Check Out Geoffrey Shamos’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Geoffrey Shamos. 

Hi Geoffrey, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Responding to what they perceived as a need for more dialogue and critical engagement among local creatives, the organization’s founders — Sarah McKenzie, Sarah Wambold, and Whitney Carter — hoped to harness the energy of the robust arts scene and growing creative sector along the Front Range. With a dynamic group of artists and community members, they formed Tilt West as a way to bring people together to discuss important, contemporary issues, strengthen connections within the creative community, and elevate the stature of regional arts and culture. 

Since its inception six years ago, Tilt West has contributed to the expansion of critical exchange and creative networks in the Rocky Mountain region and beyond by hosting dozens of roundtable discussions, producing numerous community events, and publishing a journal. Our all-volunteer board, which operates non-hierarchically, is comprised of local members of the creative community. 

Tilt West aims to provide a platform for inclusive community discussion and debate on a range of issues relevant to cultural production in Colorado and beyond. The themes, insights, and networks that emerge through our events and publications serve as catalysts for further exchange and action. Our programming connects, fosters, and amplifies the creative community in our region. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Although creating and growing a nonprofit organization is never easy, Tilt West’s road has been remarkably smooth. The roundtable discussions, which bring together local creatives for conversations on topical issues in the arts, were embraced almost immediately and have remained popular. The roundtables allowed Tilt West to find its footing while reaching an ever-growing audience. Colorado’s creative community is an important source of both funding and volunteers. Among the latter are the members of Tilt West’s board, who have steered the organization strategically while performing a variety of essential roles in the absence of a paid staff. 

As with most arts organizations, the pandemic has certainly created challenges. Roundtable discussions–a vibrant source of in-person conversations–were forced to go online. More challenging was the launch of the Tilt West Journal in March 2020 – which, as it turns out, was just days before the national shutdown – thwarting promotional events and celebratory gatherings. Building an audience for a new publication amidst the pandemic has been difficult in the current environment. 

Despite such challenges, our virtual roundtables still generate robust discussions, and going online has extended the reach of the organization beyond the local community to include national – and even international –prompters and participants. Tilt West has also managed to complete two additional issues of the journal, with a well-attended launch event in September 2021 to celebrate the completion of the third issue on “Art & Labor.” 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Tilt West plays an important role in the local creative community by convening critical conversations around the arts. Topics for the roundtable discussions – usually located at the intersection of creative practice and contemporary issues – are selected by Tilt West’s board with suggestions from the local community. Topics have included wide-ranging subjects from “The Art and Politics of Afrofuturism” to “Curiosity and Deceleration” to “Technology and the Body.” Anyone can sign up to join a roundtable discussion but the conversations are limited in size to 30 participants to promote engaged, thoughtful conversations that are often intense, but always respectful. Discussions are prompted by someone with a deep knowledge of the subject who suggests preparatory materials prior to the conversation. Participants wait until the end of the conversation to introduce themselves to ensure that it’s ideas, not individuals, that are elevated. For those in attendance, the roundtables provide a lively venue for critical exchange and interpersonal connections, and each conversation extends beyond the initial event through our posting of a SoundCloud recording of the discussion for others to enjoy, as well as a written response to the conversation by a participant on our medium platform. 

The launch of the Tilt West Journal in 2020 has further expanded the reach and scope of the critical discourse promoted by the organization. With three issues completed and a fourth currently underway, the journal features innovative content from a diverse group of contributors working across a variety of mediums. Having an online publication platform allows for time-based sound and video offerings in addition to critical writing, poetry, and visual art content. While the journal aims to highlight local creatives, recent issues have included contributors from outside our immediate region as well, which fosters interplay between local and national creatives and beneficial connections for artists here in Colorado. The rich diversity of contributors to the Journal has been recognized by the University of Colorado’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, which has provided financial support for our upcoming fourth issue on “Art and Science.” 

Tilt West values creative labor and is particularly proud to be able to compensate artists for their contributions to the organization’s programming, including prompters and writers for the roundtables and those providing curation and content for the journals. It’s especially meaningful that the organization’s funding comes primarily from Tilt West’s large group of members. Money provided by the local, creative community stays within the creative economy. 

How do you define success?
Promoting critical discourse in the region has been Tilt West’s mission and focus, so we’re thrilled any time that happens through a roundtable discussion or publication of another issue of the Journal. It’s reaffirming to see participation grow and people look to Tilt West to provide engagement and connections within the creative community. There is a strong desire to amplify that community in this area, so any success for Tilt West feels like a win for Denver, and vice versa. 

Contact Info:

• Email: info@tiltwest.org
• Website: https://www.tiltwest.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiltwest/?utm_medium=copy_link
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TiltWest/
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tilt-west/
• Other: https://tiltwest.medium.com/

Image Credits
Tilt West