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1708 Gallery’s InLight festival comes to West Broad st. this November, opens call for proposals and submissions

Brad Kutner | June 15, 2017

Topics: 1708 Gallery, artist submissions, InLight 2017

1708 Gallery will return with their amazing night time, public art exhibit this fall, InLight Richmond. After spending last year in Scotts Addition, and taking over Monroe Park Campus the year before that, this year sees the festival of lights, complete with light parade and massive installations, come to West Broad St..

This year’s theme is the Electric Carnival, which harkens back to the famed street festival that enlivened Broad Street in 1901. The Electrical Carnival featured a replica of the Eiffel Tower that was illuminated remotely by President Roosevelt via a telegraph key from the White House.

Check out our video from last year’s festival below:

1708 is also looking for submissions and proposals for pieces for this year’s event. Check out details below and click here to apply and find out more!

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1708 Gallery invites national and international artists working in all media and disciplines, including performance, to submit proposals for our 10th annual InLight Richmond.

InLight 2017 will take place on Friday, November 3, 2017, from 7pm to midnight, in Richmond’s Arts and Culture District. InLight is a public exhibition of light-based artworks—videos and projections, multi-media and interactive projects, sculptures, installations, performances and a Community Lantern Parade.

Proposals for InLight 2017 should involve, be inspired by, investigate, or interpret themes of light, from light as medium to light as concept. While existing work will be considered, 1708 Gallery encourages artists to propose projects that consider themes central to the Electric Carnival— technology, globalism, carnivals.

DEADLINE TO APPLY: Midnight (EST), Monday, July 31, 2017

Potential sites for installations and performances include pathways, façades and other walls, sidewalks, green spaces, trees, and more. In addition, a limited number of interior sites may be available. Artists may propose a specific site for both pre-existing and site-responsive works. Please indicate if your work is site-specific on your entry form. 1708 Gallery reserves the right to make final assignments.

The juror for 2017 is Nat Trotman, Curator of Performance and Media at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Top photo: Medeology Collective: Alessandro Imperato, Jim Gladman, and Kelly McClung, Bridge of Signs, InLight 2013, photo by Terry Brown

1708 Gallery’s ‘3×3’ exhibit highlights social issues to engage the community

Madelyne Ashworth | June 8, 2017

Topics: 1708 Gallery, 3 x 3 sessions, RVA ARt, summer sessions

Continuing a tradition of summertime community engagement, 1708 Gallery opened its newest exhibit, 3×3, last Friday as part of its summer sessions series meant to inspire local involvement through socially-engaging art.

The exhibit, featuring three artists who focus both on pressing environmental and social issues within the Richmond community, provides a work space for the artists to continue community projects both inside and outside of the gallery.

Now in its third year, the summer sessions at 1708 Gallery have evolved to feature fewer projects over a longer period of time to ensure the greatest volume of engagement, largest breadth of resources and concrete results.

“We’ve treated the gallery space as a project space or a lab, or a kind of a community engagement space,” 1708 Executive Director Emily Smith said. “Following the last two summers, we wanted to continue that mission, but try something a little bit different, and invited artists that engaged a community or communities outside of the gallery that had a social practice mission.”

By taking traditional art styles and applying contemporary social movements to exhibits, the artists and gallery alike become community leaders in addition to visual artists.

“The artist is functioning like a community organizer, or activist or archivist, with the idea that the artists would spend the summer doing the work of their project with it being kind of completed by August,” Smith said.

Many of the submissions 1708 Gallery received focused on issues that have become more pertinent this year.

“Half of the proposals addressed issues that have a bigger spotlight on them because of the current political climate,” Smith said. “That was inherent in a lot of the work. It’s impossible to avoid that, and we wouldn’t want to avoid it.”

