Need something to work on with your Thanksgiving time off? Most galleries will be closed for the next couple days, but you can spend that time making art instead. Both Composition Gallery and Wonderroot sent out open calls for art this week.
The deadline for Composition Gallery’s annual Velcro show is coming up this Sunday, Nov. 29. The show will include both found and taken photographs.
Wonderroot is recruiting visual artists, performers, dancers, and musicians for a fundraiser called Cahoot with the Root in January, 2010. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, Dec.15.
Untitled, Sovereign Tree (kingfisher branch) by Todd Murphy
The Atlanta art scene serves up some seasonal spooky shows as well as some great opportunities to meet local artists this weekend. Read on for the rundown.
"Autobiography: Egypt (Cairo Resdential) 1974," by Howardena Pindell. Join the artist for a talk Sat., Oct. 24.
Here’s the weekly rundown of the fiercest arts events happening around town this weekend.
TONIGHT (Friday)
Tweet Design presents their Second Annual “Day of the Dead” art show at Eyedrum. The show features over 80 mini-coffins decorated by artists from all over the country. See this cool tribute to the departed and join them from 8pm-12 am for their opening night fiesta. Get ready for some mean sangria, tasty taquitos and tunes from Uncle Daddy and the Kissin’ Cousins. Free. 8 p.m. Eyedrum. 404-522-0655. www.eyedrum.org.
SATURDAY
Howardena Pindell stops by the Sandler Hudson Gallery to discuss her latest exhibition, “Autobiography: Strips, dots, and video drawings”. The show includes work from Pindell’s 25-year career. Most known for her use of varied techniques and mixed-media works, her work also explores a multitude of socio-political issues such as racism and feminism. Free. 2 p.m. Sandler Hudson Gallery. 404-817-3777. www.sandlerhudson.com.
Ever wonder how your favorite old-school Saturday morning cartoons came to life? Through ASIFA-Atlanta’s “Animation Draw” you can get a little insight. This workshop presented by WonderRoot Community Arts Center explores the core principles of traditional hand-drawn animation. By the end of this five hour workshop you’ll have learned how cartoons are made and have several short animations of your own to brag about. Free. 2 p.m. WonderRoot Community Arts Center. 404-254-5955. www.wornderroot.org.
For the first time ever Brotherman Comics is showcasing their unique brand of comic book art in exhibition format. “Drawing from the Soul: The Official Brotherman Comics Art Experience” opens Saturday night and gives fans an inside look into the Brotherman World. See how the creators go from concept to development to finished product and craft an original philosophy and an edgy visual experience along the way. Free. 7 p.m. Studio Clout. 404-688-2787. www.studioclout.com.
SUNDAY
The Marcus JCC of Atlanta invites you to “Lunch and Learn with Lorraine Peltz.” The latest exhibition of the Artist’s work–”Excellent Hostess: Paintings and Works on Paper”– is an homage to her mother’s survival of the Holocaust. The series of paintings contrasts the exterior world with an interior space of comfort and memory. Go for the talk. Stay for the lunch. Free. 11:30 a.m. Dunwoody, The Marcus JCC of Atlanta. 678-812-4000. www.atlantajcc.org.
The Contemporary developed a day of sculpture and photography activities for the family inspired by Corin Hewitt’s “Seed Stage”. “Seed Stage”–presented at the Whitney in NYC–investigated the processes of harvesting, consuming, building, documenting, and recycling. For months the artist worked in an exhibition space/science lab/kitchen/art studio as an audience watched. After an educational day of family fun make sure you check out Hewitt’s photographs of his experimental New York exhibition. Free. 1-4 p.m. The Contemporary. 404-688-1970. www.thecontemporary.org.
The High Museum teams up with Mattress Factory Studios for a Membership Drive Kick-off Party. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet emerging and established artists, tour their studios, and learn more about the High’s Art Partners program.Original works will be raffled off throughout the evening . Take a look at some of the featured artists works beforehand on the Mattress Factory Studios website. Free (reservations necessary RSVP @ high.org/mattressfactory). 4 p.m. Grant Park. www.high.org. 404-733-4444.
ART SIGNED THE BELTLINE: Critics Pick for Best Public Art
Armed with maps, Sharpies and $400 worth of wood, a group of local artists organized by WonderRoot and local do-gooder/merry-maker Angel Poventud ART SIGNED THE BELTLINE in June. Artists and regular folk from around the city gathered to produce more than 100 works to install along 108 points where the Beltline crosses public rights-of-way. The group then tagged the city with its guerilla signage under the cover of night. The effort’s reach is undeniable: From an I-20 overpass in Grant Park to Edgewood Avenue to south Atlanta, the art signs are spunky reminders of Atlanta’s vast expanse and the link the Beltline could offer among its numerous communities. City of Atlanta take note: This is how you do public art.
