While at the Decatur Book Festival…

Don’t miss this art event this weekend during the Decatur Book Festival. Bring your art to exhibit at our annual Clothesline Show and enjoy the work of selected local artists who are participating in our Fine Arts Invitational Show.
We will be in Sammiches N’ Stuff located at 515 N. McDonough Street–near the square in Decatur.
The Clothesline Show will be held on Saturday, 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. The Fine Arts Invitational Show will be open all weekend.
Support locally grown art!

Gallery opening at Rose Squared Gallery

Bob Hughes Show at Rose Squared Gallery–Don’t miss the work of this exciting new artist–Saturday, July 24th at Rose Squared Gallery. “A Light Hearted Walk Thru Serious Matters” –the inspired paintings of Bob Hughes in his first one man showing.

Opening at The Seen Gallery on July 24

Murmurs by Denise Wellenstein and Kimberly Dean opens Saturday, July 24 at The Seen Gallery.

Wellenstein’s vibrant paintings hint at graphic design elements throughout the many layers of oil paint and glazes, sometimes revealing underlying handwritten text. The paintings are a process of exploration of color that rely on shapes, composition, contrast and texture to give depth, character and energy to the colors. Wellenstein earned her master’s degree in Imaging Arts at Rochester Institute of Technology and currently works as and artist and graphic designer.

Dean’s mixed-media pieces provide a glimpse into the heart and spirit, narrating emotions and somber moods through their surfaces. Dean’s work combines clay and mixed media while using recycled and old materials. Her current work focuses on the worlds of emotion beneath the surface, and the pieces show the interplay between body and spirit.

Last Call-Fine Arts Exhibition –Sunday!

The official end of the 22nd Annual Decatur Arts Festival is Sunday, June 6 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. at Last Call—an event celebrating the Fine Arts Exhibition at the Dalton Gallery of Agnes Scott College.

Vote for the People’s Choice award and meet several of the artists of the Fine Arts Exhibition –it is wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon and a great way to end the 2010 Decatur Arts Festival.

Don’t miss this free event. There will be limited number of Decatur Arts Festival t-shirts and posters on sale, too.

Fine Arts Exhibition opens at Agnes Scott College Dalton Gallery

May 25-June 6
Dalton Gallery at Agnes Scott College
Dana Fine Arts Building
141 E. College Ave. (map)
Opening Reception
Tuesday, May 25 • 5:15-7 pm

Be among the first to view an intriguing collection of paintings, prints, photographs, sculpture and mixed media selected by this year’s distinguished jury. Meet the artists and enjoy refreshments. Held in conjunction with the May meeting of the Decatur Business Association.

The Fine Arts Exhibition attracts submissions from regional and national artists and is reviewed by respected members of the Atlanta arts community. This year’s jurors are Susan Bridges, the owner/director of whitespace gallery; Rebecca D. Des Marais, the director of Youth Art Connection; and Gregor Turk, multi-media artist.

Exhibition Hours:
• Open daily 2-5 pm
• May 28: 2-10 pm
• May 29-30: noon-6 pm
• June 6: 2-6 pm

Closing Reception
June 6 • 4-6 pm

Join the Decatur Arts Alliance and selected artists for brief discussions of the artists’ works.

Featured Artists
Elizabeth Barton
John Berard
Felix Berroa
Michael Boatright
Christopher Boehm
Eileen Braun
Christina Bray
Michael Bryant
Elaine Callahan
Jonathan Callicutt
Philip Carpenter
Jaymie Crimmins
Dawn Davis
Katy Dement
Joseph Dreher
Monica Ellis
Russell Everett
Angus Galloway
Mali Harrell
Becky Hire
Ingrid Hogan
Lind Jensen
Patty Merrifield
Roger Moore
Susan Moreno
Rita Noe
Ronald Nuse
Judy Parady
Virginia Parkera
Duane Paxson
Kathy Phelps
Lynn Pollard
Mary Pousner
John Roberts
Susan Ryles
Edward Shmunes
Karen Stephens
Nancy Summerall
Gregor Turk
Jerome Walker
Tom Zarrilli

Poster Unveiling for the Decatur Arts Festival

On Thursday, May 6th, the festivities of the 2010 Decatur Arts Festival officially began with the unveiling of the 2010 poster. This year’s poster artist, James Dean, known for “Pete the Cat”, captures the spirit of the festival with his depiction of Pete traveling to the Decatur Arts Festival in a vintage VW–easel in the back and an ART sticker on the bumper. This year’s event was held at the Old Courthouse and was full of Pete’s fans.
Posters and t-shirts will be on sale at the festival–get them while they last!