Dig It Up – Rivers without Coal Ash (pictured above) presented by the Virginia River Healers for example, features drawings and plans depicting local rivers as if they were free of all coal ash. As part of their public awareness campaign, the Virginia River Healers will also host public meetings in Richmond, Chesterfield and Chesapeake to further awareness of coal ash river pollution.

Hillary Waters Fayle is the second featured artist, whose project focuses on sustainable living and incorporating green urban areas in the Jackson Ward neighborhood by creating an ethno-botanical map of the neighborhood through collecting and documenting the plant life and specimens.

“Your experience within an urban environment can change so drastically without any sort of permission or warning,” Fayle said. “It got me thinking about this shared space [in Jackson Ward]. All the natural botany here we share. It’s not really ours, it belongs to somebody, but it’s the experience of the whole community.”  

Fayle’s book on the project will be available at the exhibit’s completion.

Sayaka Suzuki’s work, Drifting Dreamers, is the third featured work and stresses the importance of diversity in a world of immigrants as she asks participants to share their stories on traditional Japanese Indigo cloth that will be constructed into the shape of a life-size boat.

1708 Gallery is also conducting a cultural mapping exercise during the exhibit, asking patrons to pinpoint on a map both traditional and nontraditional art they see around Richmond–whether it be a tattoo parlor or a coffee shop–to create a visual representation of all forms of local art in the city.

“It’s important to recognize that these kinds of projects are a significant way that artists are creating art in 2017,” Smith said. “It’s a way for them to connect with communities in a much more immediate way than hanging a painting in a gallery.”

You can visit the exhibit until August 5 at 319 West Broad Street. For more information about artists or ways to become involved with the projects, visit the 1708 Gallery website.

NY artist Rudy Shepherd reexamines current events with ‘We Are All Trayvon Martin’ exhibit at 1708 Gallery

Charlotte Woods | March 16, 2017

Topics: 1708 Gallery, art, current events, RVA ARt, Trayvon Martin

Ever contemplated the overlap of art and reality? With television shows like Law & Order: SVU tapping into national headlines as influence in its plot, paintings and drawings can also explore the people and personalities that make the news.

That’s what Rudy Shepherd’s “We Are All Trayvon Martin” collection explores and it is featured at 1708 Gallery until March 25.

Shepherd’s work considers the role of artists as witness to contemporary society. His paintings and drawings examine current events, pop culture icons, politicians, as well as both criminals and victims of crime.

“From the beginning my work has been political,” Shepherd said. “I have been since the beginning interested in trying to create dialogue with my artwork, trying to break down barriers and start conversations about things people don’t normally want to talk about.”

As a self-confessed news junkie, a lot of the New York City artist’s work has been inspired by the people he sees in the media.

“I am interested in people reexamining the stories of these people they heard about in the news and with a bit more empathy than maybe they did the first time it was presented to them,” Shepherd said. “To have a viewer walking away with a feeling of compassion for these people and to have that compassion be extended to the people they come in contact to in the real world would also be amazing.”

“We Are All Trayvon Martin” is the result of a decade of real world events seeping into Shepherd’s art. According to Shepherd, it was an old New York Post cover image of Ronnell Wilson that originally inspired him.

Wilson had killed two police officers and even stuck his tongue out at the wife of a victim during his trial. The New York Post cover featured the headline “Fry Baby” with his image.

Despite Wilson’s actions, Shepherd saw this as a form of the press vilifying someone. After deciding to paint a portrait of Wilson, Shepherd realized his growing interest in growing a collection of portraits of people; be it a criminal, victim, or celebrity; who finds themselves in the public eye.

“I am interested in reexamining these stories and finding the humanity that exists in these people and representing that back to the public,” Shepherd said.

In addition to the watercolor portraits, Shepherd said he has a series of paintings, “Healers,” composed of images of people who have died and left an artistic legacy.

“He’s depicted Treyvon Martin and George Zimmerman as well as the victims of the Charleston shooting and Dylan Roof,” said Emily Smith, Executive Director at 1708.

