Meet Anne Fitzgerald | Artist & Avidstruggler

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anne Fitzgerald and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anne, what do you want people to remember about you?
I hope that my legacy involves the combination of art and environmentalism. Environmentalism has influenced my life in numerous ways, both in my personal life and my art practice. Not only do I want to educate people about climate change and endangered species, I also want to show people how they can be more eco-friendly with their art. Most importantly, I want people to remember that my art is a reflection of the struggles and the fantastical, my fears and dreams.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Branding myself as Avidstruggler means that the struggles, or challenges, are a part of my art. The initial idea came from when I was just starting to scan my art to create my online shops on Society6 and Redbubble, I was scanning my art at the public library (since they had a high resolution scanner for free use) and after scanning all my artwork I walked home. When I checked my artwork later I had found that I had left one of my works in the scanner, instead of being disappointed in myself for losing a piece of art I decided to let the experience influence my art practice. Thus the name Avidstruggler came into being. When it comes to a drawing or an art show opportunity, accepting that the struggle is inevitable then every opportunity turns into a learning experience. Some of my best drawings have had aspects where I mess up my original idea, and with learning to accept the mistake I can move on to creating something greater than I had expected.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Denver is such a wonderfully fun and diverse city. To start of with places to go eat, I would have to go to Illegal Pete’s for their burritos and margaritas; Blue Sushi is another favorite of mine with their vegan sushi selection. For breweries I would have to go with Briar Common Brewery and Stem Ciders. Briar Common has great beers and continuously new flavors. Stem Ciders made me fall in love with cider. Places that I would say to check out would be Tattered Cover Bookstore, ReCreative Denver, and Santa Fe’s First Friday art walks. Tattered Cover bookstore is one of my favorite places to go, either for a cup of coffee or to buy a book for a treat myself day. ReCreative Denver is a donations based art store, so all the products for sale are art supplies that have been donated; being environmentally minded this is my favorite art store to shop at. First Friday art walks in Santa Fe’s art district is certainly my favorite event that happens in Denver, exploring all the galleries and art is so inspiring and fun.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Besides being an artist , my other job is working as a Ballroom Technician at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. So I would like to dedicate my shoutout to the entire DCPA, especially the Seawell Ballroom crew. Since I started working at DCPA everyone has been very encouraging of my art, and also working in an environment with such creative people fuels my inspiration.

Website: https://linktr.ee/Avidstruggler

Instagram: Avidstruggler

Other: Email: avidstruggler@gmail.com

Image Credits
@avidstruggler