The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts

Weekend Art Marathon!

I hit the ground running six months ago and there is still so much to learn! It is too easy to fill my new full time schedule with art projects and inventories, databases and recruiting, workshops and the occasional doodle. However, the best part of every day is easily the two hours of hands on mentorship with these awesome young artists.

This weekend is an art marathon starting Friday with the Strange Machine reading series followed by the Bart Vargas opening. Saturday morning starts with a map making workshop facilitated by artist Kjell Peterson and ends at Joslyn for Draw-a-thon! Finishing the weekend strong Sunday evening by coordinating the KBS student volunteers for the OEAA’s.

Ready. Set. GO

-Thom

Art Heaven

After each semester, I go through numerous abandoned and unwanted artworks that students choose not to take home for whatever reason. Often times I am tasked with determining whether these artworks should be “reincarnated” for future projects or if they will join numerous other works in what I call “art heaven”. I try to envision that when disposing of non-salvageable artworks, they meet up with other trashed art from the likes of Picasso, Rembrandt, Da Vinci and Kahlo. I imagine that all of these artworks join together and form this colossal, sublime composition where every work fits together harmoniously like a puzzle. Each new piece finds it’s formal and compositional niche, and nothing is left out. I must confess to sending some of my own work to art heaven. Occasionally I was surprised to find a rescued artwork that I had trashed in a friend’s hallway or studio. Dumpster diving for materials was however a common practice and I too frequented local dumpsters looking for scraps and anomalies. Perhaps the idea of abandonment coupled with the honor of the rescue creates value that otherwise would not exist. To those artworks passing on, I would like to wish you a fruitful afterlife full of pigment, gesture, form, process, meaning, narrative, passion, energy, and expression!

First week… fast friends

Dear Action Journal,

It is so nice to meet you! I am excited to get to know you and learn all your ins and outs. Anne and Weston have welcomed me into their circle and given me a chance to reinvigorate your life at the Kent Bellows Studio. We have already been able to create several new action project groups. It looks like we will be balancing our time between administrative work, building projects, the website and who knows what else. I am looking forward to students and mentors arriving and working with you to build infrastructure to make everyones life easier and be great enablers of art making. Right now you are a new and shiny black book with a bold-gold elastic strap… It the coming months you will be a well thumbed, paint stained, coffee dribbled tomb. Thank you for making me feel so welcome. First steps in a long and exciting journey!

-Thom

Learning Others

Learn others, inspire them, guide them, let them go.

I recently watched part of “Dreamscape”, an 80′s movie starring Dennis Quaid that entertains the possibility of entering another person’s dreams/mind in hopes of helping them through and illness or trouble of some kind. The movie takes a bunch of dark twists and turns, but I found the basic thesis of the story relatable. The methods mentors use to unlock and reinforce creative potential in others requires a deal of detective work and creative problem solving skills. Each student, both inwardly and outwardly, embodies a complex, cryptic puzzle, unique in its facets and rich in detail. Learning how to chart a path towards a safe zone within someone else where you may begin to collaborate creatively is no simple task. This is, however, a common task we must accomplish with ourselves in order to access our own creative potential. In my experience, learning others has everything to do with learning myself, and so I will leave you with this:

Learn yourself, inspire yourself, guide yourself, let yourself go.

Encourage others to find their passion, and to join it with method and habit.

Lavie Raven Comes to Omaha

Discussion Seeks to Find Positive Place for Urban Art in Omaha Area
Two Area Arts Organizations Collaborate on Residency of Chicago Artist

WHAT: “A Community Discussion with Lavie Raven: Urban Art in the Community”
WHEN: Tuesday, July 12th, 2011, 7-9pm
WHO: presented by The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts
WHERE: The Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, 724 S. 12th St.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This community discussion is part of a weeklong residency presented collaboratively by The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts and The Union for Contemporary Art

The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts and The Union for Contemporary Arts are proud to welcome Lavie Raven, artist and educator, for a community discussion aimed at considering arts as a means of social change.

Brigitte McQueen, founder and director of The Union for Contemporary Art, will first facilitate a conversation with Raven and then with a panel of community leaders to consider “How can urban art and community co-exist in a way that is impactful and meaningful?”

“We are very honored with the opportunity to collaborate with such a charismatic and inspired community leader,” said Weston Thomson, Education Manager at The Kent Bellows Studio. “Lavie Raven’s influence in Chicago and guidance concerning urban arts in our community will elevate our appreciation and understanding of public arts-driven social change.”

Lavie Raven is the founder of the University of Hip-Hop in Chicago, a multi-disciplinary approach to youth development that holistically engages academic skills, celebrates individual talents and artistic abilities, and empowers young people’s desires to bring positive change to society.

The initial conversation with Raven will provide ideas and reflections for how to actualize community change through multicultural expressions and artistic direct action. The follow-up panel will provide a local context for the conversation by considering urban art in the Omaha community while possible touching on the following subjects: illegal graffiti in community, types of urban art, motivation behind graffiti, youth language and voice, and art and social change.

This community conversation is one of many events taking place during Raven’s weeklong residency in Omaha. The following events also seek to use artistic expression as a means of social change in the community:

Workshop with students at The Kent Bellows Studio,
On Monday, July 11th, Raven will work hands-on with select students interest in the urban art aesthetic, many of which are currently involved or have previously been students in the Re(Create) Program. Re(Create) is a mentoring program at The Kent Bellows Studio that seeks focus youth interest in urban art and graffiti aesthetic in a productive way by completing public art in the community.

