Toledo Local Flavor: CITIZEN PROFILE
Joel Robert Washing & Jacob David
Joel Robert Washing and Jacob David are the 20-something filmaker's behind Two Toledos. If you haven't heard about this film, you should... or rather you are now. It's a documentary about the very first sister cities relationship in the world—Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain— highlighting a history of cultural exchange. Two Toledos will be premiering during the 75th Anniversary celebrations of the sister cities in September of this year, but while the film garners publicity and enthusiastic support from Toledo, Spain, they don't have a venue secured here in Ohio. Yet.
In addition, Jacob and Joel are founders of Toledo Filmakers, a local collective working to make the film scene in Toledo stronger, and are owners of Above the Shop Studios—a production company.
Please tell us about the Two Toledos project.
Two Toledos is a documentary about the sister cities relationship between Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain. These two cities share the very first sister cities relationship in the world. The film uses contemporary artists to illustrate the rich cultural aspects of both cities. Two Toledos is the first documentary to offer an in-depth look at what these two cities have to offer each other in the realms of arts and culture. Overall, the film aims to create a stronger cultural bridge that will bring the people of the two Toledos closer together and to bring this relationship to the rest of the world.
Have you found a good deal of support for the Two Toledos project from institutions or individuals within the city? How has it compared with support from the city of Toledo, Spain?
JOEL:
I would say that we have had pretty good support for our documentary within the city. Both of the sister cities organizations—The Association of Two Toledos and Toledo Sister Cities International—in Toledo have helped tremendously. The Association of Two Toledos, which is historically the original founding organization of the relationship between Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain, has given us a substantial amount of monetary and moral support. Both organizations have helped us tremendously with making contacts with city government, donors, artists, and more. For instance, Toledo Sister cities International was instrumental in getting Toledo City Council to recognize our work on the film through a city council resolution.
I have found that the artists in Toledo, Ohio and Toledo, Spain have been equally enthusiastic, if not overly enthusiastic, about working with us. They have been extremely supportive and accommodating at every turn. The documentary would have gone nowhere without the support of the artist communities in both cities.
JACOB:
Support, in the financial sense, for the Two Toledos project has come from individuals and local business so far. Marco's Pizza and The Association of Two Toledos are our largest sponsors. As for institutional support we have received quite a bit from the city of Toledo, Spain. This film will be one of the major features of the 75th anniversary celebrations over there in May. They have reserved the main theatre in the old city, Teatro Rojas, for the premiere. They will be doing a lot of publicity for the film and we have also been in quite a few magazines and newspapers in Spain. I guess we are looking for a similar response from Toledo, Ohio. We don't have a venue secured for the premiere here in September and we are looking for whatever support we can get from the city. I will say I was really proud when we were recognized, along with Lee Murray, who is president of the Association of Two Toledos, in the Toledo City Council. They passed a resolution recognizing the work we have all been doing with the relationship with Toledo, Spain.
Where did the two of you meet and how did the Two Toledos project come about?
JOEL:
Jacob and I met in high school. Then we just happen to go to UT Film/Video together. From there we started our studio and we just keep working together.
The Two Toledos project came about after a visit to Spain in 2001. While in college, Jacob and I went to Salamanca, Spain to learn Spanish. While there we happened to take a one-day excursion to Toledo, Spain. When we came home we began to talk about making a documentary about our two cities. We wanted to find out more about what the connection was between the two cities. We soon found out that we were sister cities. The first sister cities in the world, I might add. Well, no one had made a documentary about these two cities so we worked out a story line and a theme that we could use to highlight the history of cultural exchange.
