Visual, Performing, Media & Literary Artists Sought for 2014 North Charleston Arts Festival

The City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department is seeking applications from artists in music, theatre, dance, visual art, crafts, photography, media arts and literature for participation in the 2014 North Charleston Arts Festival to be held May 2-10. National, regional and local artists, ethnic and cultural groups, community based groups and individuals are encouraged to apply. Artists may apply for inclusion in the Main Event, held May 3 and 4 at the Charleston Area Convention Center Complex, or may submit proposals for one of the festival’s stand-alone Individual Events, which take place at various locations throughout the festival week. Visual artists should note that this application is for events and presentations such as installations, solo or group exhibitions, workshops, demonstrations and lectures, and not for participation in the Festival’s Juried Art Competitions. Applications may be downloaded at NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com/apply. The deadline to apply is 5:00pm on Monday, January 6, 2014.

The North Charleston Arts Festival is one of the most comprehensive arts festivals in the state, drawing over 30,000 residents and visitors annually to participate in a fabulous array of performances, exhibitions and activities in all arts disciplines. The Main Event Weekend at the North Charleston Performing Arts and Charleston Area Convention Center on Sat., May 3, and Sun., May 4, offers free admission and parking to over 40 performances on four themed stage stages; General Audience, Cultural Heritage, Bands and Youth Entertainment. Other Main Event activities include judged art and photography shows, the SC Palmetto Hands Juried Fine Craft Exhibit, a gem & mineral show, an antique show, children's activities, art and craft booths and a food courtyard. The Arts Festival continues with over sixty events and exhibitions throughout the week at various locations. An array of free and ticketed offerings include street dances, concerts, theatre presentations, film screenings, an art walk, children’s programs, workshops and demonstrations, a National Outdoor Sculpture Competition & Exhibition and much more. The festival concludes with the Grand Finale at North Charleston Riverfront Park featuring performances, children's activities and fireworks over the Cooper River.

For more information about the North Charleston Arts Festival and other participation opportunities visit NorthCharlestonArtsFest.com, or contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department office at (843)740-5854 or culturalarts@northcharleston.org.

City Gallery to Exhibit Works by father and son, Richard & Joel Parker

The City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department is pleased to announce that People, Faces, and So…Carolina©, an exhibition of oil paintings by Richard and Joel Parker, will be on exhibit at the North Charleston City Gallery from July 1-29, 2013. The artists will host a free public reception at the gallery on Friday, July 5, from 5:00-7:00pm.

People, Faces, and So…Carolina© is a joint exhibition featuring works from Richard Parker’s So…Carolina© Low Country series and Joel Parker’s Facebook It! series. The exhibition marks the first time the two artists, who are father and son, will have their work displayed together. Richard’s oil paintings of Lowcountry scenes, from the sun rising over the beach at Isle of Palms to the storefront of the old Tellis Pharmacy on Lower King Street, are rooted in the aesthetic of reflection and the artist’s spiritual values. In contrast, Joel’s selection of oil paintings from his Facebook It! series explore the idea of spectacle by presenting images of large crowds at social gatherings. Instead of depicting the event the crowd has gathered for, Joel chooses to focus on the interactions that support these large events, thus turning the audience assembled to watch the spectacle into the subject observed by the viewer. By presenting a crowd in this manner, the viewer is asked to consider how an audience participates in a spectacle while at the same time mirroring how the viewer of the artwork participates with the artwork.

Richard Parker was born in Camden, SC, and raised in Kershaw, SC. Since high school he had dreams of an art related career, studying art at the University of South Carolina at 19 and later, with the help of the G.I. bill, receiving a BS in Art with K-12 certification from James Madison University. However, his aptitude for mathematics landed him in the field of civil engineering and project management with positions in the military, civilian industry, and institutes of higher education until his retirement in 2007. It is now, in retirement, that he is able to pursue his first career desire as his second living in his home studio in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Joel Parker received his Bachelors of Arts in Studio Art, Historic Preservation, and Art History from the College of Charleston in 2005 and 2006. He received his Master of Fine Arts in painting from Washington University in St. Louis in 2009, followed by a travel fellowship and Cité Residency at the Cité International des Arts in Paris, France. His work has been featured in a number of solo and group exhibitions in Charleston, SC, St. Louis, MO, and Gainesville, FL, where he currently resides and is pursuing a Masters in Art History at the University of Florida.

