that's you. The world is your oyster, as I like to say. So, yeah, I mean, but I think it's, I really like what you said. We're doing it to make you feel something. You know that that's Stephen Pressfield has a really good book, so I think it's something like, what is art? Or something like that. Fact check me, if you're watching this, we'll put the actual title there. Hold on. I gotta pull that up so I can finish my anyway, Steven Pressfield, he's got this awesome book, and then he pretty much boils down to, like, what is art? And it's something that evokes emotion, makes you feel something could be positive, could be negative. And so the old idea is, graffiti. Art is vandalism. Art doesn't make you feel something, you know. And so there you go, The War of Art. Thank you.

Anika Jones 28:29
I have heard of that great Well, the thing we're always talking about art too, from the viewers perspective, it's a voice, and being able to provide that voice, being able to express that voice, and be able to have a space and a platform for that. That's what we stand for, and I'm glad to be part of

Dan Moloney 28:46
that. Yeah, and that was a quick 30 minutes. I'm a little sad we're going to be doing more of these hot topic, just the core, solid foundation team coming at you and covering more of these 25 we covered two of the 25 so we're off to a good start. If you are interested in finding more about graffiti park, you can find us on Instagram at graffiti Park, underscore LV, you can also find us at graffiti park.org you can find us and listen to us on Spotify Apple Music, and in some months time, you'll be able to find this on YouTube and our Instagram and so we never he's the man behind the lens. Little shout out to Mr. Sean McGuire. Mr. Sean, no, thank you. Thank you. You can't hear him content, but he's here. He's doing laps around us. It's been a fun time. We hope you have a great week, month, afternoon, and we'll see you next time sign it off you.