Whether your focus is family solidarity or future gift hunting Southwest Virginia has it throughout November. Many of this month’s events are multifaceted gatherings with several members of Roanoke’s fine arts family coming together for jovial celebratory times, and with plenty of opportunities to buy artful items. The 16 hands tour is one of the rare opportunities to be with the family, experience the gifts of beauty given to us by Mother Nature and shop, all at the same time. The hosting group of artists and artisans open their homes and studios welcoming all kindred spirits, art lovers, and holiday shoppers. The largest celebratory gathering of appreciation and art will be the monumental One Year Anniversary of the Taubman Museum of Art. It will be held the same day as the freshly rotated in artwork is unveiled to the public. Perhaps the most welcoming member of the arts and culture family of our region is the Emerging Artist Program from the Roanoke Libraries expanding mission to become a community hotspot. The opening receptions always include unseen visual artist and undiscovered musicians. There is room for everyone at the table in our arts and culture family so get out there and enjoy.
1. Event: Emerging Artist Opening Reception
Opening Reception: Nov. 19th , 6-8pm
Location: Roanoke Main Library, 706 S. Jefferson St. Roanoke VA
Cost: Free
For the most accepting gathering of art lovers in Virginia try the monthly boundary pushing Emerging Artist Program at the Roanoke Main Library. This bridge between the large underground art scene of Roanoke and the established art network of Roanoke is the compulsory place to connect with all we have to offer. And for those looking for bargains it also gives access to artists before they make it big. On opening night artists mingle with audience catering is always stellar and people of high stature in the art scene use it as a fun interactive scouting opportunity. This month’s visual artists are T Dell Robinette and Heather Leitch. Musical artists are Sarah Garrison and the group The Model Citizens.
The superimposed multi-referential musings of T Dell Robinette bring onlookers into the real environment of a walking dream, and the work of Heather Leitch will fuse all your visual ideas of nature with all other visual recollections. Works by visual artists are displayed for the full month. After you get carried away by the visual artwork let the striking melody of soloist Sarah Garrison bring you back to front stage. The premium sound of The Model Citizens is a great example of the way the Emerging Artists Program is expanding the internal and external perceptions of Roanoke. They are a hip-hop shoe band has come from DC to entertain and discover Roanoke.
The Emerging Artist Program was the first step of the newly expanded mission of the library system to become a community axis for everything and everybody. They offer full greenway information, game nights, performances, multimedia check out and more. For more information about individual artists or the Emerging Artist Program contact River Laker, Development Coordinator, Roanoke Public Libraries at river.laker@roanokeva.gov or visit http://emergingartists.tumblr.com.
2. Event: Taubman Museum of Art, One Year Anniversary
Reception: Fri. Nov. 20th, 7-11:30pm
Location: Taubman Museum of Art
Downtown Roanoke
Cost: $25 members / $35 public
Come celebrate the monumental One Year Anniversary of the Taubman Museum of Art with a down home birthday party with the internationally acclaimed music group, Southern Culture on the Skids! SCOTS has local ties here to Roanoke as the bass player (Mary Huff) is a Patrick Henry alum and the drummer (Dave Hartman) is a Virginia Tech alum who also did his student teaching at Cave Spring. This band has made it BIG and has been featured on 24 albums since 1991. It’s time to hoot and hollar as we wish the Taubman a happy birthday!
As part of the celebration the Taubman is debuting its latest arrivals. Every three months new artwork is brought in and replaces the previous quarters set of works. The ever-changing galleries bring excitement and expand the capabilities of the museum. So visit the galleries by day and come and join the party by night. For more information call 540-342-5760 or visit http://www.taubmanmuseum.org.
3. Event: 16 Hands Studio Tour
Dates: Friday. Nov. 27th-28th, 10am -5pm
Sunday Nov. 29th, 12-5 pm
Location: Floyd and Montgomery County
Map available at www.16hands.com
Cost: Free
This Thanksgiving weekend turn you shopping frenzy away from the mundane. Instead, take in the sites of the Roanoke Valley and find some original works of art that show pride in the area we call home. The 16 Hands Studio Tour allows everyone to become fully engulfed in the arts and cultural of our region while experiencing the grandeur of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This seasons’ tour includes finely crafted pottery, woodworking and painting made by eight local and four visiting artists.