The North Charleston City Gallery is situated in the common areas of the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. Parking and admission are free during regular Convention Center operating hours, 9:00am – 5:00pm daily. The gallery is staffed on Friday, Saturday, and Monday only. Inquiries regarding the artists or purchase information may be directed to the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854. For information on additional exhibits, programs, and events, visit the Cultural Arts section of the City’s website at http://bit.ly/culturalarts.

CALLING ALL LOWCOUNTRY GRAPHIC ARTISTS! North Charleston seeking designer for ODFJELL tank mural

ODFJELL liquid storage tank at 1003 East Montague Avenue

Clarification: The ODFJELL tank mural design must be digitally rendered. It‘ll be printed on vinyl, then mounted. It will NOT be hand painted.

The City of North Charleston seeks to commission a graphic artist to design a large outdoor mural for a privately owned storage tank located at 1003 East Montague Avenue near the Olde Village area of North Charleston. Professional graphic artists residing in the Tri-County area (Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties) are invited to submit their qualifications for the public art project. A Mural Committee comprised of city officials, business leaders, and community leaders will select one artist to create the mural design. The total budget for this project has been set at $5000 and involves all costs associated with the project including, but not limited to: artist's design fees, materials, production costs, travel, documentation, and any permits, license, or insurance. The mural will measure 140’w x 40’h and will be fabricated on cast white vinyl and professionally mounted to the carbon steel tank. Interested artists should contact the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843-740-5854 or culturalarts@northcharleston.org for the complete commission prospectus. Application materials must be hand delivered by 5:00pm on Friday, June 28, or postmarked by Sunday, June 30, 2013. Artists will be notified of the commission award by July 10, 2013.

The mural design must be created using Adobe Illustrator or equivalent graphic design software and incorporate the logo of the tank owner, ODFJELL. The final design must be completed by August 31, 2013, to allow the mural fabricator adequate time to manufacture and install the mural in September. The ideal design would create excitement and interest for the community, honor the history of the community, compliment the redevelopment initiatives of the community, and be appropriate to the location. Graphic artists applying for the commission must demonstrate the skill and ability needed to produce this type of commissioned design work. The selected artist must be willing to learn about the community and is expected to collaborate with city staff and the Mural Committee through a series of meetings to develop concepts for the mural and the final design. Communication and coordination with city staff, the Mural Committee, and the mural fabricator throughout the design and installation process is necessary to ensure quality and compatibility.

In order to be considered for the commission, graphic artists interested in this project must prepare and submit the following materials:

1. Letter of Interest describing specific interest in the project, potential approach, and any relevant past experience (1 page limit)
2. Current resume/CV
3. A minimum of ten slides, quality photographs, or digital images of artist’s work that accurately represent the artist’s aesthetics and style. All images must be accompanied by a brief description of the artwork, title, location, size, and completion date.
4. A list of three professional client references. The list must include complete address and telephone number for each reference.
5. A self-addressed stamped envelope should be included if materials are to be returned.
6. Optional application materials - the artist's web site may be listed and/or up to three additional materials may be submitted such as reviews, news articles, awards, or other related information.

The City of North Charleston reserves the right to reject all applications and/or adjust the project time line. Application materials should be submitted by the deadline to the City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Director, Ms. Marty Besancon. Hand-deliver to the Cultural Arts Department office on the second floor of North Charleston City Hall, located at 2500 City Hall Lane, or mail to City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, PO Box 190016, North Charleston, SC 29419-9016.

For more information about the ODFJELL tank mural commission, contact Marty Besancon at 843-740-5850 or mbesancon@northcharleston.org. To learn more about other programs and artist opportunities offered by the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department, visit http://bit.ly/culturalarts.

