FAQ

What is Spiral Collective?
Spiral Collective is a collaborative effort amongst a group of Lowell-based artists. We aim to promote the growth and appreciation of local art and to provide opportunities for local artists to showcase their talents. Spiral consists of musicians, painters, poets, writers, crafters, bakers, and people who simply appreciate art. Finally, Spiral is united by its approach to art; we believe that art is a valuable end in itself and take an explicit stance against the commodification of art and the idea that art is valuable only as a saleable product. We believe in art for art's sake, and through our community-based efforts we intend to spread that ethos to both makers and patrons of various different kinds of creativity.

Can anyone join?
Absolutely! This isn't called a collective for nothing! Spiral is an open source project, and we are always looking for like-minded artists to help us expand the potential of our efforts. If you think that you would like to participate in Spiral Collective, please email us at info@spiralcollective.org and tell us about your interests. We will tell you everything you need to know.

How can I help?
There are several ways to help us out. The first, and most hands-off, is to donate to our paypal account. Spiral is a non-profit collective, but putting out a magazine, putting on local shows, and setting up galleries isn't always cheap. Your donations go a long way to helping us give local artists a platform on which to display their accomplishments. Secondly, we can often use volunteers at specific events, setting up and breaking down. If you see a Spiral event coming up and feel generous, please email info@spiralcollective.org and we'll let you know how you can help. Finally, if you feel like committing more time and becoming fully involved in Spiral, you can become a member. We have various committees involved in different projects at any given time, so please email us at info@spiralcollective.org with some of the artistic projects you have interest and/or expertise in and we will let you know where to go from there.

How do I submit to Columns?
As you may know, Spiral publishes a local arts/culture/politics magazine called Columns. If you are a writer of prose, poetry, reviews, stories, or essays, or are a visual artist, and would like to have your material considered for inclusion in a future issue of Columns, please email your submission as an attachment to columns@spiralcollective.org. Please include any pertinent instructions about formatting of written work so that we make sure things look how you want them to. Also, please remember that we are too poor to publish in full color, so any visual material needs to look decent in grayscale. And finally, Columns will not print any material that espouses sexist, racist, homophobic, ageist, ableist, or any otherwise prejudicial ideas (not that we needed to tell you!)

I work with another group and would like to host an event in conjunction with Spiral. How do I do that?
Simple! Just drop an email with your ideas to events@spiralcollective.org and one of us will get back to you with more information.