The Musical Mind Behind the Curtain MEET ROCKER ERIC WIELANDER Eventique’s VP of Creative and Strategy “Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration” at Madison Square Garden in 2001 — primed him for his big break into event production in 2016: “When the Art Comes Down, Works from the Super 8 Collection” at Openhouse in Manhattan. “When the Art Comes Down” was a stroke of creative genius. Part art show, part comedy special, and part corporate garage sale, the event kicked off the Wyndham Hotels’ remodel of its Super 8 chain in a unique and innovative way. “We asked hotel franchise owners to give us the art they were going to throw away. It was like a tacky art fair — the idea was that we basically thought we had to beg people, ‘Please, take this art from our walls!’ We hired Amy Sederis to be our chief curator. She was on-site at the event to officiate every piece of art and take photos with people. We gave them the art wrapped in Super 8 paper. It was meant to be like a media event to kick off the summer travel season for the brand, and it was a huge hit. That was really my moment. I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is what I really want to do.’” “When the Art Comes Down” was so successful that Eric headed up an encore event in Miami, which caught the eye of Eventique founder Liron David. The two had met before during Eric’s time in PR, and Liron quickly brought him on board at Eventique. Today, Eric manages accounts like UNICEF/UN, TikTok, The Humane Society of the United States, Seramount, and Metapurse/ Dreamverse and also offers creative guidance and direction to the whole Eventique team. He loves hosting focus groups that tap into the whole team’s energy. “The biggest challenge and the thing I love doing most is the creative part. When you hatch a great idea that’s tremendously successful, it’s incredibly rewarding. The challenge is the potential for burnout or running out of ideas,” he says, adding, “... The beauty of working at Eventique is that you never have to shoulder [creative work] entirely on your own.” Eric at a Glance Current Favorite Album: “Dawn FM” by The Weeknd Currently Reading: “The Every” by David Eggers Recent Favorite Movie: “Licorice Pizza” Last Concert Seen: The War on Drugs at Madison Square Garden Relaxation Hack: Skiing off the grid Inspiration Sources: Street art, museums, great films, and incredible books
W hen Eric Wielander was in his 20s, he “I probably went to about four shows a week. I would see a variety of different bands in a variety of different venues, from tiny clubs and bars to arenas,” he recalls. Though he didn’t realize it at the time, those years of dancing to The Chemical Brothers and Nine Inch Nails planted the seeds of his future as Eventique’s Vice President of Creative and Strategy. Eric’s sharp journalist’s mind absorbed the details of every show. was neck-deep in the New York City music scene working as a journalist, editor, andpublisher. “I started to pay more and more attention and geek out on things like what a band’s stage setup looked like or the way bands interacted with their audiences,” he says. “I went from just loving how a certain metal or goth band used a fog machine to later seeing how [others] would use strobe lights, projection, film, and video as part of their performances. I became enamored with the process of how a performance tells a story — visually and sonically — and how an artist engages with an audience.” Back then, Eric says, his passion for event production was “dormant and brewing” under the surface of his career. It wasn’t until he left journalism for a job in public relations that it really flourished. In 1999, Eric worked with producer Keith Kevan on a launch event for A|X Armani Exchange’s flagship store. It was his first real professional venture into event production. At the same time, Eric was planning his wedding and working on the publicity for Woodstock ‘99, the famous Woodstock Music and Art Fair’s 30th anniversary event. Pulling off those two gatherings — as well as the music festivals and other bashes that followed, including the
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