JACOB:
We met in high school in 1992 and have been friends ever since. Back then I was taking a video production course and when we were making the videos for class we used all our friends as the actors. Joel acted in one of my short videos and that's sort of how we first started making movies. Two Toledos came about almost a decade later when Joel and I were both enrolled at the University of Toledo. We needed to take foreign language credit and we decided to go to Spain and study Spanish. We were in a city two and a half hours west of Madrid called Salamanca. One weekend the school offered a one-day bus excursion to Toledo and we decided we have to go there since it was the city that our city was named for. On that one-day trip we were wandering the old streets of Toledo and were pretty much lost the entire time but we had a great time and were really enchanted by the beauty of this ancient city. Nothing really popped right away about the movie but we did leave thinking that we needed to make a movie there someday.
After we returned from our study abroad we met with a friend of ours, John Henry Fullen, director of the Toledo Sister Cities International. We told him all about our trip to Toledo and about how we thought that one day we wanted to make a film there. He had suggested trying to find something like the counter culture of Toledo, Spain. We had no idea how to go about that and life moved on for a couple of years.
Later we started thinking about it again and started doing some research and learned that 2006 was going to be the 75th anniversary of the relationship between the two Toledos and that this was the first recognized sister cities in the world. We realized that this was important and that we wanted to document it. We also learned that over the years one of the most important parts of the relationship has been cultural exchange. This is how we settled on artists to interview to tell the story of culture and cultural exchange.
What's your favorite hidden gem of Toledo?
JOEL:
My favorite hidden gem of Toledo is the art community and art scene. I think that the art scene in Toledo is amazing. The problem is that not enough people know that we have a ton of artists in this city who are working on great artwork in all mediums and at all levels of competency.
With just a little exploration Toledoans who like art can find something happening involving the arts almost any day of the week. You've always got the museum to go to but there are also art galleries, artists' studios, and community drawing classes and things like that in Toledo. You know, this month there are at least four art openings at local art galleries and next month there will be at least that many again. Every month, there is new and fresh art going up at galleries all over Toledo. Another thing that I love are the artists' studios. There are quite a few artists in Toledo who open their studios to friends and others during the week. It's a little known fact that most artists love to have people visit them in their studios. I know a few artists that have informal discussion and wine drinking times every week. When I say informal that is just what I mean. It is usually a time for unwinding, discussing the world's problems, and just talking about art and Toledo. It's little things like these that make Toledo's art scene really cool and vibrant.
JACOB:
In Toledo, Ohio my favorite hidden gem is the Toledo Market. It's an Arab market on Dorr Street. A great local grocery to go shopping and they have a little kitchen in the back that make the best shawarma sandwiches in town.
In Toledo, Spain my favorite gem would have to be a little restaurant that's hard to find called La Casa de Damasco, The Damascus House. We would go to lunch all the time at this great transplant of a restaurant. The people that run it are all from Syria and they make the best shawarma sandwiches in town.
It is generally recognized that the loss of thriving arts and intellectual scenes in any city bode poorly for the city economically and otherwise. How is Toledo doing? Do you feel our local government and institutions' efforts are successfully fostering the arts communities?
JOEL:
First of all, art is thriving in Toledo. Unfortunately, Toledo's economic state is currently at a low point. We have high unemployment and very little economic growth right now. I think that economic instability and our thriving art scene are signs that Toledo is yet again in transition. It could be that we have finally realized that we are no longer an industrial city. I think that our economic problems are just transitional pains while we are finding out what our future economic base is shaping into. Our thriving art scene is a sign that we are stable though. I think the art scene is displaying that there are creative people who are living and working in Toledo and dedicated to Toledo's success.
I don't feel that our local government does enough to foster the arts communities in Toledo. I also feel that most governments in the world don't do enough. With that said, I believe that there could be more funding provided to Toledo artists through our state and local government and through institutions in Toledo such as the Arts Commission. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. It's not just as easy as saying, "lets have more funding." Artists need to also realize that there is a lot of work that the artist has to do in promoting him or herself. Being an artist in Toledo or anywhere in the world means doing a lot more than just making art. Artists must wear many hats. Artists have to know a little about marketing, grant writing, fundraising, curating, networking, and so on. It is also necessary for artists to take active roles in volunteering at the Arts Commission or attending town-hall meetings about the arts. Only through active participation will artists be able to demonstrate to local government and institutions what the arts communities' needs are.
