Upcoming Grant Information Sessions with Creative Capital

On Friday, February 10 at 12:30pm, Creative Capital will host a grant information session in the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C. If you are unable to attend in-person, but still interested in learning more about the grant process, there will also be a webinar on Friday, February 24 from 12:00-1:00pm.

To apply for a Creative Capital grant, an artist must first submit an online Inquiry Form. The Inquiry Form for Emerging Fields, Literature, and Performing Arts must be submitted by March 1. Selected applicants will advance through two further application phases during the year, and grantees will be announced in January 2013.

This event is FREE and open to the public. Please RSVP to grants@creative-capital.org. To learn more, click here.

February First Fridays Round Up

Take a look at all the great First Fridays openings this month… Don’t let the chilly weather keep you from the chance to see some of the best art in town! All events listed below take place on Friday, February 3 and are FREE and open to the public.

“Architectural Fragments” – BozART Gallery
Christine Rich is an accomplished artist in acrylics, watercolor, and pastel. Her paintings capture the subject revealing the inner beauty of the smallest objects. Her subjects range from animals and people to landscape and buildings. An opening reception will be held from 5:00-8:30pm. For more information, call 434-296-3919.

“iConnect Photography” – CitySpace Gallery
Now in the program’s sixth year, The Bridge PAI and Albemarle County Schools presents the 2012 iConnect Photography Program’s book release of El Rio. An accompanying month-long exhibit will feature work by Albemarle County students from the Southwood and Westhaven communities. With creative partnerships through the Charlottesville Photography Initiative and WriterHouse, students worked with mentors for two weeks taking photos and writing poetry about their images. An opening reception will be held from 5:00-7:00pm. For more information, email Greg Kelly.

“Journey” – Second Street Gallery
In February, artist Laura Ball presents a menagerie of Archimobodesque wildlife, a pantheon of animals rendered from an aggregate of other creatures. These paintings vibrate with color and life as the subjects at hand, often animals, are set in motion by the fluid nature of the watercolor medium. An opening reception for both exhibits will be held from 5:00-7:30pm, with an artist talk at 6:30pm. For more information, email members@secondstreetgallery.org.

“The Imaginary City” – WriterHouse
The Imaginary City is a series of pen and ink drawings of buildings, streets, and towns. The scenes recall European and American cities of the nineteenth century and earlier, drawn freehand and to scale. Robert Boucheron is a local architect and freelance writer whose work has appeared in many publications. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held from 5:00-7:00pm. For more information, email Robert Boucheron.

“Freshwater” – New City Arts
Join NPR, WVTF, Radio IQ, and New City Arts for new photographs by Leila Anne Harris in her exhibit, “Freshwater,” at the WVTF and Radio IQ Studio Gallery. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held from 5:00-7:00pm. For more information, email Maureen Lovett.

“Famous Faces” – Spring Street Boutique
This exhibit features graphite drawings by Michele Price. An opening reception will be held from 6:00-8:00pm. For more information, email Cynthia Schroeder.

“Permutations” – McGuffey Art Center
The main exhibit in the Sarah B. Smith Gallery will feature “Permutations,” a collection of enameled jewelry, wall panels, and prints by Kristi Glick. McGuffey also proudly presents “Beyond the Bars” – artwork by inmates from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail – and paintings by Salena Hitzeman in the hallways galleries. An opening reception will be held from 5:30-7:30pm. For more information, email mcguffeyartcenter@gmail.com.

“Back Country Scenes from Rural Virginia” – Warm Springs Gallery
The February exhibit features paintings by Ed Hatch. An opening reception will be held from 5:00-7:00pm. For more information, call 434-245-0800.

“Twig” – The Bridge PAI
This month’s exhibit features mixed-media work by Carolyn Capps. An opening reception will be held from 6:00-8:00pm. For more information, email Greg Kelly.

“Cub Creek Foundation for the Ceramic Arts” – City Clay
This month’s exhibit features work by current Cub Creek Resident Artists, including Mitch Iburg, Kendra Sparks, Lane Kaufman, and John Jessiman. An opening reception will be held from 5:00-8:00pm. For more information, email Randy Bill.

