We are at the dawn of a decade. What will be done with the great potential for the arts in our region? Many individuals and organization throughout the area are answering through action. These organizations are thinking nationally and internationally. Most offer monthly and weekly ways to connect and propel us toward our great potential. Their and our success simply depends on our unity and participation. The Water Heater is an underground artist hub of artists and art lovers who welcome everyone to their biweekly Dadastic meetings. The Taubman Museum offers a venue for international attention and recognition with a plethora of ways to attend or participate. The Myscoper Crew runs ramped through Roanoke leaving a trail of art and creativity in their wake. The 3 local Colleges and Universities inject us with life and new ideas while helping us expand our minds. The libraries link artists and community with their people first approach to art and music events and the list goes on. Seldom can a community see its latent possibilities so clearly. Let’s reach or horizon and move toward or great potential together, happy New Year.
1. CollabFest at the Water Heater
Date/Time: Wed. Jan. 13th and 27th
Location: 813 5th Street SW
Roanoke, VA 24016
Cost: Free
The Water Heater is a multi-functional visual and performing arts space nestled in the eclectic neighborhood of Old Southwest, Roanoke, VA. They rent space for everything art related. Classes include sound improvisation, dance, drumming, hip-hop, break-dance, movement and acting. Coordinators are involved in many far-reaching monthly and annual events. The biweekly Collabfest (held bi-weekly) and the annual Marginal Arts Festival (held in February) are city wide communal art celebrations glorifying the uniqueness of art identity. The Water Heater also rents space for one-time only events including music shows, re-crafting fairs, fiestas, and salon style performances in addition to hosting and curating rotating art exhibitions, random film showings, and window installations. For more information and a schedule of events visit thewaterheater.blogspot.com and www.marginalarts.com/
2. Box Lunch Forum at The Taubman
Date/Time: Fri. Jan. 8th, Noon-1pm
Location: Taubman Museum of Art
Downtown Roanoke
Cost: Free
The museum is wonderfully fulfilling its role of attracting international artists and important national artists. As the most prominent arts institution of the region it provides Roanoke daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly art events that can showcase us to those international guest, making Roanoke the talk of New York and other world art centers. Local artists and visiting artists are consistently giving classes for those interested in the arts. Wine and Wonder and this months Box Lunch Forum are wonderfully casual ways to discover a deeper understanding of specific works housed in the museum. This month Michelle Moseley-Christian, Assistant Professor of Art History from Virginia Tech, will contribute to the on-going discussion about the Rembrandt Etchings currently at the Taubman Museum of Art’s. Additionally the quarterly scheduled sneak previews of new exhibitions are festive, fulfilling events which are well attended by everyone remotely related to the art scene of Roanoke. For more information visit www.taubmanmuseum.org or call 540.342.5760
3. The Sneakerhead Show at the Roanoke Main Library
Date/Time: Thurs Jan 21st, 6- 8pm
Location: Roanoke City, Roanoke Main Library
706 S. Jefferson St. Roanoke VA
Cost: Free
The history of libraries as a safe haven for public art programs is well established. Several Roanoke area libraries have permanent works of art on display. However, the Roanoke Public Libraries are well beyond the captions of history. They are an integral part of the regional arts culture. Their expanding mission, to become a center for community involvement and growth washes away simple concepts of libraries as only a house of books. Coffee and lunchtime breaks, talks and group meetings are regular events. After school programs, exercise, and even gaming opportunities attract all ages. The offerings for live music including the monthly Emerging Artists Program bring jubilee to the expected calm of the library. Additionally, the monthly Emerging Artist Program brings in new art from unexpected people and venues. For January they are exploring the colorful world of design through feet décor. People spend 1,000’s of dollars on shoes and THE SNEAKERHEAD SHOW will explore why. For more information on the offering of the Roanoke Public Libraries visit http://roanokeva.gov/libraries or call 540-853-1057.
4. Portal, A Photographic Exhibition by Christine Carr at the O. Winston Link Museum
The Link Museum is proud to present more than 20 black and white photographic prints by Hollins professor and photographer, Christine Carr. In these extended exposure nighttime images, Carr explores the use of thoughtfully choreographed light as a signifier for transcendence and passage. The intentionally ambiguous areas of light present in the work may be perceived as places in which to reflect or could be pathways to unknown and unseen possibilities. This exhibition will run from February 4 until May 9, and will open with a reception on the evening of February 4th at 7 p.m. This reception will include an artist’s interview, featuring Christine Carr and interviewer John Reburn, as a part of the Museum’s Beyond the Frame series.
For more information, please call 540-982-5465 or visit www.linkmuseum.org
5. Color Me Red Art Show at the Gallery by the James
Exhibition runs Jan 7- Feb. 28, 2010 and will feature art and jewelry with the color red as an emphasis or focal point.
Gallery by the James is Botetourt County’s only cooperative art gallery and is located in an historic building on Main Street (Route 11) in Buchanan, VA. New Gallery hours are 11-5 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and 2-5 on Sunday or by appointment. Information about the gallery is available by calling 540-254-9708, e-mail gallerybythejames@comcast.net or check the web at www.gallerybythejames.net or on Facebook at www.facebook.com.
6. At Home, Paintings by Christine Tucker at Angelo in Charlottesville
Tucker has always admired the work of the 17th century Dutch painters who began the tradition of painting scenes from everyday life. Her rendering of small views of common objects in the 21st century create the awareness that in spite of all the changes in lifestyle and society we value the same things the Dutch did over 300 years ago. This exhibit runs from January 2 through February 28. A reception for the artist will be held Friday, January 8 from 5:30 till 7:30.
For more information, please call (434) 971-9256 or visit www.angelojewelry.com
7. Fiona Ross: Walking the Parallels to Terminus at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum
Artist Fiona Ross explores a variety of media to create unusual sculptures and intricate drawings. The exhibition will present her new site-specific wall drawing and works on paper that explore the experience of walking a labyrinth. Ross will create Walking the Parallels to Terminus by applying watercolor pens and sumi ink, an East Asian medium, directly to the museum walls to create unicursal (single line) labyrinths with references to the figure and landmasses. The exhibition marks the first major site-specific wall mural project for the museum. Ross received her BA from Fordham University, NY, and her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond. This exhibition runs January 7 – 30, 2010.
For more information, please call 540-362-6496 or visit www.hollins.edu
8. Holiday Exhibit at Goose Creek Studio in Bedford
Goose Creek Studio announces a new holiday exhibit of landscape paintings by Pat Dougherty, David Eakin, Revelle Hamilton, Rita Jefferson, Sandee Shaffer Johnson, and Patricia Strobel. Also on display, nature inspired sculptures by John Cowlbeck. Exhibition runs now through January 30 – Tues-Fri 10:00am to 5:00pm, Sat. 10:00am to 2:00pm – Goose Creek Studio, 330 W. Washington Street, Bedford.
For more information, please call, 540-586-8482 or visit www.goosecreekstudio.com
9. Arabian Nights by surrealist Peter Garbera and multimedia sculptor Dean Carter at Art Pannonia in Blacksburg
Dean Carter is a beloved professor emeritus from VA Tech. He is founder and first Head of the Art Dept. He trained many successful artists, including Peter Garbera. His powerful sculptures range from figurative to abstract. Peter Garbera is a very unique artist. His gothic portraits hide many surreal characteristics; his etchings represent medieval buildings and renaissance homes. He will introduce a new series of paintings of ballet dancers and Arabian horses. The exhibition runs from now until February 2.
For more information, please call (540) 552-0336 or visit www.artpannonia.org
