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BRIDGEPORT ART TRAIL NEWSLETTER
Welcome to our Bridgeport Art Trail newsletter, providing a listing of arts and cultural events.
It may be hard to believe, but the Bridgeport Art Trail is just three months away. Scheduled for November 12th-15th be sure to save the date!
And if you’re a participant, the deadline for our Call for Listings is August 30th! Don’t miss your chance to be featured in promotions for the 7th annual celebration of arts and culture throughout Bridgeport. Scroll down for the full submission details.
August brings the summer to a close but not the Bridgeport arts and cultural scene.
Don’t miss a performance by Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at The Klein. And later this month don’t miss John Hiatt & The Combo and the Taj Mahal Trio.
Live music also comes to The Downtown Cabaret Theater with Rollingexile. And the Bijou Theatre presents “Tick Tick Boom” this September, the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, the Pulitizer Prize and TONY Award-winning composer of Rent.
Celebrate art at Captain’s Cove Seaport on September 17th for City Lights Gallery’s Annual Fundraising event: a celebration featuring drink, music, art, video, art demos, and more!
We’re also happy to feature artist Robin Gilmore as our August Artist of the Month!
Learn more about this multifaceted mixed media artist, designer, and owner of Made in Bridgeport:
“I am an artist, educator and the owner of Made In Bridgeport, located in Bridgeport, CT. I make jewelry and art with found objects, items that are repurposed, broken and salvaged that will surely make a great addition to your own collections. I love using everyday objects, some vintage or industrial and anything that is inspiring that I can feel in my hands as I am making a new work of art.”
Be sure to check out all the details below!
BPT ART TRAIL ARTISTS’ NEWS:
CONGRATULATIONS to Bridgeport Art Trail Artists:
- RUBEN MARROQUIN is currently exhibiting his work in the Textile Biennial at the Rijswik Museum in Holland.
- JESUS EMMANUEL VILLAREAL, a large figure painting was just purchased by the New Britain Museum. A portrait was also accepted in an international exhibit, Figurative Competition at the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona.
- SEND US YOUR NEWS to clgallerybpt@gmail.com
 -The Bridgeport Art Trail Team
Check out the full calendar of Bridgeport Art listings at the Bridgeport Art Trail Website. |
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LIVE MUSIC
FTC Presents Lyle Lovett and his Large Band
FTC Presents John Hiatt & The Combo and the Taj Mahal Trio
The Klein Memorial Auditorium
Wednesday, August 12th 2015
Saturday, August 29th 2015
Event Description:
Lyle Lovett and his Large Band
Lyle Lovett’s nimble and incisive songs have made him one of the most unique voices in Americana. From country to pop to big band swing, Lovett has been a cult figure from his start in the 80s. The four-time Grammy winner is behind well-known hits including “If I Had A Boat,” “You’ve Got A Friend In Me,” “L.A. County,” and many, many more. In addition to music, Lovett has a substantial film repertoire including “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and “Walk Hard.”
Lovett is a genuine gentleman with southern charm. The refreshing summer soundtrack you need for a top down, winding road drive.
FTC Presents John Hiatt & The Combo and the Taj Mahal Trio
Two legends on one bill? This is the kind of show that you’ve just got to see. A music veteran who’s played with everyone from Bob Dylan to Iggy Pop, Hiatt’s gruff, down-home take on roots is well worth seeing. Mahal, of course, is one of the key figures in American music whose melding of blues with music from around the world is nothing short of revolutionary.
Generously Underwritten by: Bankwell
More Info
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LIVE MUSIC: Rollingexile
Downtown Cabaret Theatre
August 29th, 8PM
Event Description:
Rollingexile US tour stops in Bridgeport
Rollingexile from London England is stopping in Bridgeport on his mini U.S. tour. Featuring Charlie Hallinan and Rollingexile’s U.S. band members Nick “the stick” Carvalho, Sharon Zaubi and Chuck Beckman.