Community Art Project
Raven will also be facilitating a community art project in collaboration with the Union for Contemporary Art and students from The Kent Bellows Studio. More about this project will be released at a later date.

Special thanks to the following supporters of “A Community Discussion with Lavie Raven: Urban Art in the Community”: The Reader, the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art. Lavie’s community projects and workshops during his stay in Omaha have been generously funded by the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Weitz Family Foundation and supported by the work of the Stockyard Institute.

The following supporters provided valuable underwriting for 2011′s Re(Create) Program at The Kent Bellows Studio: the Lozier Foundation, Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Arts Council, Todd & Betiana Simon, and Paul & Annette Smith.

June 2011 E-newsletter stories continued…Mentor Exhibition

Mentors’ Work Highlights Creative Context at The Kent Bellows Studio
Exhibition Showcases Work of New and Experienced Mentors in Program

WHAT: “The Kent Bellows Studio Mentor Exhibition” Opening Reception
WHEN: Thursday, June 30^th, 2011, 6-9pm
Exhibition continues through July 23rd, 11 am-4pm Tuesday-Friday 11am-4pm by appointment, Saturday by appointment.
WHO: Mentors of The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts
WHERE: The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts, 3303 Leavenworth St., Omaha

Professional artists are the driving force behind the mentoring program at The Kent Bellows Studio.  It is their experiences, skills and talents that create a culture of collaboration, expression and hands-on experimentation.

“Together, our mentors’ work both highlight the creative context in which The Kent Bellows Studio students flourish, and inspire progress in local artist talent,” said Weston Thomson, Education Manager.

Each semester, the organization honors its mentors and showcases the very talent that makes the creative environment at The Kent Bellows Studio possible.  The Summer 2011 Mentor exhibition opens on Thursday, June 30^th, 2011, with a reception to take place 6-9pm. The show continues through July 23rd. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-4pm by appointment, Saturday and Sunday by appointment.

The exhibition features work from long-term mentors and some fresh new faces. Recent mentors Laurie Sewell, Liz Vercruysse, Stephan Grot, and Peter Cales will be added to the kaleidoscopic range of work from Matthew Jones, Sarah Fettin, Dan Richters, Gerard Pefung, Steve Walsh, Weston Thomson, Amy Haney, and Alex Myers. The exhibition is curated by the Gallery Internship program; the young curators include Jaclyn Horan and Emma Ford.

Artwork sales and free will donations benefit both the artist and future art programs at The Kent Bellows Studio. Thanks to the following sponsors, who make our work possible throughout the entire year: Secret Penguin, Redstone Communications, Therman Statom and Cathy Solarana Design.

Collaborations that make sense

Yes, I know.  It has been way too long since we last posted.  We are going to get better about this.  We promise!  We have been completing some video blogs with our students that we can’t wait to share with you.

In the meantime…

This Spring, we were approached by Crystal Rhoades from The Neighborhood Center about a special collaboration.  If you don’t know The Neighborhood Center, you should.  This is an organization that spends the bulk of their time empowering neighborhoods and residents to solve their problems on a grass-roots level.  Check out their website here:  http://www.unomaha.edu/ncenter/.

Well, one of Crystal’s huge challenges (because it is one of the biggest challenges in our respective neighborhoods) is illegal graffiti, or vandalism.  She has spent a lot of time in the nicer weather months activating volunteers to clean vandalism off of the various trail systems in this community.  She has been seeking a more permanent and proactive solution to this problem.

Many communities have had a great deal of success with murals serving as a graffiti deterrent.  Our unique model in the Urban Arts Program helps to engage students that are interested in urban art as a medium to complete public art throughout the city.  It was a good match for her challenges along the bike trail system.  This summer, we are proud to announce, our students will complete the first murals along the Keystone Trail near the Arksarben Village complex.  Jay Noddle of Noddle Companies, the mastermind behind the Arksarben Village that we have all come to love, was fully supportive of the project.

Our goal is to complete three murals this Summer and one in early Fall.  At least two of these murals will be completed by students in our Urban Arts Program.  We are leaving the option to collaborate with artist mentors and our students on traditional murals, as well.  However, we are going to continue to do murals along the bike trail until we run out of canvas.  Our hope is to complete 4-8 murals a year along the trail.

The students will work with stakeholders, whether it be the sponsor of the mural or the Community Bike Shop (another organization you should know, if you don’t already), to conceptualize the finished project.  As you may or may not know, our students work with established artists that serve as mentors to complete these projects.

So, back to the point of the post.  Collaborations that make sense.  Crystal knows the City, County and State government people very well.  I would’ve never been able to rally the support and endorsement for this project that she could.  And she would have spent a lot of time recreating the wheel by developing her own mural project.

And Crystal isn’t the only one.  As a small organization, we rely heavily on our friends and champions in other non-profits and businesses to help maximize the steps we take to reach our mission. We truly love our friends throughout the city that seeks ways to reach more people in positive ways through collaboration.  And so many of our projects have been as a result of these collaborations.  (Small plug, we have a pretty great list of these folks on our donors and supporters page, check it out.)

We are proud to announce (the fact that it has happened, but not the person quite yet), that we officially have the first sponsor for a mural.  If you (or someone you know) would like to sponsor, please email me at anne@kentbellows.org.  Sponsors will be silently and vocally worshipped (plus there will be some signage, I guess, to recognize their support), as well as in all materials about the project.

Until next time.  Creatively yours,

Anne