Poetry and Modern Dance Ignite the 28th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition

Celebrating visual arts, dance and poetry in Emeryville’s Heritage Square

Opening Night Fri., Oct. 10, 6-9pm, is already the buzz around town because local artist Tony DeMartile will create digitally evocative iPhone portraits of reception attendees* and an astounding 117 artists and craftspeople, who live or work in Emeryville, will transform the exhibition space into a fountain of creativity with their visions and talent. On Opening Night visitors can meet the artists and talk about their artwork (all pieces are for sale), as they nibble on tasty treats provided by local restaurants. A no-host bar will feature wine and beer and donate proceeds to the Emeryville Youth Art Program. Food and beverage donors include Doyle Street Café, Watergate Market, Townhouse Bar & Grill, The Broken Rack and Ruby*s Cafe.

Dance and poetry will amplify the visual arts element of the 28^th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition. Artwork includes woodwork, paintings, sculpture, photographs, ceramics, furniture and textiles, reflecting the artists’ engagement with a host of aesthetic, political and social concerns. One of these is UC Davis art professor (studio in Emeryville) Susan Avila’s textile piece. According to Susan, “I think it’s great to have a locally supported art exhibition. It affirms how important art and artists are to a community. I wanted to enter the piece Garden of Delights because while it was previously exhibited in China and in Canada, this is the first time it will be shown in the USA.”

The 2014 Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition proudly hosts the largest collection of artwork in its 28-year history. “This year’s collection is larger and more diverse than ever before.” Kathleen Hanna, independent curator and exhibition designer.

“We were overwhelmed this year with all the art entries submitted,” said Sharon Wilchar, Art Exhibition Coordinator.  “We have 40% more visual art pieces in the show and realize there is also a great wealth of artists in our community that reach beyond visual arts. Amazing writers, dancers, performers, and musicians enhance our arts culture in Emeryville. This year, in addition to the strong visual artwork, we are proud to include both a spoken word component and a dance performance choreographed specifically for our exhibition.”

Readings from Poet Laureates of the Bay Area will ignite the exhibit and highlight  Emeryville’s Poet Laureate Sarah Kobrinsky – A snippet: from her poem Emeryville, CA –

“Once the Rottenest City,
the City by the Bay.
Not that City over there,
but this one, …” read more…

Visitors will also witness the dynamic site-specific dance performances by Emeryville dance troupe Nancy Karp + Dancers. From Nancy’s website: “I take life’s ordinary movements, strip them down to their essential components, and then combine them, recombine them, and elaborate on them. What emerges from these structural investigations, are vocabularies of movement.”

For the schedule of readings and performances visit www.emeryarts.org.

The Exhibition is open daily from 11am to 6pm Oct. 11 Nov. 2, 2014 and admission is free. Each year the exhibition location is generously donated by an Emeryville business. This year the space at 6121 Hollis St. in Heritage Square is donated by Wareham Development.         More details

* Opening Night is free and iPhone portraits are a $25 donation to benefit the non-profit Emeryville Celebration of the Arts.

More about the Art Exhibition

Contributing artists include Po Shun Leong and Dean Santner, wood; John W. Lund and Kirk Crippens, photography; Jeff Margolin and Rae Dunn, ceramics; Susan T. Avila and Ana Lisa Hedstrom, textiles; M. Louise Stanley, Ann Holsberry and Linda Goodman, painting; Jerome Ranft  and Jeffrey Hantman, sculpture; Kazuko Watanabe, prints; and LauraLe Wunsch, furniture design. Works on exhibit are for sale.

The collection of artwork for the annual exhibition was selected by a jury of art professionals through artist studio visits. For the fourth year, independent curator and exhibition designer Kathleen Hanna is serving as curator and juror. The other 2014 jurors are Donna Seager, partner Seager Gray Gallery, Mill Valley; and Anthony Torres, Exhibitions Director and Curator of Art, Richmond Art Center.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Emeryville City Council has approved a Purchase Award Program in connection with the Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition. The selected artwork will become part of the City’s permanent collection displayed at City Hall.

“Our Public Arts Advisory Committee purchases a piece of art each year. I like putting the sticker on the pieces. We have a selection panel that chooses one piece to go up in City Hall. Right before the doors open on opening night, we place award ribbons on the 1^stplace winner and the honorary mentions.” Sharon Wilchar, Art Exhibition Coordinator

Sponsors for the 28th Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition include the City of Emeryville through a substantial grant; Pixar Animation Studios; Kava Massih Architects; Libitzky Holdings LP, Orton Development, Eric S. Schmier and Kenneth J. Schmier; and Ruby*s Cafe.