Despite two years of pandemic pause in 2020 and 2021, the locally founded CloudTop Comedy Festival pulled in roughly 1,200 folks for last year’s post-pandemic events according to Founder and Director Jessica Baxter. (If you missed it, SFR published a cover story about CloudTop).
Part of the reason for the big crowds might have been a big name like comedian/filmmaker Hari Kondabolu coming to town but, Baxter says, the New Mexico comedy scene has grown so much in the last few years that locals have become more accustomed to attending shows.
Now, as Baxter gears up for the festival’s third year—which runs May 9-12 next year, as opposed to the autumnal shows of fests past—she’s offering $4,000 out of a total $20,000 financial windfall from the city to hire on a local artist to design the main stage.
“At our last fest, I recruited volunteers and friends to create puffy clouds for the stage out of pillow stuffing,” Baxter tells SFR. “And it was…modest, but really charming. I’d like to build on that idea, and I think Santa Fe is filled with brilliant artists, so it’s a great opportunity for someone interested in the spirit of the festival.”
Interested artists can apply through cloudtopcomedy.com/art, and though Baxter does like the fluffy cloud idea, she says organizers are “very open-minded.”
“It doesn’t need to be clouds,” she says, “but this is one piece of the festival we’re very excited to do. CloudTop is as much about Santa Fe as it is about comedy. I tell [comedy] producers everywhere I go that Santa Fe is an art town—I want to brag about that. Santa Fe is a city of artists.”
CloudTop will likely span five or six stages in 2024, though this particular call for artists applies to the main stage. The $4,000 stipend is also meant to cover materials, but Baxter says the design need not be expensive to wow organizers.
Submissions are open through Friday, Feb. 15 and the selected artist will be announced later that month. Comedy fans will also get the chance to see CloudTop-produced comedy before the main festival in May during the Love Sucks pop-up at form & concept gallery on Feb. 14—Valentine’s Day.
