Come one, come all, here’s a chance to cover that bland wall that laughs at your lack of creativity – get yourself a one-of-a-kind print that highlights unique local talent and supports one of the bes
Come one, come all, here’s a chance to cover that bland wall that laughs at your lack of creativity – get yourself a one-of-a-kind print that highlights unique local talent and supports one of the best charities in town.
“On the Facebook and Instagram, everyone has this square pictures – and they kind of pop up and then disappear,” said Pen Rollings, one of the Square Deal Crate Show’s organizers. He and some other folks in town got together a while back with the hopes of creating a project to inspire average people to get creative and contribute to art as a whole. “It was kind of an immediate inspiration to get people creating and contributing – have it happen, have something tactile that people could come down and participate in.”
The fruit of their labor is the first of the Square Deal Crate shows. The photos, usually done in a point-and-shoot fashion, come off as raw expressions of the artists work – the subject is anything and everything. The images have been printed on 7 inch or 12 inch square paper and will be sold like vinyl records, stored in crates for easy browsing. And at almost 1,300 prints, there is the potential for a lot of browsing.
None of the photos are signed or labeled by artist name – for Rollings that’s part of the intrigue of the project – anonymous pieces by some well-known, some less known, artists. “Everybody is doing this under a guise,” said Rollings.
To make the (square) deal even sweeter, 1$ from each print will go toward the Harvey Foundation, a local charity that works to get musical instruments into Richmond area schools. The inclusion of the Harvey Foundation made getting contributors incredibly easy for Rollings – “It made people more excited and eager to participate.”
Several record stores came together to help provide the record bags – Deep Grove, Plan 9, and Steady Sounds. Additionally, a raffle (with a 1 in 15 chance to win) will offer gift cards to local restaurants.
Balliceaux will provide a $5 open buffet (while supplies last!) for the event, and $1 from each meal ticket will go toward the Harvey Foundation.
So come on out for the Square Deal Crate Show at Balliceaux (baby first friday!) Thursday 9/5 @ 5PM – get some art, support a good cause, and enjoy the company of your fellow print-lovers.