Don’t miss the opening of the Fine Arts Exhibition on May 25 from 5:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. This event, held in conjunction with the Decatur Business Association meeting, will take place in the Dana Gallery on the campus of Agnes Scott College. See you there!

Call for Georgia Artists!

The City of Stone Mountain, Main Street Stone Mountain and ART Station seeks to commission an artist or artist team to design and execute a sculptural public art work to be installed permanetly on Main Street in Stone Mountain Village. The art work will be placed in the center island area of the pedestrian crosswalk in the Historic Village of Stone Mountain located in the City of Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Project Budget: The project budget shall not exceed $12,000. This budget includes the construction cost as well as the fee to the artist/artist team. This commission budget includes all costs associated with the project: design, fabrication, construction, delivery and installation, engineering and insurance. At least 50% of the budget must be used for the actual construction of the art work.

Eligibility: Limited to artists/artists teams that reside and work in the state of Georgia.

Note: The selected artist(s) will be responsible for providing engineer stamped drawings for the construction, installation and load rating specifications for the project prior to fabrication.

Concept/Theme: The theme of the art to be commissioned shall be based in a positive historical context as it relates to the history of the Village of Stone Mountain. The City of Stone Mountain’s history is based upon the granite industry, tourism, and transportation as it relates to its trolley car line and power generating station in which ART Station is housed today.

Deadline for submission is May 14, 2010

Call ART Station, Inc. at 770 469 1105 or e-mail stonemountainpublicartsproject@gmail.com. Applications are also available at the City of Stone Mountain City Hall at 922 Main Street, Stone Mountain, Georgia or at the Main Street Stone Mountain office located in the Annex Building just behind Stone Mountain City Hall.

PushPush Offers Theater and Film Camps

PushPush Offers Summer Theater and Film Camps for Children and Teens

The specific philosophy behind PushPush Theater’s youth program, Small Tall, unique to the Atlanta theater community, is that the more young audiences are exposed to challenging work, the easier it will be to present them with high-quality work when they are older. Finding metaphors and motifs in classic drama that reflect young people’s life experience can help youth understand difficult themes in challenging works of art and ensure that masterpieces are kept alive and fresh for new audiences. The PushPush Theater mission is to develop young audiences to grow up to be valuable cultural patrons of, and participants, in the arts.

PushPush Theater and Film Camp

PushPush Theater is offering two camps including a theater, film, and improv component. Both camps allow students to try their hand at work behind and in front of the lights. The process will be centered on a specific text and the story will unfold utilizing all three components. The camp will culminate in a professional public performance at noon on the final Friday of each camp. Our goals with each of these programs are to enhance participants’ imagination, communication, confidence, and thinking skills while sensitizing them to team work. Teens and youth will work separately but come together to create the final performance. The camps are challenging and require focus, but they are also fun and tremendously rewarding. All camps are taught by leading professional artists in their related fields.

Dates: Camp One: June 7 – 25, 2010 Camp Two: July 5 – July 23, 2010
Times: Monday – Friday from 10am – 3pm
Ages: 8 – 12 and Teens 13+
Fee: $625 for entire 3-week session ($1100 for both camps)

Reserve your space by emailing pushpushtheater@gmail.com or call 404-377-6332

This Saturday at the Seen Gallery

New work by Melanie Eberhardt and Madli Kirchhoff opens April 17, 7-10PM at the Seen Gallery in Downtown Decatur!

Melanie Eberhardt

The Seen Gallery has represent Melanie Eberhardt for over 5 years. Her work is reflective of herself, the times we live in, and our environment. She says about this show “This exhibit is about work – how difficult it is to find a job when you don’t have one but desperately need one and how few people are actually happy at the jobs they DO have. I’ve experienced both points of view as many people have.

Several times I have had to stand in that long line at unemployment. It’s a wonderful fall back but it’s difficult to manage expenses on the payments you receive. I’m startled to speak with friends and learn how many people are not happy at work. The reasons vary, but I often think about how many people start every morning dreading going to work!

