City creative agency makes a splash on the national stage

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 23, 2023.

Submitted photo - Jared Garrick, owner and operator of Rovü Developments and Creative Agency, installs their functional oversized headphones at this year's Juno Awards.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

A local creative agency recently had the opportunity to display one of its designs at one of Canada’s biggest events of the year only a few years after the agency’s inception.

The Juno Awards 2023 in Edmonton hosted a piece of art created locally for thousands of people to see, an oversized pair of headphones and Jared Garrick, owner and operator of Rovü Developments and Creative Agency, said that being part of the Junos was a surreal experience.

“It felt amazing, to be quite honest. I’ve been doing my own thing as an artist for years, Rovü is relatively new, so to get skyrocketed to the Junos, the biggest music events in Canada is super humbling and very fun,” said Garrick.

He said it was quite the experience because he didn’t really know what to expect going into it.

“I’ve never been on a red carpet before, so to be behind the scenes was an eye-opening experience, to see the whole production, what it’s like to work on the red carpet and the whole behind-the-scenes operation and then the cherry on top is that we got to walk the red carpet, as well,” said Garrick.

He said they shared the carpet with Alberta rock band Nickelback and the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid. Garrick added that it was really good to see others who have made it in their own careers since that is something he aspires to.

“We got interviewed by JunoTV as well, and made a lot of wicked connections,” said Garrick.

He said this was a major milestone for Rove since there are not as many opportunities for artists coming from a smaller rural city compared to larger ones.

“It has taken many hours of hard work and determination to build Rovü into a respected business. To be trusted by locals and large corporations to create art and space under our own skillset is truly humbling, and to be a part of the Junos was a surreal experience,” said Garrick.

He said the headphones that were on display at the Juno Awards were originally designed for a company’s launch at a public library in Calgary, and they were going to be touring different libraries across Calgary, but later that same company told him the headphones would be displayed at the Juno Award ceremony, and since they were stored at Rovü, his team would need to take part of the installation.

“It’s such a big item and it’s very awkward to move, it takes a couple of people to install it, let alone carry it around the shop. It has been a slow process to figure out where to take it next. Now that the Junos are done, they are back at my shop,” said Garrick.

He said the display is approximately 12 feet tall by 12 feet wide and three feet deep.

“They are functioning headphones as well. They do play music. There are speakers built inside that are hard-wired in, and those wires would run to the receiver that would be hidden by the trusses. It’s a whole truss system that we had to set up, with an anchoring bar that runs across and the headphones poles are screwed into,” said Garrick.

He said this was the result of hard work and perseverance, because when Rovü first opened, the company had a hard time getting its feet off the ground.

“To be in southern Alberta and kind of sacrifice a lot to pursue passion was a tough pill to swallow at first. Starting Rovü my wife was pregnant, I was moving into a new shop and COVID happened. So, to start an art-based business with all that going on was very stressful,” said Garrick.

He added that even though it was stressful, after putting in many hours he started to feel like something big was coming his way, and it did.

“Now I just have to keep the ball rolling. I want to reach out to the connections I made in Edmonton, and see what we could bring to Lethbridge, too,” said Garrick.

He said the goal is to start going further and further, as his agency has been doing well locally, now is time to take it provincially, nationally and then globally and continue to provide opportunities to artist to showcase their pieces.

Around Lethbridge and southern Alberta, Rovü has been involved with about 10,000 square feet of murals across Lethbridge, Coaldale and Taber and the installation of different art pieces, including the “Together” structure outside of the Multicultural Centre.

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