An Update from Kazoo! Fest

A few weeks ago we released a statement addressing some concerns that were raised in the community and asked you to share your thoughts. We’ve taken some time to reflect and absorb that feedback. Based on the responses we received, it’s clear that we didn’t get things right in how we approached this issue. 

We’d like to apologize to our community. An artist we’ve worked with used racist imagery in their personal artistic practice and we promoted their work as part of the Kazoo! Print Expo. We are sorry for the harm that our association with this artist has caused, and we are sorry that our work with this artist made people feel unwelcome or unsafe. We’ve always aspired to create safe spaces for live music and art and in this particular situation, we didn’t live up to those values.

Moving forward, we have decided that we will retire the Kazoo! logo that was created by this artist. While in some ways this image came to represent the positive community values of Kazoo! Fest, recent associations have made it clear that we cannot continue to use this logo. We’d also like to clarify that we have not worked with this artist since the summer of 2019 and we will not be working with them for our final event.

As a small arts festival currently 100% run by volunteers, we rely on the support of our entire community to help us engage and respond to issues. We’d like to thank everyone who has acted in good faith and reached out to help us.

Unfortunately, we will not be hosting our final festival this April, but we are planning to host a smaller farewell sendoff this summer. Thanks for your patience, support, and understanding.

Love, Kazoo!