“There is an absolute void of digital work, video, new media, electronic work etc. in Richmond. It doesn’t exist. So why not have those conversations with that kind of work here in Richmond?”
“There is an absolute void of digital work, video, new media, electronic work etc. in Richmond. It doesn’t exist. So why not have those conversations with that kind of work here in Richmond?”
This Saturday, May 3 at 7:30 – 9:30 PM, artists from around the world as well as local Richmond artists will have works featured in Resonance, an art show at Lovebomb, 6 West 21st Street. Artworks include a wide range of digital media, from animation and video art to soundscape pieces. Admission is free, and snacks and drinks will also be provided.
Pro-Practices, a class instructed by Nia Burks of the Kinetic Imaging department at VCU, will be curating the show. The artists in the class include Brian Hoeg, Olivia LeClair, Emma Hadley, Moaz Elemam, Kim Barnes, Kira LeCaptain, Jack Fechino, and Samuel Bowman.
Resonance is a screening hosted by the students as part of the course. Burks allowed them the opportunity to do anything they wanted, whether that was a gallery show, a screening, or a film festival. The students chose to host a single-channel video screening event at Lovebomb.
“This is a celebration of everything that disgusts you, turns you off, or resonates with you in some way. You are looking at things here that you might otherwise avoid,” said Fechino.
“It’s also about the fulfillment that comes with overcoming those things,” said Hadley, “It’s the kind of satisfaction you get from facing a fear, and being able to be empowered by that.”
The preparation process has gone swiftly and smoothly for the show, including a fundraising event held earlier in the semester. Entries flooded in from their international call for digital works. “We posted on various websites that artists could search for calls and submit to screenings. And there was no fee, so there was nothing for them to lose,” said LeClair. They received about sixty submissions from around the world. “I was surprised that we had more international submissions than local or even national submissions,” said Barnes.
“We sat in here together and chose the works,” said Burks, “and from there we established what the show was really going to be about.”
Along with Resonance, Lovebomb will also be holding an Anti-Stadium in the Bottom Referendum Party. “You can expect to see digital media works that run the gamut—a coherent thread of the unknown—represented in a number of different formats. None of the works are the same,” Burks said, “Running at the same time as the show will be an Anti-Stadium Referendum Party, so there will be the arts along with the activist community. There will be bands, DJ’s, and anarchy-punk post-capitalism. We will be first, and the party will last through the night.”
Lovebomb is an art/theater collective located in the Old Manchester district of Richmond that provides an alternative creative performance and program space for theater groups, music, and art. Currently, the proprietors, Heide Trepanier, Julie Elkins and Lily Lamberta are hosting an IndieGoGo campaign in order to raise funds for programming in the arts for the Richmond Community. They have agreed to host Resonance this Saturday.
“Digital media is so accessible,” said Burks, “But while that may be the case, there is an absolute void of digital work, video, new media, electronic work etc. in Richmond. It doesn’t exist. So why not have those conversations with that kind of work here in Richmond?”
The show will be put on for the community by the community with the idea that Lovebomb is a resource within, not removed from, Richmond. “Heide Trepanier planted this seed in me and in all of her students about connectivity and community, because that’s really all you’ve got,” said Burks, “And now my students are taking her format of service through the arts.”
The students are most excited about seeing it all come together. “The pieces deal with some pretty heavy topics. It might seem like the subject matter is a bit dark or daunting at first. But the artists approach it with really great humor,” said Hadley, “They were really rewarding and fun for us to watch.”
Resonance will be held at Lovebomb, 6 West 21st Street, from 7:30 – 9:30 PM. The event is free and open to the public.
“I hope people gain a new respect for time-based media. A lot of people don’t fully understand video art,” said Barnes, “This will be a great introduction.”
