If You Build It...
Bay Area brand NVR OVR is building a place for activists and creatives to thrive.
After a little summer vacation, The Spark is back. Autumn is almost here so let’s ride ‘till the leaves fall off…
Spark Nation,
If you build it, they will come.
Noah built the Ark, we built The Spark, and Marty Aranaydo is building an incubator for activists and creatives in The Bay.
So we spoke with Aranaydo to hear more about what he’s cooking up with his brand NVR OVR, and why it’s so important to invest in your own community.
We’ve also got a job opportunity in artist management, and a weekly reminder to keep going… even if you find yourself stranded in NYC.
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Let’s get to it.
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📬 Have questions for us? Feedback? Want to share your work? Email us at thespark@ideageneration.com
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HOW'D YOU THINK OF THAT?!
Marty Aranaydo’s plan to give back with NVR OVR.
Since he was a teenager growing up in East Oakland, Marty Aranaydo has been combining his twin passions for art and social justice. Aranaydo came up painting walls with the late Bay graffiti legend Mike “Dream” Francisco, but he’s also trained activists and rappelled off bridges and buildings to hang banners for organizations like The Ruckus Society and the Indigenous Peoples Power Project. For the past decade-plus, Aranaydo’s brand NVR OVR has been a catch-all for his intersection of activism and creativity.
From clothing to parties to workshops, NVR OVR does it all, and now they’re launching a month-long takeover at SoleSpace Lab to present the NVR OVR Cultural Center filled with workshops, tastings, exhibitions, vintage clothing and more.
We talked with Aranaydo about the mission of NVR OVR, what creatives can expect during the pop-up, and why bringing art to activism is everything.
What is NVR OVR?
Big picture? Brother Malcolm said, "Culture is an indispensable weapon in the freedom struggle,” and NVR OVR means culture must continue.
Nuts and bolts, NVR OVR is an umbrella for a bunch of different creative projects. I’ve been an artist and an activist since I was a teenager. I grew up painting trains and writing graffiti in Oakland/Berkeley/SF and my activism’s taken me around the world working for organizations like The Indigenous Peoples Power Project (IP3), Greenpeace, and NDN Collective. NVR OVR is a way to unite both of those parts of my life.
It started as a blog (shouts out Blogger) and an open format party at a punk dive bar called Eli’s Mile High Club in The Town. It’s been a monthly shirt release party and a flagship store in the Tenderloin in San Francisco, with a bespoke speakeasy through the dressing room. The pandemic shut that down but with a name like ours it couldn’t stop there.
Right now it's a small clothing label, a DJ crew, and now a Cultural Center. It's also going to become a record label, a design team, and a BBQ gang.
“NVR OVR means culture must continue.”
What is happening at the Cultural Center pop up?
The NVR OVR Cultural Center will offer workshops for graffiti, DJing, sign painting, and protest art; tastings, art exhibitions, performances, celebration, community and cultural events, all in addition to new wearable offerings, vintage clothing and collaborative works.
My friends and fam are fucking stars, I want to lift them up and share what they bring with Oakland people so that we are empowered to keep up the good fight. The goal is to live out the DNA that is coded in the name.
“The NVR OVR Cultural Center will offer workshops for graffiti, DJing, sign painting, and protest art.”
What are you looking to provide to the community with the pop up?
I want to put skills in the hands of the people and bring some shine to Oakland, especially downtown where the wrong things are popping up and the good stuff is closing. If you're paying attention, the world is shitting on Oakland. Every header and post is poverty porn that makes us look like the fucking Mad Max b-roll. Gentrifuckation makes our beloved city unrecognizable, the economy unhouses people and pushes them into camps, the police weren't de-funded and are useless at best. Even all the pro teams left us hanging and fully bounced out of Oakland. We have a long fight, but putting skills back in the hands of our people will see us through.
Any advice for young creatives looking to get their start?
Learn as much as you can and get started. Don't wait for perfect conditions or you'll never make the first move. Protect your loved ones. Don't call the police.
“We have a long fight, but putting skills back in the hands of our people will see us through.”
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TAKE THIS JOB!
Cool job listings for creatives.
Foundations is an artist management company that launched in 2000. It has since grown into a full-service Artist representation company with the mission of “providing uncompromising support to great Artists and assisting them in growing their careers.”
They are looking for a Tour Marketing Associate who will be responsible for:
Monitoring a high volume of marketing items from partners such as promoters and radio stations
Handling tracking, data entry, organization and uploading of tour assets/files into shared drive
Managing internal systems and processes to streamline marketing efficiencies and records
Ideally you have:
2 years of experience in tour marketing and/or relevant touring related positions in the music industry.
Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills
Ability to manage and multi-task in a high volume workload environment
Sound like you? Apply here.
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KEEP SHOOTING
Your weekly reminder to keep going.
Before he was one of the top celebrity stylists in the world, styling everyone from Michael B. Jordan to Angelina Jolie, Jason Bolden was stranded in New York City with bags of vintage clothes.
Bolden, living in Chicago at the time, had flown to New York with a friend to set up at a flea market in hopes of selling the threads he had brought with him from the Chi. But the flea market in NYC was a major L, and it looked like Bolden’s entire trip was too.
That was until Bolden and his friend went down to SoHo, and found an empty gallery space that they could rent for cheap. They set up shop, and slowly people started trickling in. Intrigued by the pop-up, the variety of clothes, and Bolden’s charm, customers swarmed. Within 3 days Bolden sold $75,000 worth of clothes.
Riding that momentum, Bolden maintained his presence in NYC, built his network, and eventually landed a gig styling Gabrielle Union for Art Basel. From there, Bolden’s ability to put people in clothes that made them feel and look great have carried his career to red carpets and campaigns around the world.