EYES ON CRYSTAL

LA, where she was born and raised, provided the perfect environment for creative director and organizer Crystal Lopez to understand the needs and artistic direction of the now booming Queer Mercado and Godess Mercado held at the Civic Center in East Los Angeles.

     Her skill for working with different themes and tactfully selecting appropriate venues to reflect a diverse range of cultural niches is heavily rooted in her years of experience working in creative industries. She is the creative director of her own fashion studio, Eyes On U, and worked under Max Azria for BCBG  from 1992 to 1998. However, executing a successful event requires more than creativity of an aesthetic nature, and Lopez’s exceptional organizational and interpersonal skills play a big part in getting the task put before her out of the land of daydreams and into reality. Her work under Senators and Commissioner of Arts and Culture and 2023 LA Woman of the Year Diana Diaz coupled with her grassroots experience planning creative events in LA has afforded her a plethora of skills: working with the city, acquiring sponsors, fundraising, collaborating with government, researching and finding new resources, and engaging the concerns of the community by advocating for its diverse voices with the public through the arts.

     But her role goes beyond coordinating around 80 vendors, performers, and stage guests on a monthly business; central to her work for these markets is creating a space where diversity is celebrated and individuals and businesses feel unified within the community. On the floor at the venue and online through the market’s social media, her focus is the community: highlighting and supporting the creatives, businesses, and people that flock to East LA every 2nd and 3rd Saturday.