National artists to present concurrent solo exhibitions in North Charleston June 3-30

"Tractor at Bayonet Farm" by Jimmy Leslie (right) and "Diver with yacht" by John A. Malveto (left)

The City of North Charleston’s Cultural Arts Department is pleased to announce that landscapes by Jimmy Leslie of Shrewsbury, New Jersey, and stain paintings by John A. Malveto of Walker, Louisiana, will be on exhibit at the North Charleston City Gallery from June 3-30, 2013.

Road Trip – Landscape Paintings by Jimmy Leslie
In an effort to continually push boundaries and experiment, Jimmy Leslie works with diverse modes of expression. His body of work includes landscapes, portraits, and collages in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media. This particular exhibit, Road Trip – Landscape Paintings by Jimmy Leslie, features scenes from the artist’s travels painted in oil and acrylic. “I love to get out of the studio whenever possible to take part in the tradition of plein air painting,” Leslie says. “There’s something about hitting the road with a small paint box in the same way the Impressionists did; just my supplies and a desire to connect with nature.” Jimmy’s landscape paintings capture scenes of places both near and far, many of which are visited due to the travel associated with his position as Resident Artist and Sr. Technical Services Director at Colart Americas, Inc. Sometimes the paintings made on location stand on their own and other times they form the basis for larger paintings that begin to push the boundaries of representation and even become non-representational images. The paintings that stem from these studies often share the qualities of topography and form becomes dictated by color, rather than the reverse. “Ultimately I look for these images to reference the locations they are based on rather than a strict verbatim translation; in this way they become a record which is much more personal,” he explains.

Jimmy Leslie received an MFA from the Graduate School of Figurative Art of the New York Academy of Art and owned and operated the Leslie Art Studio in 2006 and 2007. After almost 15 years of teaching in the Art & Design departments of Monmouth University, St John’s University, and Brookdale Community College, as well as working with gifted students in the Monmouth County Arts High School program, Jimmy left the academic world behind. In January 2009 he began his role as Resident Artist and Sr. Technical Services Director at Colart Americas, Inc., the North American distributor of Winsor & Newton and Liquitex paints. As an artist with ColArt, he is involved with product testing and development and runs the Artist Outreach program. His landscapes, figurative work, and mixed media collages have been exhibited throughout New Jersey, as well as New York, Oregon, Texas, Nebraska, Idaho, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. His work has most recently been seen at The Currier Museum Art Center (Manchester, NH), The NJ Resources HQ, (Howell, NJ), The Limner Gallery (Hudson, NY), the new Joan and Robert Rechnitz Hall on the campus of Monmouth University (West Long Branch, NJ), and the Paper World Art Material Trade Show (Frankfurt, Germany).

Recent Paintings by John A. Malveto
In Recent Paintings by John A. Malveto, the artist presents a collection of abstract works involving the resiliency of humanity versus nature and their eternal conflict to coexist harmoniously. Malveto’s pieces are autobiographical in nature, thereby enabling him the opportunity to integrate personal iconography within the compositions. His works include a combination of visually energetic surfaces created through his own unique approach to “stain painting.” Malveto’s process involves applying multiple stages of poured and brushed acrylic paint to numerous sheets of glass. Stencils are used to cut out shapes from the paint once it has dried. The shapes correspond to a detailed pencil composition created on a canvas. The cut-out shapes of paint are glued to the canvas, section by section, resulting in a finished painting whose effect could not be achieved any other way. “This form of painting is so unusual that I know of no other contemporary artist who employs it,” Malveto says. “By utilizing this unique procedure I feel it has provided greater control of my visual expression. In addition this experience redefines the concept of stain painting.”

John Malveto received his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Park College in Missouri in 1967. He studied painting and drawing at the University of Rhode Island in 1974, and received his Masters of Fine Arts in painting and sculpture from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona in 1976. Malveto has taught at many universities from New York to California to China and has been a professor at the Louisiana State University School of Art since 1983. He has been represented by numerous galleries, and participated in many solo and group exhibitions, earning multiple awards. Presently he is showing with the Kodner Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri.