100% of the tickets sales will go to the Brain Tumor Alliance and the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Rollingexile and it’s band members and the staff of the Downtown Cabaret Theatre are volunteering there services for these great charities.
More Info
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SPECIAL EVENT: Hustle & Flow Mixer
Creative Society of CT
957 Main St, Bridgeport, CT 06604
Sunday, August 30, 2015
From 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Event Description:
We are pleased to announce that Creative Society of Connecticut will be helping to end the hot, humid summer right with one of our cool, creative events. This special event is called the Hustle & Flow Mixer, taking place Sunday, August 30th, 2015 from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at 957 Main Street in Bridgeport, will be showcasing some of CT’s budding and talented producers, a photography series, a multi-media art collection, CT-based clothing lines and more.
Our vision is to create a social gathering available for creative minds to engage in conversation, collaborate and network while sharing knowledge and resources of information. Consider this event a time to appreciate the art of music, photography, and fashion in our very own state of Connecticut.
This is a 21+ event and the admission cost is $10. Cash bar available.
Anyone interested in getting involved as a sponsor, vendor, member of the press or volunteer should contact creativesociety203@gmail.com.
The Creative Society of Connecticut hopes that you can join us in making this event a memorable, but most importantly, a collaborative one!
More Info
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LIVE THEATER: Tick Tick Boom
The Bijou Theatre
September 11th – September 20th
Event Description:
An aspiring composer questions his life choices on the eve of his thirtieth birthday in Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical.
Before Rent, there was Tick, Tick…Boom!. This autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson, the Pulitzer Prize- and TONY Award-winning composer of Rent, is the story of a composer and the sacrifices he made to achieve his big break in theatre. Containing fourteen songs, ten characters, three actors, and a band, Tick, Tick…Boom! takes you on the playwright/composer’s journey that led to a Broadway blockbuster.
His girlfriend wants to get married and move out of the city, his best friend is making big bucks on Madison Avenue, and yet Jon is still waiting on tables and trying to write the great American musical. Set in 1990, this compelling story of personal discovery is presented as a rock musical filled with instantly appealing melodies and a unique blend of musical theatre styles.
Everyone will love this youthful, endearing, and thoughtful piece, and will surely embrace the universal ideal of holding onto your dreams through life’s most difficult challenges. Tick, Tick…Boom! features a three-person cast showcasing strong pop/rock singers and allowing performers to make creative character choices.
Details:
Doors open one hour prior to show.
Theatre seats: $23, Table seats: $28, Student seats: $18
Dates Below:
Fri 9/11 8:00pm , Sat 9/12 8:00pm , Sun 9/13 3:00pm ,
Thu 9/17 7:00pm , Fri 9/18 8:00pm , Sun 9/20 5:00pm
More Info
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| Gallery visit to City Lights: students are introduced to weaving and view the exhibit COMMON THREADS, a fabric art exhibit that included Gee’s Bend quilts. |
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SAVE THE DATE!: City Lights Gallery Annual Fundraising Event
Thursday, September 17, 2015 at Captain’s Cove.
1 Bostwick Avenue, Bridgeport, CT
203.335.1433
Thursday, September 17, 2015
5-9 pm
SUPPORT CITY LIGHTS FREE PUBLIC ART PROGRAMS.
Multi-media Celebration featuring:
Food, Drink, Music, Art, Video, Fun and Surprises!
Help us continue our 11+ year mission to serve our Community through Art and insure our outreach programs for area Youth and Adults continue.
City Lights programs include: The Bridgeport Arts Trail each November, Painting and Weaving Workshops with Alpha Community Services, Integrating Art & Natural Science with local Elementary, Jr. High, and High School students, Chess workshops for youth, Bridgeport Mental Health Art Therapy Workshops …as well as providing opportunities for area artists of all levels, backgrounds, and abilities to present, sell, and experience Art.
Please consider donating a small postcard size piece of art for our teacup auction on September 17, 2015.
