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BRIDGEPORT ART TRAIL NEWSLETTER
Welcome to our Bridgeport Art Trail newsletter, providing a listing of arts and cultural events.
Summer may be coming to a close but Bridgeport theaters and galleries have full calendars this September!
This week at the Downtown Bridgeport Farmer’s Market Made In Bridgeport will be on site with their t-shirt repurposing project! Take home your farmers market veggies in a convenient, not made of plastic shopping bag — another to way to help the planet
The Downtown Cabaret Theatre starts their main stage theater season with “Reflections: Songs of Identity and Exploration”. Join for the annual fall benefit concert, featuring Broadway and pop songs about self-discovery such as “I Am What I Am,” “Black or White,” and previews from their upcoming 2016/17 season. Plus, you can’t stop the beat later this month with performances of “Hairspray” and live concert “Tapestry: Tribute to Carole King.
The Klein has two events including three-time Grammy winner, Donnie McClurkin, known worldwide for his powerful and rich vocal delivery. Also at The Klein, Greater Bridgeport Symphony Presents: Dvorak – And Beyer’s Back!
In visual art, The Nest Arts Factory hosts open studios and an opening reception for SPUN juried innovative fiber exhibit. Juror Dr Linda Wolk-Simon, director and curator of the Fairfield University Art Museum, choose works by 20 artists from across the US and Canada. Now in its 4th year, this acclaimed exhibit is an international survey of cutting edge work made of fiber or that references fiber in a wide array of techniques, materials, and methods.
The Housatonic Museum of Art will hold an opening reception for “Body & Soul”: prints, paintings, photographs, and sculpture from the Ben Ortiz and Victor P. Torchia, Jr. Collection.
We’ll have our September Artist of the Month in our next issue!
Learn about the August 2016 Artist of the Month — MARCELLA KUROWSKI — in our monthly feature!
“I start with an uninhibited mess and I go through a process of building up and breaking down what I see in the organic shapes and forms. Bringing it to conclusion by detailing what appears, which is usually one or two central characters.” – Marcella Kurowski on her artistic process.
CALL FOR IMAGES: Bridgeport Art Trail 2016!
All artists living or working in Bridgeport are invited to submit images to help promote themselves and the upcoming Bridgeport Art Trail. Selected images may be used (with attribution to the artist) for the Bridgeport Art Trail brochure, for publicity in the press and on social media, and/or on invitations and promotional material.
Learn more about these and other great events below!Visit the full calendar of Bridgeport Art listings at the Bridgeport Art Trail Website. |
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SPECIAL EVENT: 2016 Downtown Farmers Market
Thursdays, 12-4pm
McLevy GreenEVENT DESCRIPTION:
2016 DOWNTOWN FARMERS MARKET
The Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District’s (DSSD) Downtown Farmers Market will be open every Thursday from 12-4pm until October 27th.
LIVE MUSIC AND ARTIn addition to live music at each market, new this year is the addition of a weekly demonstration and feature of a local artist in collaboration with The Bridgeport Art Trail.
THIS WEEK: Made In Bridgeport will be at the Downtown Bridgeport Farmer’s Market from 12-2:30pm this week with t-shirt repurposing project! Take home your farmers market veggies in a convenient, not made of plastic shopping bag — another to way to help the planet. Bring your own tee or purchase one for $1. Re-Made in Bridgeport boxes (for the Bridgeport Art Trail) will be also be available for $10.
BRIDGEPORT BUCKS PROGRAM
In an effort to help Bridgeport residents and employees eat healthy and stay fit, DSSD has partnered with the Bridgeport Farmers Market Collaborative to offer the BridgeportBucks Program. BridgeportBucks is a coupon that can be used to purchase fruit and vegetables at any one of the seven Bridgeport farmers markets. Businesses, community-based organizations and non-profit organizations may purchase BridgeportBucks as incentives or rewards to provide to clients, employees, or community groups. For more information or to purchase BridgeportBucks contact: moore.dssd@infobridgeport.com.
ore Info
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VISUAL ART: Open Studios – Nest Arts Factory
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Saturday, Sept 10th, 2-5 pm
SPUN juried innovative fiber exhibit
Sept 10 – Oct 3, 2016
Opening reception: Saturday, September 10, 2-4 pmEvent Description:
The NEST Arts Factory is hosting an Open Studios event on Saturday, September 10 from 2-5 pm. The public is invited to meet the nearly 40 artists of the NEST, tour the studios, view artwork and listen to music, and learn something new! The NEST holds 7 Open Studios events per year, and this is the first Open Studio of the fall season. There is a lot of new work – and new faces – to see!