The North Charleston City Gallery is situated in the common areas of the Charleston Area Convention Center, located at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. Parking and admission are free during regular Convention Center operating hours, 9:00am – 5:00pm daily. The gallery is staffed on Friday, Saturday, and Monday only. Inquiries regarding the artists or purchase information may be directed to the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854. For information on additional exhibits, programs, and events, visit the Cultural Arts section of the City’s website at http://bit.ly/culturalarts.

Teaching Artists Sought for After School Arts Enrichment Programs in North Charleston

Thanks to the dedication of Mayor Summey and City Council, the City of North Charleston continues to provide after school programs to several public elementary schools within city limits. One component of these programs is arts enrichment classes through the City’s Cultural Arts Department. The department is seeking teaching artists in all disciplines to offer these classes for the 2012/13 school year. Local artists with a willingness to share their talents and an ability to work with young students are invited to participate in this after school arts enrichment program.

Thirteen elementary schools in North Charleston are identified sites. Classes are held for one hour twice a week with instructors rotating to a new school site on a bi-monthly basis. The number of participants will vary at each site and teaching artists should anticipate working with large groups of children. A site staff person is available to offer assistance. Rate of pay for these part-time positions is $20 an hour and a limited supply budget is available depending on the needs of the arts discipline. A minimum two month commitment is requested, which results in 16 one hour classes. To insure the safety of the children, background checks are required.

Interested artists should submit a class proposal form and resume as soon as possible to be considered for this program, as rotations begin in September. Forms are available for download from the Applications and Registration Forms page at http://bit.ly/culturalarts. Application materials may be emailed to culturalarts@northcharleston.org or mailed to the attention of Nancy Rodriguez at City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Dept., PO Box 190016, North Charleston, SC, 29419-9016. For more information, contact the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843-740-5854.

Works by Matt Tomko and Dan Vaughn at City Gallery in March

Pintails by Matt Tomko

Works by North Carolina artists Matt Tomko and Dan Vaughan will be on display at the North Charleston City Gallery during the month of March.

Both artists’ work will be on display from March 1-31, 2012. A free opening reception will be held at the gallery on Thursday, March 1, from 5pm-7pm. The artists will be present and the public is invited to attend. 

Matt Tomko, from Durham, North Carolina, will be featuring Serene Recollections of the Natural World.  This exhibition consists of forty oil paintings depicting wildlife and nature scenes.  Paying close attention to the fine details in feathers, branches, eyes, or leaves, Tomko’s work invites the viewer to recollect on past memories of special places and experiences often stored away in their memories.  

The inspiration for Tomko’s work began in his youth.  As a child, he would catch and release birds and small animals.  He began drawing as a way to keep a small part of nature with him.  From 2007 to 2009, he studied art at Studio Amid the Pines in Bear Creek, Pennsylvania, with Judith Keats.  Since then, he has been a featured artist of the Triangle Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic, the Durham Arts Council Fall Class Catalog, as well as various solo and group exhibitions.    

Hooded Merganser by Dan Vaughn

Also on display at the gallery will be twenty-five large pastel paintings by Carrboro, North Carolina, artist Dan Vaughan. In Carolina Waterways, Vaughan presents realist depictions of the Carolina coast and waterways. Whether it is the sun breaking the early morning fog or the last rays of sunset illuminating the coastal breakers, the Carolinas’ picturesque coastal regions are beautifully recreated and preserved in Vaughan’s works.

Born and Raised in Michigan, Vaughan received degrees in biology and medicine from Michigan State University and Wayne State University.  Though his science studies took up most of his time, remained a serious photographer and painter.  His retirement from the University of North Carolina in 2003 has allowed him to devote more time to his art.  Vaughan’s work is greatly influenced by his biology training and shows a great appreciation of the outdoors.

The North Charleston City Gallery is located in the Charleston Area Convention Center with free parking and admission during regular Convention Center operating hours 9:00am – 5:00pm, daily.  The Gallery is staffed on Friday, Saturday, and Monday only.   Inquiries regarding artists or purchase information may be directed to the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at (843) 740-5854. For information on additional exhibits, programs, and events, visit the Cultural Arts section of the City’s website at www.northcharleston.org.