Just two quick highlights, for social justice geeks and fans of local music, art, and basketball:
1. I’m curious to hear more about Audacity of Hoops, a public art exhibition in Mechanicsville — a neighborhood far, far away from Atlanta’s mainstream districts for the arts — organized by the Dirty Truth Campaign and artist Lisa Tuttle. Several large-scale color photographs center on themes of urban blight, and provide a social context for pick-up games and other activities, on and off the court.
On Sunday, July 26, nonprofit arts center WonderRoot will host a “cops and robbers”-themed shindig to celebrate the reopening of its digital media lab. (A recent break-in resulted in the loss of five computers, forcing the lab’s temporary closure.)
From WonderRoot Executive Director Chris Appleton:
Join us this Sunday at 8pm for a ‘Cops and Robbers’ themed reopening party of the WonderRoot digital media lab. As most of you have heard, there was a burglary at WonderRoot last week and we were forced to temporarily close our digital media lab. And while we are both sad and disappointed about the break-in, there is exciting news to report. The Digital Lab will reopen this upcoming weekend and we want you to join us in celebrating.
We would like to send a special thanks to the community for all the concern and willingness to help out. In fact, because of some of you the police were able to recover some of the stolen computers. We have been overwhelmed with the kind words and support expressed in light of the unfortunate events. This is why we want to celebrate. WonderRoot wants all of you to know that we are committed to continue providing state-of-the-art facilities. We believe that empowering the community with these resources will lead to a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable Atlanta.
A weekend break-in at WonderRoot Community Arts Center that forced the closure of its digital media lab won’t impact the Reynoldstown nonprofit in the long term, its executive director Chris Appleton says.
“It’s unfortunate it’s happened here,” Appleton tells CL. “A space that’s worked toward bettering and building the community. We’re sad that some people are not respectful of the work the artists have created.”
The five computers that were taken were all insured, Appleton says, so the digital media lab will most likely be back up and operating by next week.
“We’re not going to let it stop us or slow us down,” he says.
He says he was surprised by the outpouring of support from WonderRoot and community members. Minutes after he sent an email to notify artists about the break-in, Appelton says, he received 30-40 responses asking if the center needed any assistance.
Every so often, a creative dark horse will storm through Atlanta and give the arts world a healthy shake, just when things were starting to look dull. Artist Jenny Zhang, who serves as the Atlanta Printmakers Studio’s inaugural Emerging Artist in Residence, headlines a discussion panel at Apache CaféMon., July 13 at 8:30 p.m. The talk will center on issues raised by the artist’s JUBA SPIDER — an edition of prints inspired by hip-hop artist Juba Kalamka, an outspoken member of the black gay community — and will feature the voices of critics Cinqué Hicks (Creative Loafing) and Felicia Feaster (The Atlantan), as well as Charles Stephens of AID Atlanta and Karen Fain of Apache Café, who will moderate the discussion. Oh, and the artist herself, of course.
The panel is interdisciplinary to say the least, covering both music and visual art, and its themes unite a surprising cross-section of Atlanta groups interested in art and social justice. Hell, even WonderRoot’s involved: They’re responsible for video you just watched (or should be watching, soon)!
Atlanta artists gathered at Eyedrum on June 28 to create over a hundred signs. In an effort to raise awareness of the propsed Beltline project, they then placed the signs at 108 different locations along the Beltline on June 30. Check out a photo gallery of both events on our Photos & Video page.
All day Sunday, a small cadre of local artists and arts lovers gathered at Eyedrum to kick off the first phase of a grassroots project to add a touch of art to the Beltline — and to make more people aware of where it is.
The project, which has been months in the making, involves creating more than 100 artful signs to designate where the 22-mile smart-growth project crosses public streets.
Angel Poventud, one of the project’s co-organizers, says WonderRoot staff spent $400 on wood on Saturday night. The next day, artists brought whatever materials they had — oils, pastels, even house paint — and got to work.
“It’s hard to believe you can pull off a project like this for less than a grand,” Poventud says. “But it’s all about the passion. And it’s here.”
The group plans to install the signs along the project sometime this week.
WonderRoot’s hosting a good ol’ fashioned sign-makin’ party this Sunday at Eyedrum. What’s the occasion, you ask? Why the BeltLine of course. The proposed BeltLine will cross public rights-of-way at 108 different points throughout the city. To help raise awareness about the project, local artists (and anyone else who’s interested in participating) will gather at 1 p.m. this Sun., June 28 at Eyedrum (280 MLK Drive) to make art signs to place at each of the locations. “Later in the week, WonderRoot artists and volunteers will work throughout the night placing the art at each of the 108 locations,” says the e-mail from WonderRoot co-founder Chris Appleton.
More from Appleton:
“Artists, like most residents of Atlanta, are excited about the BeltLine,” said Chris Appelton, co-founder of WonderRoot. “Yet it seems that most people don’t know how transformative this project will be. It’s our hope that people will get up and go to work next week and see for themselves where the BeltLine will be. Additionally, the city will be full of original public art.”
