Mayer Kirshenblatt work - Mayer Kirshenblatt, "Purim Play (detail)," ca. 1994, featured in the upcoming Memory exhibition
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Westport Arts Center (WAC) announces its 2010-2011 season, presenting contemporary art exhibitions, jazz and chamber music concerts, film screenings, writing competitions and literary events, and art education programs for people of all ages.
According to Nancy Heller, WAC’s executive director, “Our visual arts exhibitions will serve as a springboard for related literary, film, and education programs throughout the year. Jazz and chamber music concerts will incorporate the themes of the exhibitions whenever possible and will introduce audiences to talented young musicians and a variety of music styles. With a diverse range of arts programs to choose from, including an expanded number of educational offerings, we believe there is something for everyone at the Westport Arts Center.”
Visual Arts:
Three visual art exhibitions, curated by WAC Director of Visual Arts Helen Klisser During, will explore the theme of storytelling, and will include integrated arts programs that make connections across disciplines. The season will open in September with “Memory,” exploring the importance and fragility of memory. Sponsored by Pepperidge Farm, the exhibition is intended to complement the Westport Country Playhouse’s fall production of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” and will feature drawings, paintings, lithographs, film, and sculpture by artists that depict memories of pre- and post-World War II events. The opening reception will take place on Friday, September 24, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m, and the show will run through Sunday, November 28.
WAC’s exhibition schedule will continue with “Kid Kulture,” opening Friday, December 10 through Sunday, February 20. The show will capture the universal spirit of children through the lenses of classic 20th-Century photographers, including Robert Frank, Arthur Leipzig and Ruth Orkin. In addition to displaying the work of these noted artists, WAC will host an open call for photographs of children taken by children ages 5-18. “We want to illuminate the unique point of view of a child discovering the world,” reported Klisser During. The contest with be juried by Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York City. Application information is available for the children’s submissions at www.westportartscenter.org.
The final exhibition of the season, “Resilience through the Rubble,” will feature photographs taken by 50 children from the Carma Foundation Orphanage following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The children’s images will be complemented by professional photographs ranging from individuals at the orphanage, in relief hospitals and remote villages, to colorful renditions of Haitian Tap-Tap buses, whose messages brighten up the streets of Port au Prince, encouraging hope, peace and a brighter future. “Resilience through the Rubble” will be on view from March 4 through May 1.
The Westport Arts Center gallery is open 7 days a week, and is free-of-charge. Group tours are available with prior registration. In addition to the gallery exhibitions, WAC hosts a virtual gallery space on its website that features the work of over 100 member artists. Free weekly gallery programs include ArtCafé, every Friday, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m., and a Wednesday Brown Bag Artist Lunch Series from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Performing Arts:
Jazz musician and educator, Brian Torff, will begin his second season as WAC’s Artistic Director for Jazz. “We will link the great American jazz tradition to its world-wide influence as an international art form,” stated Torff. “Jazz resonates around the world in different styles and voices. We hope to show that to our audiences.”
Edmar Castaneda, the Columbian Jazz Harpist, will perform in the WAC Gallery on Sunday, November 14
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The season kick-off is a “Gypsy Jazz” concert–an introduction to the great fusion of gypsy music with jazz, as Torff assembles a band of violin, bass, and two guitars on Saturday, October 9, 7:30 p.m. The brilliant harpist from Columbia, Edmar Castaneda, will be joined by his trio on Sunday, November 14, 3 p.m. Arturo O'Farill—pianist, composer, educator—will host two programs. The first is an educational drumming program introducing children and their families to rhythms and beats on Sunday, January 30, 3 p.m., and the season closer will present Latin Jazz and Afro-Cuban Beats, on Sunday, March 6, 3 p.m. All jazz concerts will be in the WAC gallery.
WAC’s 2010-2011 Chamber Music Series is presented under the artistic leadership of Russell Platt, a composer and a senior editor for classical music at “The New Yorker.” Chamber music audiences will hear in-depth and engaging programs at four season concerts: The St. Petersburg Quartet will on Sunday, October 3, 4 p.m. in the WAC Gallery, and three programs at the Pequot Library, Southport. Trio Solisti, one of the finest piano trios in the world, will perform on Sunday, November 7, 4 p.m.; Rebel, a much-heralded group of baroque instrumentalists, on Sunday, February 6, 3 p.m.; and British pianist, Simon Mulligan, on Sunday, April 10, 4 p.m.
