It seemed very fitting to meet Sara De La Cruz, the founder of the Ginsberg markets, in such a cool location as Box Office Café. After travelling around the world for five years, including a trek through South America, working on a boat in Greece, and living in London and the Gold Coast, Sara is back to her hometown with a new idea to revitalise the city.
“The idea came to me when I woke up one morning in Ecuador. I was doing a bit of soul searching and thought wouldn’t it be a great idea to start a market,” she says. “Then I came back and saw that there was a gap in the market. There was no platform for our creatives to get their work out.”
Unlike many people of Geelong, Sara’s break from her hometown has allowed her to see that the city is on the cusp of change. “It’s at that pivotal point where change is here. Darryn Lyons is now mayor, and it’s just really evident that Geelong’s ready for change,” Sara says.
With a bit of determination and drive to succeed, Sara enrolled in the NEIS program (New Enterprise Incentive Scheme) and has spent 10 months fine-tuning the idea.
“Going overseas gave me a new-found appreciation for Geelong. We live in a beautiful country and a beautiful town but we’re not utilising it to its full potential. And that’s where my drive came from,” Sara says.
Sara’s passion for Geelong is evident, as she hasn’t created an ordinary Saturday market but a market that gives back to the community.
“The idea is that a certain percentage of our door sales and sponsorship will go into the artist and designer kitty,” she says. “At the end of the season through public vote, we’ll decide on who’s had the most impact and been the most influential. They then get that kitty as funding for their brand or whatever they need to do.”
Sara could easily keep that money for herself but she’d much rather see her fellow creatives make a name for themselves, whether it be through creating a website, buying art supplies, or whatever they need to succeed.
“It’s all about nurturing the creatives we’ve got. And we really want to see them succeed and get somewhere,” Sara says.
Aside from the money aspect, Sara really wants to create an event where people can gather together, hang out and share ideas. “I really wanted to make it more of an event where people can come and chill out; where they don’t feel like they have to leave,” she says. “To be somewhere where a bunch of creatives can all gather and all be inspired by each other. “
As for the name of the market and logo, it’s actually the face of Allen Ginsberg, an American poet infamous for starting the Beat Generation and revolution. “It’s really about getting this creative collective and pioneering a creative movement, and he’s just so symbolic of that,” she says. “He has inspired me to instil some sort of creative revolution in Geelong, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
After a successful first market, Sara hopes to one day start a company that can fund projects for artists in Geelong. “Hopefully I will create a company where if somebody wants to start a magazine or do a skate video we will give them the money to make it possible,” Sara says. “It’s about being able to enable dreams, and that’s a nice feeling. “
Written by Amanda Sherring