“Gloria” – The Garage
Local artist Ellen Picker explores the “coruscations of bodies and shore” in this new installation of photographs. An opening reception will be held from 5:00-8:00pm. For more information, email Sam Bush.

Staunton Music Festival Presents Schubert Series

Beginning on Friday, February 10, the Staunton Music Festival will present a series entitled Schubert: Late Masterworks, celebrating the late chamber music of Franz Schubert. All performances will take place in Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton.

Schubert remains one of the most interesting composers of the last 300 years, having written more works and died younger than any other major composer in history. However, only about 150 of his roughly 1,000 compositions were published in his lifetime, and relatively few of the unpublished works were known at all.

Performances will take place on February 10 at 7:00pm, Saturday, February 11 at 7:00pm, and Sunday, February 12 at 4:00pm. For complete programs, click here.

Tickets are $20 ($18 for seniors, $8 for students) and may be purchased in advance or at the door. For more information, please call 540-569-0267.

iConnect Photography Book Release & Opening Reception

Please join us on Friday, February 3 from 5:00-7:00pm at the CitySpace Gallery for the book release party and exhibit opening of the iConnect Photography Program. Now in the its sixth year, the program is a collaboration between The Bridge PAI and Albemarle County Public Schools. Theis year, the program culminated in a book, El Rio, and a month-long exhibit featuring photographs by students from the Southwood and Westhaven communities.

Working with the Charlottesville Photography Initiative and WriterHouse, students worked with mentors for two weeks writing poetry and taking digital and 35mm photographs. The ongoing goal of the program is to utilize the mediums of writing and photography to capture the students’ individual experiences.

For more information about this event or the iConnect Photography Program, please contact Greg Kelly. This event is FREE and open to the public.

Piedmont Council for the Arts Seeks Communications Director

Piedmont Council for the Arts (PCA), the designated arts agency of Charlottesville and Albemarle, seeks candidates for the Communications Director position. PCA provides support services to artists, arts organizations, and their audiences, while encouraging community-wide access to and appreciation for the arts.

Working with the Executive Director, the Communications Director supports this work through the following responsibilities:

  • Daily maintenance and improvement of www.charlottesvillearts.org (including arts directories, blog posts, program descriptions, social media integration, etc.);
  • Creation and distribution of bi-weekly e-newsletter, The Arts In Your Inbox;
  • Maintenance of online Arts Reach resource listings and creation of the monthly e-newsletter;
  • Creation and distribution of monthly Member Newsletter;
  • Management of online Arts Event Calendar and calendar volunteers;
  • Marketing, planning, and administrative support for PCA workshops, special events, and other programs including Art Drinks, Rising Stars, the Storyline Project, and Spring For The Arts;
  • Management support for the CitySpace Gallery;
  • Development and dissemination of press and marketing materials;
  • Interaction with and management of one or more interns;
  • Ongoing management of web-based and other inquires to PCA;
  • Membership recruitment and communication with members;
  • Administrative, fundraising and database support as needed.

Requirements include:
Excellent writing, communication, and organizational skills; knowledge of and desire to work in the local arts community; computer and web proficiency; project management skills; graphic design skills and sensibilities; ability to think creatively and strategically. Strong interpersonal skills and a self-starter attitude are a must. Volunteer management experience is a plus.

This part-time position (25 hours/week) is integral to the realization of PCA’s mission. The selected candidate will support a growing nonprofit arts organization, be directly involved in the local arts community, and gain experience in an energetic and professional work environment. Enthusiastic individuals with an interest in serving communities through the arts are strongly encouraged to apply.

Candidates should have 1-2 years of related work experience, preferably in an arts, communications, and/or nonprofit setting. Salary commensurate with experience. Benefits include health insurance.

To apply: Email cover letter and resume to jobs@charlottesvillearts.org by Friday, February 17, 2012. Only qualified applicants will be contacted.

Madrid-based Artist Daniel Canogar’s Exhibit at Second Street Gallery

Scanner from Daniel Canogar on Vimeo.

