Richmond Art Center Members’ Annual Meeting, Board Election, and Reception
Saturday, June 10, 2017, 3:00 to 4:45 pm
The Richmond Art Center’s annual members’ meeting and reception will be held at the Art Center beginning at 3:00 p.m. The purpose of the meeting is to hold the election for the fiscal year 2017 – 2018 Art Center Board of Directors. During the reception, Ric Ambrose will lead a preview tour of the Annual Members’ Exhibition.
Ballots will be available at the front desk during the reception and must be submitted between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. back to the front desk of the Art Center. All members are eligible to vote. At least twenty (20) members must vote for the election to be valid.
Board President Inez Brooks-Myers will conduct the meeting, opening at 4:00 p.m. Executive Director Ric Ambrose and staff will provide up-dates on the Art Center’s accomplishments of the past year, and plans for the next year. The meeting will be followed by the public opening reception for the Summer Exhibitions at 5:00 p.m.
It’s that time of year again… Parent’s Press is holding their annual vote for the Best Of in children’s classes and camps. We’d love your help to get gold stars for 2017!
Last year we were thrilled to receive the gold in the categories for classes and camps. This year, you can vote for the Richmond Art Center in the following areas.
We have a few spaces left for our current student artists to sell their work at our upcoming Open House on April 22. Click here to learn more and apply!
We add our voice and join with so many others who understand and value the crucial impact the arts and humanities bring to us as individuals, as members of our communities, and to our society, nationally and globally.
The proposed federal budget estimates $54 billion in domestic program cuts, which will eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the funding for afterschool programs throughout the country. These critical funds support local artists, writers, poets, historians, and nonprofit arts organizations, such as the Richmond Art Center’s Art in the Community program, making the arts accessible to underserved Richmond children and teens.
The Richmond Art Center stands with our nonprofit and cultural partners, and with citizens across our country, to support those agencies and organizations that may be impacted by this proposed budget. Our own roots at the Art Center trace back to 1936 when, with the support of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), local artist Hazel Salmi traveled the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. The value the role of the arts and humanities play in our lives, and the benefit to our larger society, cannot be discounted.
We realize that the House of Representatives and the Senate are now tasked with refining, reviewing, and approving the federal budget—a process that will span the next few months.
We will be urging our representatives in Congress to continue funding these agencies and hope that you, our dedicated and vibrant community of artists and arts enthusiasts, will lend your voices in speaking to your legislators about the vital influence, critical discourse, and positive societal impact that the arts bring to all of our lives.
Very best regards,
Ric Ambrose Executive Director, Richmond Art Center
Behind the scenes when installing a new show can be adventurous work! Here are a couple of peeks from our new exhibition, Marking Space, which opens next Tuesday, March 21, at 10:00 am. But you can see everything this coming Saturday at our Opening Reception for Spring Exhibitions from 5:00 to 7:00pm.
This unique survey of sculpture and installation features the work of Mari Andrews, Robert Brady, Genevieve Hastings, Jann Nunn, Gay Outlaw, Lucy Puls, and Tracey Snelling.
Thanks to Director of Exhibitions Jan Wurm for the photos.
The Boundaries of Sculpture and the Alternate Meanings of Maps at the Richmond Art Center Two new exhibitions, Marking Space and Mapping the Uncharted, bring new meaning to the traditional arts of sculpture and mapping this Spring.
RICHMOND, CA — February 22, 2017 — In the new Spring sculpture exhibition Marking Space, opening on March 21, seven artists examine the nature of material and expose structure in a myriad of forms. Bay Area artists Mari Andrews, Robert Brady, Genevieve Hastings, Jann Nunn, Gay Outlaw, Lucy Puls, and Tracey Snelling use diverse materials to mirror habitat and architecture, to reflect on social structures, and to represent various human concerns.
In Marking Space, the very boundaries of what sculpture has become are redefined. Turning our attention to identity, the environment, systems of power, and inequality, these artists have followed different paths with a common passion of expression. These works investigate language, the body, and the nature of image, recognition, space and orientation. Throughout these artworks, a narrative emerges: self, home, loss, boundaries.
The companion exhibition, Mapping the Uncharted, uses physical maps as a point of departure for reconfiguring impressions of geography, politics, and visual language. Historically, maps have been drawn to mark where we are, what lies around us, what lies before us, and to note the paths taken so that others may follow or we may return.
The five artists in Mapping the Uncharted give new meaning to the art of map making. Mark Garrett cuts and paints and transforms maps into visualizations of patterns that emphasize the fragility and debasement of the ecology. Lordy Rodriguez expands and conflates maps to make visible our cultural and political conceits. Diane Rosenblum appropriates artworks and superimposes auction prices creating a map of the art world. Guillermo Galindo creates scores of music composed with instruments made of found objects, these collected along the US – Mexico border in collaboration with photographer, Richard Misrach. Indira MartinaMorre creates delicate surfaces marking the most ethereal — cyberspace – passwords and passages are noted with symbols and layers noting information.
The exhibitions Marking Space and Mapping the Uncharted open in the Main, West and South Galleries on March 21 and run through May, 20, 2017, at the Richmond Art Center, 2540 Barrett Avenue, Richmond, CA. The opening reception for both shows will take place on Saturday, March 18 from 5 – 7 pm.
Two Artists’ Panels will be presented in conjunction with these exhibitions: April 1 and April 8, both starting at 2 pm. All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information about Spring exhibitions, programming, and events, please visit the Richmond Art Center’s website: https://richmondartcenter.org
Images:
Robert Brady, Return
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Misrach, Wanxin Zhang, Mildred Howard, Bella Feldman, Hung Liu, William Wiley, June Schwartz, and David Park have been showcased here.
The Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
We’ve added Family Art Fridays to keep all ages making art together. These free classes take place at the E. M. Downer YMCA, located at 263 South 20th Street in Richmond, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Bring the whole family! Snacks provided! No registration required.
March 31,6:00 – 8:00 pm: Jump Into Printmaking with Dawline Oni-Eseleh
April 28, 6:00 – 8:00 pm: Painting and More with Lauren Ari
May 26, 6:00 – 8:00 pm: Stencil Screen Printing with Rachel Schaffran
See you at the YMCA!
See & Make Art
Our popular Saturday afternoon series continues full steam ahead! Join us on the last Saturday afternoon of each month! Meet us at the Library for a story, make some art, then head over to the galleries to enjoy our latest exhibition. Open to all ages. Families welcome. Please meet the group in the Madeline F. Whittlesey Community Room at the Richmond Public Library, Main Branch (325 Civic Center Plaza) and we’ll walk as a group over to the Art Center.
March 25, 1:00 – 3:00 pm: Mask Making with Grace Rosario Perkins
April 29, 1:00 – 3:00 pm: Exploring Your Dreams with Vreni Michelini Castillo
May 27, 1:00 – 3:00 pm: Making Paper Dragons
June 24, 1:00 – 3:00 pm: Journal Making with Rebekah Erev
July 29, 1:00 – 3:00 pm: Stamping Patterns with Dawline Oni-Eseleh
One-day workshops are perfect for diving into a new skill or jumpstarting a creative process. Bring a friend, make a new one. And for our first-time students, apply discount code FA16W for a $5 discount when you register!
March 5: Moon Tools: Primal Creative Process
Are you passionate about a project, an art vision or a new habit? Do you find you don’t quite have the motivation or stamina to get it going, or you are halfway through and lose steam? Maybe you’re almost done but can’t seem to do those last few steps to complete it. This workshop is for anyone at any of these stages.
You don’t have to be a child to love to make dioramas. It’s one of those classic projects, where one can capture a perfect moment in time all in miniature.