Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC, Offers Tours with Dan Smith

Appalachian State University’s Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC, is currently presenting an exhibition by artist, Dan Smith, titled MANinfested DESTINY: From Boone to Boon- A Re-Interpretation by Dan Smith on exhibit until Nov. 13, 2010. This exhibition is a “living exhibition” where the components of the exhibition will be altered, moved and transformed by the artist until the close of the exhibition. The artist will be working in the gallery on Wednesdays and will be available to answer questions about his work.

Photo from Dan Smith

In addition to his exhibit, Dan Smith will be organizing two guided walking tours through the town of Boone to discuss and learn about the life of American pioneer and the town’s namesake, Daniel Boone. The tours are scheduled for Saturdays, Sept. 4, 2010, and Oct. 2, 2010, from 10am until noon. The tours will meet and begin at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts and travel around the town visiting other locations including: Belk Library, the Boone Statue, the Boone Monument, the Greenhouse, the Post Office Mural and the High Country Press where some of Smith’s photographs are on display.

Photo from Dan Smith

Smith’s current work displayed at the Turchin Center is an environmentally and historically based exhibition and incorporates photographs, paintings and natural and manmade objects with historical documentation, which investigates aspects of the American Revolution, the Great Awakening, the Enlightenment, global conflict, new technology and sustainable development. MANinfested Destiny: From Boone to Boon is the third installment of a series of exhibitions by Smith titled Extended Sites where he projects himself into randomly selected out-of-doors environments across the United States.

Smith has been a freelance artist, illustrator and photographer sine 1978. His artwork has been featured in over 100 exhibitions throughout the country. Before moving to nearby Hickory in 2003, he spent over 15 years teaching college courses in studio art and humanities in South Carolina and Virginia.

The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts presents exhibition, education and collection programs that support Appalachian State University’s role as a key regional educational, cultural and economic resource.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings. For info on Dan Smith’s Guided Walking Tour and when he will be actively working in the gallery, please call the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at 828/262-3017 or visit (www.tcva.org).

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Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery in Charleston, SC, Calls for Exhibit Proposals

Attention SC Visual Artist: The first thing you need to know is that you have to get your act together between Sept. 1 – Oct. 15, 2010, to have a shot at an opportunity to have an exhibit at the Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery, located in the Main Branch of the Charleston County Public Library in downtown Charleston, SC.

Those dates are the important thing to remember. Now you can read the rest of the information.

The Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery announces a call for entries for juried art exhibitions, solo or group, for the calendar year 2011 at the Main Library. Preference is given to work reflecting experiences and viewpoints of South Carolina residents. Deadline for completed applications is October 15, 2010. Applications are available at the Administrative Office of the Main Library or on our web at this link. Applications are also available by calling Mallery Manning at 843/805-6949.

The Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery is a small intimate exhibit space – when entering the gallery, the left wall is 17′ 8″, the rear wall is 14′ 6″ and the right wall is 19′ 2″. The room height is slightly more than 8′. But, it is in a location that sees high traffic by people who are knowledge seekers – folks with expanded horizons. These are the kind of people you might like to see your art. Although the space is small, I have seen creative artists use it with unlimited imagination. If you understand that – you know what I mean.

For some reason Charleston’s artists don’t seem to be as interested in this exhibit space as I think they should. How do I know this? By the lack of applications submitted by Charleston area artists. And, the fact that more and more shows presented there are by artists from outside of the Charleston area. I guess they prefer places where they can have receptions – booze. You see, some artists think people will only like and buy their art when they are boozed up. I hope you have more confidence in your art.

What you get out of the space depends on what you put in it – meaning I’ve seen exhibits where the artists didn’t even leave any info about the exhibit or how to get in touch with them – even if someone was interested in learning more, getting them to exhibit somewhere else, much less buy something. While others have placed sign-in books for people’s reactions to the exhibit, price lists, business cards, an artist’s statement about the exhibit, and anything else that will help them make a connection with viewers. These artists also send out press releases by deadline to the media to make sure their exhibit has a chance at being promoted to the public. You get out what you put in.

So, here’s an opportunity for any SC visual artists to show their work in Charleston – the place some people call the cultural capital of the South.

Once More: Applications will only be accepted during the Calls for Submissions period from Sept. 1 until Oct. 15, 2010. The works of each selected artist or group will be exhibited for one month beginning in February of 2011.

For further information, please call 843/805-6949 or visit (www.ccpl.org).

2010 West Greenville Arts Festival Takes Place in the Pendleton Street Arts District of Greenville, SC – Sept. 18 & 19, 2010

Greenville, SC – Upstate Visual Arts, in partnership with the Pendleton Street Arts District, is proud to be hosting the first ever West Greenville Arts Festival. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend this new and exciting weekend experience comprised of work from nearly 100 artists in a full range of two-dimensional and three-dimensional media. Times for this free event include: Saturday Sept. 18, from 10am to 7pm and Sunday Sept. 19, from 11am to 5pm.