There will be two art openings at the NEST during Open Studios as well. SPUN, a juried innovative fiber exhibit, will debut in the NEST Gallery with an opening reception from 2-4 pm. Juror Dr Linda Wolk-Simon, director and curator of the Fairfield University Art Museum, choose works by 20 artists from across the US and Canada. Now in its 4th year, this acclaimed exhibit is an international survey of cutting edge work made of fiber or that references fiber in a wide array of techniques, materials, and methods. Please join us for a drink and a bite to eat to celebrate the opening.
The second exhibit is Skylines, featuring works by members of the local group Fiber Art Northeast. The group, with members from Connecticut and nearby New York, have created work that together forms the skyline of a city, expressed in a variety of techniques, all using fiber in one way or another. Fiber Art Northeast has exhibited at galleries in New York City and its suburbs, and has had exhibits published in magazines in the US and Europe.
The NEST Arts Factory featured member of the month in September is Barbara Dierolf, a portrait artist and fiber artist. Barbara’s work will be displayed in the NEST’s West Hall Gallery and includes a series of ice-dyed mandala tapestries.
The NEST Arts Factory is located at 1720 Fairfield Avenue, Bridgeport. The NEST Gallery is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 12-4 pm and by appointment. For more details about the NEST Arts Factory, the Gallery, or about this or future events, please visit www.nestartsfactory.com(image caption): Opening by Wen Redmond from the SPUN innovative fiber exhibit at the NEST Arts Factory Gallery
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SPECIAL EVENT: Reflections: Songs of Identity and Exploration
Downtown Cabaret Theatre Company, Bridgeport, CT
Friday, September 9, 2016 at 7:30 PM
Event Description: Join us for our annual fall benefit concert, “Reflections: Songs of Identity and Exploration,” featuring Broadway and pop songs about self-discovery such as “I Am What I Am,” “Black or White,” and previews from our upcoming 2016/17 season. Featuring 80 singers, an eight-piece live band and a silent auction! All proceeds support the not-for-profit Downtown Cabaret Theatre.
More Info
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LIVE MUSIC: NERRAD INC. PRESENTS: A TIME FOR HEALING
Concert For Prostate Cancer & Diabetes
STARRING: DONNIE McCLURKIN
The Klein
Saturday, September 17th
TIME: DOORS: 6:30PM SHOW: 7:30PM
Event Description: The three-time Grammy winner, Donnie McClurkin, known worldwide for his powerful and rich vocal delivery has proven that he is far more than a gospel singer. The man behind the multi-platinum and gold-selling CD(s) is an amazing songwriter that have penned chart-topping tunes like, “Stand” and “We Fall Down,” and have also worn the hat of producer on his projects. His knack for nailing songs that others can identify with has helped McClurkin to carve out a spot in the hearts of millions.
His current song, “I Need You” is making a buzz in the industry and recently one of the most added at gospel radio. Penned and produced by McClurkin “I Need You” is his first single since the release of his 2014 album, DUETS, for which McClurkin collaborated with fellow celebrated gospel artists including Dorinda Clark-Cole, Tina Campbell, John P. Kee, Marvin Sapp and Tye Tribbett. Donnie McClurkin is excited about sharing new music as well as classics on his forthcoming seventh solo album.
DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2016
VENUE: THE KLEIN
TIME: DOORS: 6:30PM SHOW: 7:30PM
TICKETS: $29.50, $39.50 & $49.50
PARKING: $5 CASH
More Info
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LIVE PERFORMANCE: Tapestry: Tribute to Carole King
Downtown Cabaret Theatre Company, Bridgeport, CT
Sunday, September 18, 2016 at 2:00 PM
Tapestry: Tribute to Carole King faithfully recreates the glorious sound of a Carole King concert, leaving your audiences with memories of the great music she wrote and recorded, including “You’ve Got a Friend”, “Natural Woman”, “It’s Too Late”, “So Far Away”, “I Feel the Earth Move” and “Beautiful” — the title song of the mega-hit Broadway musical about the life and times of one of America’s most prolific, honored, and revered singer-songwriters.
