Behold, the Kretzer Effect

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Jayson is going to hate this article.

If you’ve met Jayson Kretzer, he’s told you he’s just a kid from Wewa who moved to the big city of “Panama,” a so-so comic book illustrator, nothing special, regular ‘ol happy-to-be-here guy. Any accomplishments he’s scraped together are due mostly to other people. That’s Jayson’s version of Jayson.

Sorry Jay, I beg to differ.

If you’ve paid attention 5 minutes to what is happening right now in the arts culture of Panama City, Florida, you have seen Jayson’s influence. And there is a lot going on.

Jayson is the executive director of Bay Arts Alliance, the non-profit responsible for many of our community’s best artistic endeavors. Jayson drives that train.

Have you seen the Welcome Wall or any of the other glorious murals increasingly decorating our town buildings? How about the traffic control boxes wrapped in art?

Did you attend the explosive Flluxe Arts Festival and see the mind-bending chalk art? Or the Haunted Walking Tour at Halloween or the Fall Bash with the immersive Ravenwood Forest exhibit?

The Panama City CreativeCon is his brainchild.

You’ll also see Jayson in citizen’s groups and at meetings concerning the future of all our artistic infrastructure, including the Martin Theatre, the next Panama City Performing Arts Center, and the Historic St. Andrews School.

Add to that the regular exhibits and classes he develops and manages at the Panama City Center for the Arts, teaching art to local kids, and supporting other foundational arts efforts like the Panama City Symphony Orchestra and Public Eye Soar, and it’s hard to deny Jayson is not just involved, he’s integral.

Jayson will tell you all this is because of his team. He will tell you it is luck. He will tell you it is anything but his dogged efforts.

Yes, he has a great team. Of course there are others involved in our creative awakening. But we have transformative, signature art in our town that did not exist before Jayson got involved.

It reminds me of when I worked in child care (it’s a long story).

Have you been amongst a group of kids and everything was going great? Playing nicely, getting along, happy titters and togetherness blooming. Then “that” child shows up. Within moments, bedlam.

Or the opposite. Your group is cranky and fractious. Then “that” child shows up. Within moments, bliss.

That’s what we daycare workers called the Catalyst Child. They are natural-born changemakers. They affect others by their presence and mental energy. New dynamics happen simply because they are there.

A catalyst sparks change. The ingredients of a petri dish can lay dormant for ages, then a drop of catalyst and POOF! Something new. That’s Jayson.

He is the very best kind of Catalyst Child.

Walt Disney’s artists were great, but they never would have made Snow White without him. Steve Wozniak would still be making homemade computers in his garage without Steve Jobs.

Would we have art in Panama City without Jayson? Of course we would, but not at the scale, speed, or quality we’re seeing now. That’s the Kretzer Effect.

Not bad for a kid from Wewa. I, for one, am glad you came to the big city, brother. We need you.

Kevin

P.S. – Jayson is also a great artist in his own right. We did a mini-doc on him and his comic illustrations with my film company Wewa Films. Have a look. See more of Jayson’s work at JaysonKretzer.com.