Stitching these themes into the general malaise of our current economic climate, I thought an exhibit would be a great forum to explore feelings of frustration, ridiculousness, compliance and hopelessness within the context of work. I think many people will be able to relate to the show’s pieces.

Madli Kirchhoff

Her newest drawings show a spiritual progression toward something beyond people’s mundane lives.
Some say the artwork of Madli Kirchhoff is hallucinogenic. Others call it a captivating, intriguing view of the human condition. The ideas for her figurative drawings and paintings come from her zest for life and her love of people.
At age 9, Madli Kirchhoff began studying art. The year was 1934 In Tallinn, Estonia. Since then she has lived successively in Germany, London, Saigon, Okinawa, back to Saigon, Bangkok, Philadelphia and finally to Decatur, GA where she lives today.

Throughout her life she has continued to draw and paint. In London she studied art at the London County Council School of Arts and then Saint Martin’s School of Art. Her experiences have included working in the costume department of the Covent Garden Opera House in London, writing fashion articles and drawing for the Bangkok World newspaper, a fashion designer for Design Thai, and the owner of a boutique for custom designed formal wear in Okinawa.

Kirchhoff’s works are part of three permanent collections in Estonia: The Estonian Art Museum and LinnaMuseum, both in Tallinn, and the Estonia Lihula Cultural Center in Lihula. She has also had over a dozen solo shows, including galleries in Saigon, Bangkok, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Haapsalu and Lihula, Estonia. Kirchhoff has also participated in nearly as many group shows throughout her artistic career, including six in the Philadelphia area, as well as New York, Atlantic City, and Stockholm

For more information, contact: 404.377.0733
www.theseengallery.com

Come to downtown Decatur this weekend–enjoy the beautiful weather and some wonderful art.

Don’t miss Spring arts events in Decatur!

There are lots of art events happening in Decatur in the month of April!

Need something to do while the kids are on spring break? Spring Into Art happens April 5, 6 and 7 at Sycamore Place Gallery in downtown Decatur. Ms. Sylvia and friends will lead kids in drawing, painting, collaging, and creating Shadow Journeys boxes and books. Call Sycamore Place Gallery at 404-377-7747 for more information.

Agnes Scott College presents A Celebration of Dance

Studio Dance Theatre at Agnes Scott College presents Spring Forward: A Celebration of Dance. The company will perform dynamic choreography from the past and present. Come experience the passion of the movement and the artistry of the dancers. One of the performers in this event is the Decatur Arts Alliance’s Agnes Scott Intern, Havalyn Raeuber!

Performances will be Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10 at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 11 at 3:00 p.m. in Gaines Chapel, Presser Hall on the Agnes Scott College campus. Parking is free in the deck on McDonough St., and general admission tickets are $5 at the door. For more information, contact Bridget Roosa at (404) 471-6940.

Another event that we have been looking forward to is the grand opening event at Wild Oats and Billy Goats The grand opening is the evening of April 10 and will feature many located at 112 East Ponce de Leon Avenue in Downtown Decatur. Wild Oats & Billy Goats is a whimsical and colorful folk art gallery that offers paintings, sculpture, pottery, jewelry, hand-sewn art, and photography by folk and outsider self-taught artists from across North America. For more information call (404) 378-4088!

Decatur High School to Showcase Student Creativity

A celebration of visual art, singing, photography, dance, drama, music, culinary arts, video, and creative writing – the largest showcase of creative arts in Decatur High School’s history!

THURSDAY, APRIL 15th • 7 p.m. • DHS THEATER

Every Decatur resident and student will enjoy this show!
$5 adults / $3 students at the door
Proceeds benefit the Decatur High PTSA’s Cultural Arts Committee
For more information, call 404.370.4420, ext. 161

Decatur City Dance presents:the 10th Annual Swinging Night of Tap

Decatur City Dance presents the 10th annual Swinging Night of Tap on Saturday, April 17th and Sunday, April 18th. Featuring 18 works, the show runs about two hours and is guaranteed to entertain audiences of all ages. Audience members will enjoy a wide variety of dance and music styles. Performances will be held at Beacon Hill Studio Theatre.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling 404.378.3388. For more information, contact Birda Ringstad at 770.938.7932 or rhythmkeepers@yahoo.com. Please visit Decatur City Dance at www.decaturcitydance.org.