Take your time and enjoy the studios of potters and woodworkers in Floyd and Montgomery County. The tour is held Thanksgiving weekend and the first weekend in May annually. Since 1998 visitors have followed the detailed maps that guide you along the scenic roads connecting one artist’s location to another in and around the Blue Ridge Parkway in Southwestern Virginia. You will be welcomed into their studios where home made cookies and hot cider await you. On display you will see the best of their work, along with the work of a few invited artists from around the country, and the world of craft in which they all live. This tour is self-guided and free. A map and more information can be found at www.16hands.com. You can also call 540-745-3595.
4. The New York Prints at the O. Winston Link Museum
November 19, 2009. 6 p.m.
The O. Winston Link Museum presents an evening of merriment in celebration of a premiere exhibition of work by O. Winston Link, The New York Prints, offering a photographic peek into New York City in the 1940s. The New York Prints will also mark the retail premiere of the award winning O. Winston Link Documentary, What A Picture I Got! This is event is a museum fundraiser and tickets are $25. Please call 540-982-5465 or email programs@linkmuseum.org to reserve your ticket. www.linkmuseum.org
5. “Pictures/Words,” An Exhibition at Nelson Gallery in Lexington
Nelson Gallery in Lexington celebrates a variety of photographic techniques and works from November 6 through 30. “Pictures/Words” opens Friday with a reception at the gallery from 5 to 7 pm, and continues on Saturday morning with artists’ talks at VMI’s Preston Library. Participating artists include Christa Bowden, Binh Danh, Susan Harb, Jeremy Ledbetter, Clover Archer Lyle, Rob McDonald, Evan Rogers, Claudia Smigrod, Robert Sulkin and Robert Williams. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Nelson Gallery at www.Nelson-Gallery.com or call 540.463.9827.
6. James Underwood Exhibit at Gallery 108
James Underwood is the guest artist for the month of November at Gallery 108. Underwood is well known for his sunlit landscapes in pastel. An opening reception will be held Nov. 5th during Art By Night. His work will remain on display through Nov. Gallery 108 is located at 108 Market Street in Downtown Roanoke. Hours: Tue-Sat 10-5; Sun 1-4.
7. Inspiration Within A Paradigm at Angelo in Charlottesville
TRACY VERKERKE and ANNIE RUNKLE explore theme and variation with design and material. Tracy Verkerke draws the face of the Buddha with varying surfaces and drawing tools. Annie Runkle hand stitches elegant textiles into artful bags. Each starts with a simple template and lets improvisations unfold.
This exhibit runs from November 1 through December 31. There will be an opening reception for the Artists on First Friday, November 6, 5:30 till 7:30 pm.
8. Rob Tarbell and Margaret Evangeline to Exhibit at Roanoke College in Salem
October 30-December 11. Smoyer and Olin galleries.
In Smoyer Gallery, Rob Tarbell presents his work titled Diagnostics, a series concentrated on the effect of smoke on paper. While the smoke is controlled and manipulated, it is allowed to remain true to its nature and explores Tarbell’s interest in the manipulation of “traditional materials.” Diagnostics has evolved Generators, a series of “work that combines elements of the parlor game ‘Ghost of My Friends’ with the responses from the Rorschach Inkblot test.” Tarbell hopes his work will “both balance accident with control and give permanence to the ephemeral.”
Olin Gallery will present Margaret Evangeline’s Polychromatic Series from Roanoke College’s permanent collection. As a New York based and Louisiana-born artist, Evangeline explores different mediums that “deepen the immediacy of a moment.” Her gunshot Polychromatic Series shows a departure from the traditional concepts of art and embraces a charged aesthetic language. Evangeline’s video eXile also will be shown. eXile encompasses the dynamic world of fashion photo shoots through the eyes of an artist. It is an infusion of the process of Abstract Expressionism, coupled with the visual vibrancy of pop culture.