More Info
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Photo: BPT Art Trail – Emily Larned in her studio, photo by Kvon Photography
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CALL FOR LISTINGS : BRIDGEPORT ART TRAIL 2015
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 8/30/2015
BPT ART TRAIL, scheduled November 12-15, 2015.
LISITNGS ARE DUE: SUNDAY AUGUST 30, 2015 for the 7th city-wide open studios weekend. Once again advertising is a free service to all arts venues in the city of Bridgeport, CT. Larger ads and sponsorships are available upon request and subject to space limitations.
A FEW DIRECTIONS FOR SUBMITTING LISTINGS AND EVENT INFO:
Please compose a brief description of venue(s) and listing(s) of activities scheduled for the city-wide open studios weekend and submit your listing by SUNDAY AUGUST 30, 2015 to: clgallerybpt@gmail.com
Please use “Bpt Art Trail Listing” in the subject title of your email. Send copy in a word document in upper and lower case. Images should be sent as jpegs at 300 dpi ad 75 dpi. See an example below of info requested.
Venues that already have something scheduled for that weekend do not need to create additional programs, just send us your listings, in the manner that you want to describe it. Be sure to give contact info that you are comfortable giving out to the public.
Check out these links to get an idea of what activities and info are listed:
http://bridgeport-art-trail.org/portfolio/american-fabrics-building/
http://bridgeport-art-trail.org/portfolio/mclevy-hall-and-mclevy-green/
REQUIRED INFO TO SUBMIT FOR LISITNG:
Name of Venue:
Title of Event, Program: OPEN STUDIOS (for example)
Dates & Times: Day(s), Date, Hours
Reception, Studio Tours or Demos Times if applicable:
Brief description: For Example: View the studios of 35 artists working in all medias of fine and applied art, including photography, painting, fine quilts and textile design, sculpture, woodwork, printmaking and more.
Admission: Free, Suggested Donation $XX, Ticket Price, etc.
Parking Info if applicable
GENERAL FLOW OF THE WEEKEND:
Thursday and Friday evenings focus on the downtown area and then Friday night, Sat, Sunday events happen city-wide. Once we get the information we will organize an itinerary for the weekend. Please collaborate with your fellow artists/neighbors as you have done in the past so that performances, open studio tours, etc. are scheduled in clusters creating a mini-destination place. Organize your cluster of activities so that overlapping is at a minimum.
ARTISTS PARTY, ART TRAIL KICKOFF THURSDAY NIGHT LOCAION TBA.
We received good feedback from our first artists’ party. This provide artists and arts enthusiasts with an opportunity to socialize and network. This year the Thursday night kick-off will feature a small works show of Bridgeport artist from all areas of the city at McLevy Hall. All Bridgeport artists are welcome to submit work and attend. It will be a convenient way to introduce visitors to a sampling of Bridgeport artists.
Once all submissions are compiled in late September, a document will be created for all contact people to review. There will be a 2 day review period for SMALL revisions and edits. This will be the ONLY opportunity to make edits and small changes. TO MAKE CHANGES… A FULL LISTING MUST BE RESENT. Last year we received fragments and sentences. It was difficult for Bpt Art Trail staff to follow through on corrections.
If you have any questions please email clgallerybpt@gmail.com or call (203)984-8613
Review last year’s Bpt Art Trail guide: http://bridgeport-art-trail.org/art-trail-map/
ALSO BRIDGEPORT ART TRAIL NEWSLETTER:
We update the Bpt Art Trail calendar monthly and send out a bimonthly newsletter. Please send us your info. Please send listings and info for the Bpt Art Trail newsletter to : clgallerybpt@gmail.com
Please use “BAT Newsletter” in the subject title.