The event, devoted to the visual arts, will be the first of its kind in the historic, newly renovated Pendleton Street Arts District. The street festival will not only feature booth artists, food vendors, live music, and children’s activities, but will also encourage interaction with the existing galleries and businesses located in West Greenville through a walking tour of the area.

The festival will have over 50 artists’ booths and several local art organizations.  Art in a variety of styles and media will be for sale from local and regional artists.  The artists will be on hand to discuss their work and some will offer demonstrations.

A wonderful selection of food will be available throughout the weekend from local vendors both in booths on the festival grounds and at store fronts in the Arts District. There will be something for everyone, every taste bud and every budget! Once you grab a bite, you can lay down a blanket or bring a chair to enjoy live music and entertainment both days on the music stage.  The event will offer a diverse line-up of phenomenal local talent!  Music starts at 11am on Saturday and noon on Sunday.  A complete lineup can be found on our website.

The children’s area this year will be full of something for all of our younger visitors. We will have several make and take projects, face painting, a live puppet show at 10:30am on Saturday and even a tent to help with feedings and diaper changes!

In addition, over 20 businesses in the District will be open as a part of the festivities. You will be able to see all the stores, studios and galleries that make this area so special!

Additional information is available by calling the Upstate Visual Arts office at 864/232-4433, e-mail to (UpstateArts@bellsouth.net) or visit (www.WestGreenvilleArtsFestival.com).

USC Upstate in Spartanburg, SC, Features Works by Mary Bentz Gilkerson

Spartanburg, SC – The Curtis R. Harley Art Gallery at the University of South Carolina Upstate is featuring an exhibit of paintings and prints by Mary Bentz Gilkerson from August 20 to September 24, 2010. The exhibit is entitled The Congaree. An artist lecture will be held on Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 4:30pm.

Mary Bentz Gilkerson is active in the South Carolina art scene as an artist, critic and curator. She holds BFA and MFA degrees in drawing and painting from the University of South Carolina. A native South Carolinian, Gilkerson lives and works in Columbia where she is a professor of art at Columbia College. She has received grants from the SC Arts Commission and the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties in addition to having been selected as a Southern Arts Federation Fellowship Finalist. She is in the permanent collections of Palmetto Health, Morris Communications Company, and Seibels Bruce Group, among others.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, contact Jane Allen Nodine, gallery director, at 864/503-5838 or e-mail to (jnodine@uscupstate.edu).

SC Arts Commission Calls for Fellowship Grant Applications by Oct. 1, 2010

Columbia, SC –  Artists working in visual arts, craft, music performance and music composition may apply for a 2011-2012 Individual Artist Fellowship Award from the S.C. Arts Commission. Up to four fellowships of $5,000 will be awarded. The deadline to apply is Oct. 1, 2010. Applications are available at (www.SouthCarolinaArts.com).

Past fellows agree that fellowships offer endorsement that may open doors to other resources and employment opportunities. Kim Keats, the 2009-2010 craft fellow from Beaufort, said, “The fellowship award gave me an opportunity to garner recognition in the Beaufort area that I would not have otherwise received.”

The Arts Commission’s Individual Artist Fellowship Program encourages the pursuit of artistic excellence and provides financial support to South Carolina artists of merit. Since 1976, the Arts Commission has awarded 200 fellowship awards to actors, craftsmen, poets, screenwriters, musicians and more in recognition of exemplary artistic talent. Fellowship awards have no restriction on use of funds.

The Individual Artist Fellowship Program is one of the agency’s most competitive grant programs. Fellows are recommended by out-of-state review panelists, who make selections based solely on a review of work samples. These recommendations are approved by the Arts Commission Board.

For more information or to request an application by mail, call 803/734-8696.

Welcome to Carolina Arts News

Well, here is our new site for press releases, art news items, and shout outs about what’s going on in Carolina’s visual art community. These blog entries are either items we received at the last minute, items which came after our deadlines or just items that we thought were important enough to let you know about – right away.

So why do we need another blog? Frankly, these items which are important were clogging up Carolina Arts Unleashed which was started to be a venue for more of my commentary. Once I started using it to post press releases that missed the boat when it came to the printed paper or even the website version of the paper – more and more items came in hoping to get placed on the blog. This was good, but also bad for my original intentions for Carolina Arts Unleashed. And, a few folks wanted us to go back to the original concept. So, it was time for a new blog – Carolina Arts News.

I hope it becomes as popular as Carolina Arts, Carolina Arts Online and Carolina Arts Unleashed.

Tom Starland
editor and publisher
Carolina Arts