Meet Cristina Fisher, Event & Content Manager of Space24Twenty
Photos by Briana Purser; Location courtesy of Jessie Katz
As the Events and Content Manager for Urban Outfitter’s Space 24 Twenty, an event venue housed within the retailer’s shared space on Guadalupe, Cristina Fisher steers the ship. Programming, event production, blog features, social media, and photography — Fisher runs it all for the space, allowing for a kind of creative control that lets her tailor the space to the Austin scene and to morph the venue into a place reflecting the artistic interests of the community at large. At the same time, Fisher operates in that arts community herself, indulging a creative passion for photography that both fulfills her need for a creative outlet and gives her an authentic understanding of the kind of events will connect with Austin audiences.
Since opening in December 2015, Space 24 Twenty has hosted yoga practice, a dance party, an indigo dye workshop, a craft fair, a vintage fair, and, of course, multiple live music showcases. Recently, Fisher introduced several pop-up food events to the space to tap into the Austin’s other prized sensory experience (the first being auditory).
Below, Fisher talks programming for the space, the Austin creative community, and how she balances her creative job with her creative passion.
Follow Cristina on Instagram here and catch the space at our 2-Year Anniversary Fundraiser this Friday.
On getting connected in the Austin creative community:
It's worked out pretty organically. Many times, I'll host an event with someone who introduces me to someone else who ends up being a great candidate to work with. I've been building on a lot of a lot of introductions for these events in addition to reaching out to artists that I've always wanted to have the opportunity to work with. Space 24 Twenty in general feels like a great platform for creatives to host to a larger audience.
On the platform a space like Space 24 Twenty can give artists:
It's a good space for the community to learn about other local creatives that they might not have come across already. For me, it's important to really think about that reach when working with these super talented individuals — that is, to give them the opportunity to access a new audience.
On the creative control she has running the space:
As a whole, it's been really fun having ownership on something. I've been lucky to have a ton of creative freedom on the events and content that I'm curating here, so it feels like the Space is not only a reflection of the community, but a reflection of me as a person. Running the space from a 360 view has challenged me to explore new skills that I wasn't as comfortable doing previously.
On balancing her creative job with her creative side hustle:
I've had a hard time balancing the two because I am now doing something as my full time job that I was previously just doing as creative outlet [photography.] It takes time management to know that it's okay to take a day completely off to focus on myself and my own creative endeavors.
With that said, having photography as a hobby has been essential in helping me with ideas for the Space and vice versa. At the end of the day, personal and work life influence each other a lot in this role.
On what she appreciates about the Austin creative community:
Austin is unique to me in that it doesn't feel completely intimidating or competitive to do something creative. It's in this really cool sweet spot right now where it's growing in size, but still small enough to allow for your own niche idea or skill (i.e. Bossbabes ATX) to turn into something super recognizable. It seems like creatives in Austin don't feel the need to conform, and aren't afraid to embrace their own style or aesthetic. Keep Austin Weird, right?