More Info
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS ON VIEW
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Lenticular Image by Miggs Burroughs, “SPARE PARTS”
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ART EXHIBIT: SAMESEX 2015
City Lights Gallery
Description: The 5th Annual Exhibit, SAMESEX 2015 at City Lights Gallery is a gender inclusive art exhibit and event of painting, photography, wigs, head dresses, fiber art, and projected art. Featured work includes photographic and audio documentation of individuals expressing their thoughts on gender identity by “Gender Projected”, fiber art by Nancy Moore and Ellen Schinderman and lenticular images by Miggs Burroughs that change as the viewer walks by.
ARTISTS’ TALK
SUNDAY AUGUST 9, 2015, 4-6 PM
Hear the artist discuss their works.
Doors Open at 3:30PM
EXHIBITING ARTISTS INCLUDE: Miggs Burroughs, Patte Corcoran, Chris Crouch, Sue Czark, Mina de Haas, David Enriquez, Daniel Eugene, Thomas Evans, Arthur Gerstein, Kenn Hopkins, Cassandra Mendoza, Ricky Mestre, Cherish Minor, Nancy Moore, Stefan Novotny, Joe Radoccia, Sassie Saltimboca, Santiago Sanchez, Ellen Schinderman, Richard Taddei, Lee Walther
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My name is Robin Gilmore. I am an artist, educator and the owner of Made In Bridgeport, located in Bridgeport, CT. I make jewelry and art with found objects, items that are repurposed, broken and salvaged that will surely make a great addition to your own collections. I love using everyday objects, some vintage or industrial and anything that is inspiring that I can feel in my hands as I am making a new work of art. I am participating in the “Green Movement”, and the reuse of materials I use is one way I contribute to the healing of our planet. Every piece that I make has a story and that’s what I love about making my art. As a child, I was said to be most likely to grow up “making something out of nothing”, and here is where I find myself now: Always Reinventing Things!!!
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- How would you describe your artwork/style?
- I consider myself to be a mixed media artist and designer, that being said, it goes much deeper and wider in scope then one would imagine. My style is a very romantic one based on the past…and then paradoxically it moves into a postmodern style using hardware, gears, metals found in construction. Mostly I choose what I create with whatever form of material calls out to me and gets my attention. One might say I am in tune to the very tiny bits and pieces that create my work. The width of that scope can also take me to painting, sculpting, paper and found art collage and photography at any given moment and sometimes mixes into the work that is created
- What medium do you work in?
- Mostly these days I work in jewelry design and that is really the bread and butter and some of the honey of what keeps me going. I also do workshops with all ages and that ignites the creativity in me that I hope comes through to pass on its spark to others.
- What is your process like?
- My process is spontaneous, almost dreamlike and often without much thought, but sometimes it’s like problem solving or putting together a puzzle. The intuitiveness of knowing whether a piece fits, how it fits, where it fits and also know if it doesn’t, is the simplest way to describe the process. Sometimes I go to sleep trying to solve a problem of a piece that doesn’t seem to be working and in a dream I will get the answers, often drawing it out at 2 or 3 am. There is some channeling taking place which I try to honor.
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- What inspires you?
- Stories inspire me. I like to tell stories as I am creating my pieces, it gives them a life of their own. It is also what attracts people to my work. I often think about who the person will be that will purchase a piece (jewelry piece). The piece may be about needing a guide for a decision that must be made, or an understanding of a commitment to a relationship. Sometimes the pieces are made with humor and people who can laugh at themselves will purchase my work, because it makes them feel good to know all these broken pieces can heal something that may be broken in them too.
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- How do you think you’ve changed or developed as an artist?
- I feel more secure as an artist now, having been an artist all my life. Maybe its age, maybe it’s the confidence of putting myself out there. I now more than ever allow and protect my space for the creative process. Set better boundaries. Make choices that honor the process. I think the jewelry design is the thing I was meant to do and I would love to learn even more about metalsmithing, soldering etc. There is always room to grow and learn more.
- Can you tell me about “Made in Bridgeport” and how your business has grown or changed?
