Attendees can expect music from The Mad Tea Party and Wee Heavy-er Scotch Ale from The French Broad Brewery at the grand opening Oct. 14 of an innovative gallery and shared work-and display space, according to the ZaPow! website.
ZaPow is the brainchild of the dynamic husband & wife duo Lauren and Matt Johnson, who are currently accepting applications from artists. According to Lauren, who is creative director and co-owner of ZaPow, “The ideal artists will have an eye towards visual narrative, illustrative & pop culture aesthetic. I am an artist/illustrator myself. ZaPow has grown out of my own desire to have a gallery that really showcases illustrative art.”
ZaPow services include numerous services for artists and writers. The gallery offers wall display space for rent, as well as two ZaPods, which can be leased as work space or studio space by the hour, day, week or even month.
The gallery, which is still under construction, is located on the ground floor at 21 Battery Park Ave.
Expect a new kind of gallery, the duo say. In addition to traditional gallery exhibition space, the company will offer a variety of different promotional and publishing services to writers, artists and illustrators including critiquing, help with submitting to traditional publishers, e-publishing, help with self-publishing, promotional videos, major national and international convention representation and social media assistance.
ZaPow aims to offer a creative and hip atmosphere for artists, writers and, the Johnsons say, even business professionals to work, create and display.
ZaPow is currently accepting applications from artists for exhibition in the gallery. According to Lauren, “The ideal artists will have an eye towards visual narrative, illustrative & pop culture aesthetic. I am an artist/illustrator myself. ZaPow has grown out of my own desire to have a gallery that really showcases illustrative art.”
According to Matt, co-owner of Zapow, focusing on fun, quirky and unique illustrations, pop culture and comics sets ZaPow apart from the many other Asheville galleries. “We want people to peek through our windows and know that they have to come in. They need to come in,” he says.
From the ZaPow website:
Lauren has worked as a professional designer and illustrator for ten years. She is currently the art director for a small software firm and has worked in the past as a staff illustrator for Western Carolina University’s publications department, was the Resident New Media Designer at McColl Center for Visual Arts, and has worked in pre-press design and gallery management. …
Matt received two Bachelors of Science degrees from Western Carolina University. One in Mass Communications – Electronic Media and a second in Computer Information Systems. He is a former large market radio station DJ, audio production engineer and has 5 years of software testing and usability experience.
ZaPow put together this promotional video:
The grand opening will take place Friday, Oct. 14, 7-9 p.m., at 21 Battery Park, Suite 101, Asheville, NC, 28801
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