The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design holds an artist-led project as part of its summer programming. Ceramic artist Michael Strand, textile artist Carole Frances Lung and metalsmith Nick Dong bring “making out of the studio and into the public realm,” according a press release.
Press release from the CCCD:
The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design’s (CCCD) Benchspace Gallery & Workshop announces its summer artist-led project/exhibition series, Spaces of Production, featuring three artists from different making backgrounds to lead projects focusing on community engagement. The selected artists include ceramic artist Michael Strand (Fargo, ND), soft guerrilla textile activist Carole Frances Lung (Long Beach, CA) and conceptual metalsmith Nick Dong (Oakland, CA).
Spaces of Production brings making out of the studio and into the public realm. CCCD Assistant Director Marilyn Zapf explains, “Each project draws attention to a different sites of cultural production – the city, the factory, and the gift – by inviting or exposing the making process itself.”
Strand’s project, Ex.Change, celebrates the many remarkable ways that we can impact our community on a daily basis through inviting participants to “Ex.Change” five hours of work for one of Strand’s limited edition, handmade cups.
Using Lung’s alter ego, Frau Fiber, The People’s Cloth Trade Show will play off of the trade show format to create an approachable, immersive environment for visitors to learn about North Carolina textile manufacturing – its history, production methods, and global context. Visitors will be invited to walk through interactive and visual displays, watch video demonstrations, and participate in hands-on opportunities.
Dong’s The Mend-Smith Project explores the social responsibility of the jeweler to transform symbolic jewelry items – such as a wedding ring – when their meaning changes due to the loss of a loved one. “I hope [this project] will enable others to heal through the repurposing of these symbols of love and commitment,” he explains. Dong will be transforming jewelry in the gallery, providing visitors the opportunity to watch the work as it unfolds.
The Mend-Smith Project is presented in collaboration with The Society of North American Goldsmiths’ annual Exhibition in Print (EIP), Moved By Metal: On Beauty as Interaction, also on view at CCCD July 31 – August 22. According to EIP curator Dr. Wendy Steiner, Richard L. Fisher Professor of English Emerita, University of Pennsylvania, the exhibition will include “examples of metal objects from any culture–jewelry, sculpture, tools, gadgets, junk – that deliberately or accidentally incite interactions that lead their audience to call them beautiful.”
Interaction, exchange, and participation are foregrounded in each project. The artists will be on-site and available to the public for much of the project, offering the opportunity for Asheville residents and tourists alike to be inspired by nationally recognized American artists and makers.
EVENT DETAILS
Michael Strand, ceramic artist (Fargo, ND)
Ex.Change, June 5 – 27, 2015
Opening Reception, June 5, 5 – 8p m
Artist Talk, June 11, 6:30 pmCarole Frances Lung, soft guerrilla textile activist (Long Beach, CA)
The People’s Cloth Trade Show, July 10 – 25, 2015
Artist Talk, July 16, 6:30 pm
Closing Reception, July 24, 5 – 8 pmNick Dong, conceptual metalsmith (Oakland, CA)
The Mend-Smith Project, July 31 – August 22, 2015
Featuring SNAG’s 2015 Exhibition in Print (also on view)
Opening Reception, July 31, 5 – 8pm
Artist Talk, August 13, 6:30 pmLocation: Benchspace Gallery & Workshop at The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, 67 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC 28801
Admission: Free
Exhibition Dates: June 5 – August 22 (see details above)
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pmFor more information about programs and volunteer opportunities, call 828-785-1357 or visit www.craftcreativitydesign.org/spaces-of-production.
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