- Made In Bridgeport came about just as the Reads Artspace project was taking shape. I thought about the very large corner space which is currently a martial arts school on Broad Street- I thought how wonderful it would be to have a business called Made In Bridgeport where all of the best things that are made in Bridgeport by artist and artisans could be for sale, could share a history, could tell their stories. This came at a time when the Remington Artists were being dislocated and I saw all the incredible artists and businesses that were happening there trying to find new locations. At that time I was running a business called Park City Artists Resources on Connecticut Ave. Then a few years ago I had an opportunity to have my business downtown in the Arcade Mall and it went well in the beginning and it also became about showcasing and selling other peoples work again. I have since moved back to my Connecticut Ave location and am loving the freedom that being back in my old space provides. I have more solitary time in my private studio to create and run my business which includes selling work online as well as weekend events in the community. And now I am teaching more than ever. It is a good fit.
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“The City has a very rich resource of creative people who need opportunities to express their style of art. Art needs to be seen everywhere downtown and throughout the city, it also needs to be heard.“
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- You host a variety of workshops, what have some of your favorite themes been?
- I love teaching people how to work with what they already have. “Bring the Junk From Your Trunk” is one of my favorite workshops as I assist others in thinking in different ways about the objects that they bring to the table. They learn basic jewelry making skills as well. I love doing jewelry making classes with little girls- especially Birthday Parties and I’m starting to develop workshops for boys as well as including men in the mix. I mostly love using recyclable materials. The world is abundant with all sorts of reusable stuff
- Bridgeport continues to be a site that artists are attracted to. How do you think the arts can impact the city?
- The Arts in Bridgeport should mirror what is already happening in New Haven and Stamford. It may be because the downtown area is just a few blocks and not as massive as these other cities, but things are beginning to grow in many directions downtown and outside of those limits. We have a lot of art venues happening all over town- openings, Bridgeport Arts Fest, and the up and coming Art Trail, concerts on McLevy Green. The City has a very rich resource of creative people who need opportunities to express their style of art.
Art needs to be seen everywhere downtown and throughout the city, it also needs to be heard. We also have some major music people and poets. Some who have performed at Gallery 1212 where I am now located. I am thinking I wish I had known then what I know now. So a Comeback is taking shape on the East End. I think the Artists are the running dogs for this creative economy, but that just isn’t enough. I think we should and could make a greater impact on our community with the right support. Sometimes we just don’t even know what resources are already in place. |
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- Any other upcoming news, events, or anything else you’d like to share?
- Now that I am back at the Bridgeport Innovation Center in the Gallery 1212 space, I am revisiting a lot of the ideas I had thought about doing here before. I will be having a monthly open house in my new location beginning in September. One of the things my partner and I are working on is trying to establish a Creative Corridor that connects into Stratford and moves from Stratford Avenue to Connecticut Avenue and extends all the way through to Fairfield Avenue into Black Rock. “East Meets West” you might say. We will be hosting along with the owners of the Bridgeport Innovation Center an opportunity for artists to participate in the Bpt Art Trail at this location. A call to artists will be out shortly. In the meantime, I am doing The Black Rock Farmers Market every Saturday from 9-1 and on the last Sunday in August I will be at The Artists and Artisans on Paradise Green Event., looking forward to a lineup of Fall events into the Christmas Holiday. During the week, I am also doing workshops at some social service programs through City Lights Gallery and also using the Bridgeport ART CART downtown to get all sorts of people to make art, I get to hear great stories and I know I am making a difference in their lives- both young and old.
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“I like the changes that I have recently made it has been very good for me. I feel energized and much more grounded in the steps I am taking and I am doing what I love.”
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Robin Gilmore
Made In Bridgeport
955 Connecticut Avenue Bldg #1 Suite 1212
Bridgeport CT 066073203-449-2187
madeinbridgeport@gmail.com
www.made-in-bridgeport.com
http://etsy.com/shop/madeinbridgeport
http://etsy.com/shop/artifactsandfindings |
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