Love-in: A Positivity Potluck

The term 'love-in' was coined exactly 50 years ago in 1967 and refers to a gathering of people in the spirit of compassion, community and positive change. This Friday (January 20) VAE will host its first ever love–in during gallery hours 11a-6p, followed by a public reading of The Taming at 7:30p.

Think of it as a positivity potluck. We'll screen some inspiring videos throughout the day and have materials to write and design love + thank you notes to whoever you wish. We're asking you to bring and share things you love:conversation, poetry, music, games, puppies, baked goods, dance, art/craft activities- anything that you love and want to share with another human being. Come for a minute or stay all day. All people welcome.

January 20th, 2017
11a - 6p @ VAE Raleigh
309 West Martin Street, Raleigh NC

Questions? email Rachel

Contemporary South '17

February 3 - March 30, 2017
Selections Announced - January 13, 2017
Main Gallery
VAE will be showcasing some of the most ambitious and timely works by artists from across the region in our annual exhibition, Contemporary South. The purpose of the exhibition is to gather a survey of what creative people in the Regional South are creating. Since 2012 this exhibition has grown and expanded to become one of VAE's most well-received exhibitions.

The Juror - Sheetal Prajatapati 

Sheetal Prajapati worked as the Assistant Director of Learning and Artists Initiatives at MoMA till late 2016 and now works as an artist and educator. Raised in Kentucky, Sheetal has a great insider/outsider view of the landscapes of the Regional South.

Sheetal received a BA in History and Gender Studies from Northwestern University and an MA in Arts Administration and Policy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Awards
1st - Renee Cloud, Unintelligible pt. 2
2nd - Mary Ann Anderson, Discussion
3rd - JP Trostle, Upheval
Honorable Mention - Julie Anne Greenberg, System XI Joaquin "ARE YOU PREPARED?"
Honorable Mention - Anthony Hamilton, 7 Waves on Lake Michigan
Honorable Mention - Townsend Davidson,  Supercritical Flow

The following artists/works will be exhibited in Contemporary South 2017

Leslie Bailey, Last Chance Thoughts
Jeff Beekman, Gettysburg 7
Rick Bennett, Fulchers Point at Raccoon Creek
Geza Brunow, Keyhole: One Nation Under Porn
Micah Cash, Nickajack Powerhouse
Parker Christen, Specimen 4
Renee Cloud, I Didn't Think You'd Be So Smart
Townsend Davidson, Strange Non-Chaotic Isolator
Dana Flynt, Smokestack
Cassidy Frye, Won't Let You Leave
Anthony Garcia-Copian, Cyberdelic
Mark Gordon, Ridge
George Gregory, Caged
Ian Griffin, The Return
Elaine Kinnaird, Ghost Net, Time Bundle
John Lowe, Untitled XXXI, Untitled XXII
Peter Marin, Recordando a Piero
Andrew O'Brien, Untitled
Constance Pappalardo, Whispering Forest, Autumn
Victor Perez, Green Paintings
Eric Raddatz, Joslin
Lisa    Stroud, A Bouquet for Gypsy, Una Storia D'Amore
Tim Walter, Hair as its own character
Melissa Wilgis, She Tells a Story
Jay Yager, 115 Carthage Back Door

SEE ATTACHED / DEPTH / FLUSH

Triple Threat

January 6-26
First Friday (redo) January 13 6-10pm

For the month of January VAE will be showcasing three exhibitions in our Main Gallery. 

FLUSH

We invite all to come write their woes from the past year on some ultra-soft double ply and throw them down the toilet. It safe to say 2016 wasn't the best year for everyone. But in an effort to move on, to start anew, to carpe diem in 2017, we are flushing away the crap from 2016. 

DEPTH

VAE is showcasing the work of both our amazing 3D artist group and some of our past sculptors. VAE's Three-Dimensional Artist Group is a supportive network for artists who explore ideas and techniques and offer each other feedback. Artists are encouraged to bring a current work but are by no means obligated to. This group is open to anyone who works with a three-dimensional medium or would like to. All artists’ groups are free to VAE members and $5 for non-members.

The work included ranges from ceramics to game mods. 

See Attached

VAE will be going back in time to the early 1990s when the state of the art technology of the email attachment was invented. Since then it has changed information exchanges in a major way. 

Artists sent VAE emails with their work attached, and we have plastered our gallery with their art, and their emails.  

Dreams Deferred

Dreams Deferred  

A community art project inspired by Langston Hughes' poem, "Harlem"
Documented by Ariyah April & Veronique Moses  

January 6-26, 2017
Opening Reception: January 6th, 6-10pm
First Friday Do-Over: January 13th, 6-10pm

Artist Talk: January 21st, 11am
Join Ariyah & Veronique for a casual conversation with opportunities to ask questions of some of their photo subjects: Mr. Henry "Hank" Williamson; Lea Salas; Sonja Matheny; Tavi Hawn; Mark Alkins; and Anuragini Barman.

Harlem
by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrup sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Project Statement:

Magic marked in ink are the uncurbed dreams of a child, “when I grow up, I want to be a doctor, fashion designer, track star, a mother.” Our dreams evolve as we move through life, some remaining constant and others fading into time. As an adult, we may reconcile that there are no gold medals on the shelves or open-heart surgeries on the calendar, but what happens to the elusive dream that remains close and fleeting?   

“Dreams Deferred,” titled from Langston Hughes’ poem “Harlem,” is a photography-and writing-based storytelling project examining what becomes of a dream and the people behind them. It invites the viewer to bear witness externally, and to reflect internally. “Dreams Deferred” is a collaboration between two local photographers, Ariyah April and Veronique Moses, with the local community.   

In his poem “Harlem,” Hughes asks: “What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore—and then run?” April and Moses explore whether lifelong dreams chain us or lead us to hope.  

“Dreams Deferred” profiles six dreamers analyzing their own big wins and big losses. No matter the circumstances or perceived external differences between them— and the viewers— the gut-survival need for dreaming is evident. With thought on their own elusive dream, dreamers set out to answer Hughes’ poignant question and to further identify their dreams with one of the potential scenarios Hughes leave us with. Moses and April have posed their six dreamers in a dual documentary portraiture reflecting both the weight and hope of such dreams and visually inspecting Hughes’ six potential scenarios.  

Alongside the profiles, “Dreams Deferred” features an interactive and evolving installation collecting the community's contributions over the course of the exhibit. All visitors are encouraged to record their own dreams on a piece of the installation, allowing them to (anonymously or not) speak their truths, share and reaffirm them. The community art piece symbolizing dreams still in flight signifies our collective dreams and strikes a profound statement about interconnection.     

April and Moses are emerging documentary artists impassioned to continually share the stories of those whose voices often go unheard and undocumented. Their own experiences serve as the driving forces to expand this contextual lens aimed at frankly removing the perceived barriers around us.  

“Dreams Deferred” embody the same humility and servitude when it comes to depicting the realities of its dreamers. The hope is that participants leave the exhibit with insights into their fellow humankind, as well as a sparked ignition for driving their own lives.

Janet Coleman / Aloft on Hillsborough

Janet Coleman

January-March 

Animals, landscape, people, and objects are often common themes in my work.  By defining forms through a layering of texture and color, I search for the accidental image. These images often serve to guide the piece and ignite inspiration from memory, experience or dreams.