Tickets to the WAC concert series are available online or by phone. In an effort to attract younger audiences to its concerts, the Arts Center recently added a $10 ticket for college students in addition to its $5 tickets for children ages 18 & under. A limited number of discount tickets for chamber music programs are available for seniors at the Westport Center for Senior Activities two weeks before each concert.
Art Education:
The Westport Arts Center education programs, under the guidance of Director of Education, Danielle Ogden, enhance the lives of more than 4,000 children each year. “We are listening to feedback from parents and are growing our youth education programs to meet the demand of the community,” said Ogden. Programs include tours for school groups, after-school, vacation day and weekend art classes, and family-friendly workshops with a talented and dynamic group of teaching artists.
Ogden reported that the popular “WACky Family Days,” which started off as a small idea in a committee meeting, have become very significant arts events for families in the area. The program is generously supported by toy company sponsor Melissa & Doug, which hosts a play zone at each event. A “WACky Costume Party” on Sunday, October 24, 2 to 4 p.m., will kick off the season. Children and their parents, grandparents, and caregivers are invited to come in costume and create wild and wacky haunted houses and Halloween masks. “WACKy Family Days” will continue in the WAC gallery with a photography-focused program on Sunday, January 9, and a music-themed program on Sunday, March 13.
WAC Building - the organization and gallery are open 7 days a week
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For adult audiences, Ogden will lead “WAC This Way,” a series of guided tours of significant arts destinations throughout New York and Connecticut. The program provides insider access to public and private art collections for individuals interested in learning more about modern and contemporary art. The fall series will begin on Monday, September 13 with a tour of the Mallin Foundation in Pound Ridge, New York. Two trips to the renowned Philip Johnson Glass House in New Canaan are scheduled for September 20 and October 25. On November 9, WAC will bring participants for a tour of the Brant Foundation in Greenwich—a private collection owned by newspaper entrepreneur Peter Brant.
WAC will also offer a 5-week art making series for adults, “Introduction to Materials and Techniques” with teaching artist Martha Bloom. The program will meet in the WAC art studio on Monday mornings from 9:30-11:30 a.m., beginning September 27. Students will learn the fundamentals of drawing and painting, as well as how to experiment with mixed media in a supportive and stimulating environment. No previous art training is required.
Literary Arts:
In writing and literature, WAC has partnered with Ina Chadwick's MouseMuse Productions to offer a series of writing competitions that are thematically linked to its visual art exhibitions. The first competition invites writers to submit well-crafted memoirs of up to 1500 words by a September 7 deadline. The competition, inspired by the “Memory” exhibition, will culminate in the reading of the winning works by professional actors at a reception and awards ceremony in the WAC gallery on Sunday, October 17. Also, memoir writer Christina Thompson, author of the book “Come on Shore: We Will Kill and Eat You All,” will give a roundtable discussion about travel essays and anthropology on Wednesday, November 3 at 7 p.m.
If it seems like the Westport Arts Center has ambitious plans for the 2010-2011 season, just ask Marketing and Communications Manager, Alyssa Crouse: “This year we look forward to presenting over 100 programs to more than 15,000 people. However, there is nothing better than to make that personal connection with each individual. We encourage people to stop on by and introduce themselves, hang out in our gallery lounge, join our mailing list, and find out how they can become involved in the arts.”
The Westport Arts Center is a visual and performing arts organization dedicated to creating arts experiences that enrich the lives of area residents and the entire community. The Westport Arts Center is supported with funds from the Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc., Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Thomas and Jeanne Elmezzi Private Foundation, Fairfield County Bank, Fairfield County Community Foundation, Gault, Inc., Independent Film Channel, Melissa and Doug, National Endowment for the Arts, New Alliance Bank, Pepperidge Farm, Inc., Signorello of Westport, The Tebil Foundation, Inc., U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Westport Resources, Westport Sunrise Rotary Young Voices Program, and Xerox Foundation.
For information contact Westport Arts Center at 203-222-7070 or go to the website at www.westportartscenter.org. Gallery hours are M-F, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sun. from noon to 4 p.m., at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport.
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