As you might already know, Second Street Gallery is hosting a show by Madrid-based artist Daniel Canogar in March. Canogar’s installations are astonishing and beautiful, but can’t be made without your help!

For this exhibit, he needs 70lbs of white cables to integrate into the final sculpture that will be on display at the gallery. Any type of cord will work – electric or tech cables, old phone cables, the leftovers from that old fax machine you’ll never use again. You can take your cords directly to the gallery or call 434-977-7284 to schedule a time to have them picked up before February 26.

This Is Not A Pipe Dream at Live Arts

The Live Arts Teen Theatre Ensemble (LATTE) will present This Is Not a Pipe Dream, a play by Barry Kornhauser and directed by Will Rucker.

This Is Not a Pipe Dream is a magical story of the surrealist painter Rene Magritte in his youth. Encouraged by his mother despite his father’s protestations, Magritte pursues his passion, and ventures into a world of delightfully absurd magic-realism that inspires his famous paintings. The play captures the dreamlike quality of Magritte’s art, and borrows elements from silent films, farce, Commedia dell’arte, and vaudeville to illustrate the transformational power of the imagination.

This play is suitable for all ages. The Live Arts cast includes: Tiffany Ames, Elliot Craft, Daniel Neale, Courtney Sigloh, and Scottie Wardell. Performances start on Friday, February 3 and run through February 18. For a complete schedule, click here.

Tickets are $19.50 and may be purchased online or by calling 434-977-4177 × 108. Friends of Live Arts get 10% off. Wednesday performances are Pay What You Can. A free preview will be offered on Thursday, February 2. For tickets to the free preview, stop by the C-Ville Weekly office on the Downtown Mall.

Artist Talk by Michael Lundgren & Aaron Rothman at Ruffin Gallery

On Thursday, January 26 at 5:30pm, UVa will host an artist talk with Michael Lundgren and Aaron Rothman in Campbell Hall, room 153. The talk accompanies the artists’ new collaborative photography installation,”If There Be Such Space: Michael Lundgren and Aaron Rothman,” in Ruffin Gallery, which will be open through February 17.

Lundgrun and Rothman have spent the past decade engaged in a common photographic exploration of landscape. They share ideas, experiences, and experiments, yet have each created unique bodies of work that at times have a similar approach and process and at other times have diverged. You can read more about their work on The Design Observer.

A Final Friday reception for the exhibit will be held on January 27 from 5:30-7:30pm in Ruffin. For more information, click here.

Artisans Center of Virginia Develops Western Highlands Artisan Trail

The Artisans Center of Virginia (ACV) recently announced the development of a Western Highlands Artisan Trail for Alleghany Highlands, Bath County, Craig County, and Highland County.

The Artisan Trail Network is designed to attract visitors to artisan studios, agri-artisan farms, and local craft businesses. Artists in the region who wish to become a trail site can request information explaining the participation criteria and program details by emailing trails@artisanscenterofvirginia.org.

ACV supports and promotes the culture of Virginia artisans through education, entrepreneurship, research, galleries, and exhibitions. For more information, please contact Sherri Smith.

UVa Art Museum Hosts Lunchtime Talk by Artist Tom Burckhardt

Need a lunch break? Head over to the UVa Art Museum today from 12:00-1:00pm for a free talk by contemporary artist Tom Burckhardt.

Burckhardt’s paintings, made of oil on fabricated cast plastic supports, blur divisions between abstract and representational art. Often, his works evoke the psychological phenomenon known as “pareidolia,” in which a person believes they randomly encounter the image of an object or a person, such as a face found in the clouds or a rock formation.

The museum is hosting this focused exhibition in conjunction with Burckhardt’s UVa Arts Board residency. The focus of the residency is working with studio art students to create an artistic interpretation of the Brooks Natural History Museum, which was located in UVa’s Brooks Hall from 1877 through the 1940s.

This event is FREE and open to the public. For information, please call 434-243-2050 or email museumoutreach@virginia.edu. The exhibit of his paintings will be on display through June 3.