Check Out Anastasia Gardi’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anastasia Gardi.

Hi Anastasia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
From a young age, I was fascinated by defining what it was that strengthened newly formed bonds.

What was the secret ingredient to connecting different cultures and individuals?

Growing up in the Kansas suburbs as a second-generation Indian and Eastern European- from a young age, it was hard to fit in. Despite all the differences between my community, family, and myself; I slowly started to discover connections between each distinctly different group. Although distinctions remained present, there were always certain commonalities we could always fall back on to connect. When trying to relate to family, it always came down to curating an inviting space to find common ground and genuinely connect. The recipe I discovered by traveling half the continents before high school was that people come together over the same three things: food, drinks, and music.

Finding ways to push what was conventional in every community was what I wanted to fill each day curating spaces for unlikely people to create innovative solutions together. Medicine and International Business and Security were at the forefront of my focus during my academic career. My heart later shifted to digital marketing when Covid hit, after working with multiple music companies in the Midwest to promote festivals and shows all over the country.

There was no direct path to event coordinating and trying to get into the music industry. So I realized I would have to create my own. Pioneering my degree was a unique experience that has slowly led me to a versatile path where I can now focus on more than one discipline. In May 2021, I graduated from Emporia State University on the honor roll list with a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies and a digital marketing minor.

A newer degree, called Interdisciplinary studies, allowed me to pinpoint disciplines I was interested in, then find a leading-edge tactic to combine emergency management, digital marketing, and international business. I was proud that during my collegiate experience, I had created ways to hone my primary focuses. This degree allowed me to study safety to maximize inclusivity, how to meticulously tackle big-picture issues like events, and coordinate events that left an ahead of its time impression on its patrons.

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?
Many of us have struggles that make it harder to do what we need or want. My complications have been health-related after surviving a severe collision during my senior year of high school. This sudden stop to my daily routine made many familiar aspects of my life extremely hard to handle.

Over time with the help of my family, doctors, and other medical professionals, I have found a way to tag team my health issues which used to feel like a life sentence to my music industry dreams.

Another hill I could have never prepared for came near the end of obtaining my Bachelor’s degree. Covid affected the music and arts community with no remorse. It almost seemed like we would never go out dancing again. I would never be able to share artistically curated spaces that made mundane routine life feel magical. I would never be able to make memories with the people I loved over the dinner table, in a music venue, or share innovative ideas with others again. Venues went silent. Restaurants around for years had to close their doors. Servers, artists, bartenders, and musicians, included all the people in my environment.

Optimism became of the utmost importance to improve every moment I could. These shifts in the past few years have pushed me to pursue my dreams in event coordinating and digital design.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What sets me apart as a businesswoman and content creator is that I am a self-motivated jack of all trades. I never want to stop learning. I am a digital marketer, event coordinator, and entrepreneur. This year I have chosen to start my own company combing my knowledge of art, technology, business, and customer service. My passion project, “Avant-Gardi”, was formed at the end of the pandemic to keep experimental cultural events alive in Kansas City.

My overall vision includes doing whatever it takes to design versatile, aesthetically far-out events that pay special attention to highlighting the out-of-the-ordinary. My self-started company focuses on furthering the avant-garde of the digital age through storytelling, art, culture, and community events.

My mission is that Avant-Gardi will push societal boundaries regularly. The primary goal of expressing and formulating as many groundbreaking and trailblazing ideas as possible for communities globally. By adopting an unorthodox business design structure, similar to how I had to create my degree path in university, I want to find ways where we can all win. Making it a daily goal to pay more attention to the arts, music, and cultural scene in Kansas City, I hope to connect more progressive minds than ever before.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Collaboration is the key to my brand, and I urge you to get in touch through email or social media if you stay involved with the music and arts community out of the pure joy of the craft. I am always looking to create new partnerships to benefit all parties involved. Small businesses forming long-term relationships- will ultimately create long-term success. I urge any venues, artists, or musicians interested in making bold moves in the community to reach out to me. Never hesitate to contact me through social media or email, and I hope we can somehow come together to lift each other.

The support of the collaborative art and venue space, Big House, has already been a vital asset in the arts community. They assisted me with putting on a successful first Avant-Gardi curated event with a Nightmare before Christmas theme. On November 5th, I booked five local DJs and two small-business owners for an underground, secret location bass showcase for the books. This incomparable spot overlooking the Kauffman and the crossroads reminded me how much I love the city and how I would like to strengthen the music and arts community locally and one day globally.

Coordinating all these bold brands under one roof was wildly successful in attendance and good energy. Anyone looking to participate in nights like these should stay tuned to the Avant-Gardi social media pages to join in on the fun.

Pricing:

• Poster/Flyer Creation: $25 hourly
• Contact for Monthly Rates
• Social Media Management
• Paid Promotion
• Event Coordination

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: lift.bio/avantgardi
• Instagram: @avant.gardi

Image Credits
Calvin Hoeun Photography @cali.ports