JACOB:
I always think that cities can do more for the arts in the community. That said I think Toledo has some support by way of the Toledo Arts Commission that is something that all area artists should take advantage of. The Arts Commission used to give out grants to artists but now with funding cuts over the years they have really gotten good at helping artists network. Bringing artists together to collaborate is something that helps artists in the area to get creative and get things done in a way that may not have been thought of when an artist just got a grant and went and made their art. Pooling resources is something we've all had to learn to do to get things done here. I think it would be nice to see the Arts Commission be able to serve as both an organization that helps artists network and as a granting organization. It would also be nice to see the city step up and fund the Arts Commission so that it could operate in all aspects that it wants to. That said I still think that Toledo is a thriving art city. There are a lot of really amazing artists doing their thing here everyday. So no matter what a city or the institutions wind up doing, I think the artists of Toledo will continue to do great work.
What's in store for Toledo in 2006; what are you looking forward to?
JOEL:
There are a lot fun things in store for Toledo in 2006. To name a few, there is the revival of the King Wamba Festival from 1909, the new Glass Pavilion is opening this summer, and in September there is 419 Artomatic and the 75th anniversary celebrations for sister city relationship with Toledo, Spain.
I am most looking forward to the later event. First of all, the 75th anniversary celebrations are very dear to me because the Two Toledos documentary will be premiering here during the celebrations. Aside from the film premiere, there will be a delegation of artists and dignitaries coming here from Toledo, Spain. This year's anniversary is an important one. The mayors of both cities will be signing documents that ratify our relationship in order to carry it another 75 years into the future. The celebrations should prove to be fun, interesting, and educational.
JACOB:
Toledo in 2006 is going to have a lot going on for it. Besides for me on a personal level with the completion of our movie and its premiere, there are other great collaborative exhibits in the works. Probably the thing I am most looking forward to is the Artomatic 419. This will be an amazing group effort from all areas of the Toledo art scene. I'm looking forward to this being the best art show in the history of Toledo. I guess the only other thing would be that three days before 2006 comes to an end I'll turn 30.
Do you have any major gripes with Toledo and if you were "in charge" how would you remedy it?
JACOB:
I do have some major gripes with Toledo. If I were in charge I would put a stop to any demolition of buildings in downtown. We don't need to put in any more parking spaces. There is plenty of parking in downtown; it's just that sometimes you might actually have to walk a block to get where you are going. I guess just changing the mentality of a lot of Toledoans also, so that they aren't always down on the city. People should take some pride in their city and realize all that it has to offer.
If you simply had to move anywhere, where would it be and why?
JOEL:
At this point, I would probably move to Madrid, Spain. Two reasons: I speak Spanish and the beer is cheap. Okay, there's more to the story. Madrid is a very cool place to live. You get the big city experience, which includes good public transportation, lots of arts and cultural stuff going on, and the general hustle and bustle associated with big cites. The neat thing about Madrid is that there are about 4 million people living there but it is still, in a lot of respects, a small city. It's sort of a small big city. I like Madrid for some the same reasons that I like Toledo, Ohio. It's manageable, it not too expensive, and there are a lot of cool people living there. And, most of all the beer is really cheap.
JACOB:
If I had to move anywhere I would move to Chicago. It is one of my favorite cities in the world and I have a lot of family there. I've also grown to love Spain. I could see myself living in a place like Toledo or Madrid. I really love the life in Spain and the Spanish people are so welcoming that you feel like you are at home even if you are just a visitor.
Your favorite drink and where in Toledo to get it.
JOEL:
My favorite drink is whisky and coke. You can get one for $1.50 at Pub St. George every Wednesday night. Wednesday is $1.50 well-drinks night.
JACOB:
My favorite drink in town would have to be a cold pint of Guinness at Mickey Finn's on $2 Guinness Mondays. Plus they show short films by local filmmakers. So what goes better than local films and Guinness?