More Info
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VISUAL ART: “Body & Soul” Exhibition
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 22nd, 5:00pm
Housatonic Museum of Art
More Info
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LIVE THEATER: HAIRSPRAY
Downtown Cabaret Theatre Company, Bridgeport, CT
Friday, September 23, 2016 at 7:30 PM
Shows: September 23rd-October 16th
Winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, HAIRSPRAY is a family-friendly musical piled bouffant high with laughter, romance, and deliriously tuneful songs. It’s 1962 in Baltimore, and the lovable plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad has only one desire — to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star. She must use her newfound power to dethrone the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a TV network, all without denting her ‘do!
Director: Christy McIntosh-Newsom
Musical Director: Eli Newsom
Choreographer: Lindsay Johnson
More Info
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LIVE MUSIC: GREATER BRIDGEPORT SYMPHONY PRESENTS: DVORAK — AND BEYER’S BACK!
The Klein
Saturday, September 24th, 7pm
Event Description: The season premiere concert marks the triumphant return of piano virtuoso Alex Beyer, who recently won the bronze medal in the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels, over dozens of pianists from around the globe; later this year, he will compete as one of only five national finalists at the year-long American Pianists’ Award competition in Indianapolis. Beyer will join GBS to perform Beethoven’s joyous Second Piano Concerto. This is a homecoming for Beyer, a native of Fairfield, who in addition to achieving world acclaim as a pianist in his 22 years, is a senior mathematics major at Harvard, with his eyes on the stars – he’d like to become an astronaut.
The concert also features the lively sounds of Shostakovich’s Waltz from Jazz Suite #2, a mid-20th century work, and concludes with Dvořák’s celebratory 8th Symphony. “It’s a very full evening of music, and it just radiates joy,” says GBS Music Director Eric Jacobsen.
DATE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016
VENUE: THE KLEIN
TIME: PRE CONCERT LECTURE AT 7:00PM CONCERT AT 8:00PM
TICKETS: $15, $29, $39, $49, $59
More Info
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CALL FOR IMAGES: Bridgeport Art Trail 2016!
All artists living or working in Bridgeport are invited to submit images to help promote themselves and the upcoming Bridgeport Art Trail. Selected images may be used (with attribution to the artist) for the Bridgeport Art Trail brochure, for publicity in the press and on social media, and/or on invitations and promotional material.
Submissions will be accepted until October 31, but images submitted early will have a better chance of being published. Images submitted before August 27, 2016 will be considered for inclusion in the BAT directory.
Suggestions for images: finished artwork, the artist posed in his/her studio, visitors at a venue, the artist at work on a piece of art or during a performance, a glimpse into the artist’s process, images from previous Art Trails.
More Info
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LOOK FOR OUR SEPTEMBER ARTIST OF THE MONTH IN OUR NEXT ISSUE!
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ARTIST OF THE MONTH
AUGUST 2016
MARCELLA KUROWSKI
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“War Paint” 46″x46″ acrylic and paint marker on canvas 2016
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Q. How would you describe your artwork/style?
A. Surreal character style
Q. What medium do you work in? A. Paint and Clay
Q. What inspires you?
A. Everything
Q. How do you think you’ve changed or developed as an artist?
A. I take life and myself a lot less seriously.
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“Empty Can of Worms” oil on canvas 50”x70”
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What is your process like?
I start with an uninhibited mess and I go through a process of building up and breaking down what I see in the organic shapes and forms. Bringing it to conclusion by detailing what appears, which is usually one or two central characters.
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“Empty Can of Worms” oil on canvas 50”x70”
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Q. Can you tell me about your experience collaborating with Jahmane West, Michael Clocks and Iyaba Ibo Mandingo creating a set design environment for the production of Oliver Reinvented?
A. It’s inspiring to work with such talented artists of different styles. We are all standing back and letting each individual style shine through. It’s diverse, colorful and laid back.
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Q. How is working in a theater environment different from you individual work? Have you learned anything new through this experience?
A. My individual work is completely uncensored and not preconceived, working in an environment where you are being asked to create something particular, that can be a tuff way to approach. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do my thing for our large collaborative piece. I needed to do characters, kids specifically. So I decided where they would be placed and made a couple of small controlled messes and built the characters out from that. This way I didn’t interfere too much with what every one else was doing. So I guess I got practice in learning some self control :]
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“Spector” 28″x 54″ acrylic, tinted gesso and paint marker on canvas 2015
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“Scrap” Acrylic, tinted gesso and paint marker on canvas 2015
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Q. Any other upcoming news, events, or anything else you’d like to share?
A. I have a lot more artwork coming your way. Stay tuned.
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