Smith was familiar with Shepherd’s work, so when space opened in her gallery, she reached out to him about displaying some of his pieces at 1708.

At the time, other works, such as his portraits of the victims of the Charleston shooting were on display at the Studio Museum in Harlem until March 5.

Also present at the exhibition are small ceramic objects called “Healing Devices.” Their purpose, according to Shepherd, are to be a counterpoint to things that might seem like unsolvable problems in the social and political challenges in society.

“They pose a solution, while at the same time questioning the viewer’s belief in the power of art, and the power of belief,” Shepherd said.

Rudy Shepherd’s “We Are All Trayvon Martin” will be on display at 1708 Gallery until March 25.

NY artist Rudy Shepherd reexamines current events with ‘We Are All Trayvon Martin’ exhibit at 1708 Gallery

RVA Staff | March 16, 2017

Topics: 1708 Gallery, Rudy Shepherd, RVA, We Are All Trayvon Martin

Ever contemplated the overlap of art and reality? With television shows like Law & Order: SVU tapping into national headlines as influence in its plot, paintings and drawings can also explore the people and personalities that make the news.

That’s what Rudy Shepherd’s “We Are All Trayvon Martin” collection explores and it is featured at 1708 Gallery until March 25.

Shepherd’s work considers the role of artists as witness to contemporary society. His paintings and drawings examine current events, pop culture icons, politicians, as well as both criminals and victims of crime.

“From the beginning my work has been political,” Shepherd said. “I have been since the beginning interested in trying to create dialogue with my artwork, trying to break down barriers and start conversations about things people don’t normally want to talk about.”

As a self-confessed news junkie, a lot of the New York City artist’s work has been inspired by the people he sees in the media.

“I am interested in people reexamining the stories of these people they heard about in the news and with a bit more empathy than maybe they did the first time it was presented to them,” Shepherd said. “To have a viewer walking away with a feeling of compassion for these people and to have that compassion be extended to the people they come in contact to in the real world would also be amazing.”

“We Are All Trayvon Martin” is the result of a decade of real world events seeping into Shepherd’s art. According to Shepherd, it was an old New York Post cover image of Ronnell Wilson that originally inspired him.

Wilson had killed two police officers and even stuck his tongue out at the wife of a victim during his trial. The New York Post cover featured the headline “Fry Baby” with his image.

Despite Wilson’s actions, Shepherd saw this as a form of the press vilifying someone. After deciding to paint a portrait of Wilson, Shepherd realized his growing interest in growing a collection of portraits of people; be it a criminal, victim, or celebrity; who finds themselves in the public eye.

“I am interested in reexamining these stories and finding the humanity that exists in these people and representing that back to the public,” Shepherd said.

In addition to the watercolor portraits, Shepherd said he has a series of paintings, “Healers,” composed of images of people who have died and left an artistic legacy.

“He’s depicted Treyvon Martin and George Zimmerman as well as the victims of the Charleston shooting and Dylan Roof,” said Emily Smith, Executive Director at 1708.

Smith was familiar with Shepherd’s work, so when space opened in her gallery, she reached out to him about displaying some of his pieces at 1708.

At the time, other works, such as his portraits of the victims of the Charleston shooting were on display at the Studio Museum in Harlem until March 5.

Also present at the exhibition are small ceramic objects called “Healing Devices.” Their purpose, according to Shepherd, are to be a counterpoint to things that might seem like unsolvable problems in the social and political challenges in society.

“They pose a solution, while at the same time questioning the viewer’s belief in the power of art, and the power of belief,” Shepherd said.

Rudy Shepherd’s “We Are All Trayvon Martin” will be on display at 1708 Gallery until March 25.

Words by Charlotte Woods

InLight 2016 offered tons of great public art – check out the winners (and video from the show) here!

Brad Kutner | November 16, 2016

Topics: 1708 Gallery, InLight 2016, scotts addition

We had a blast (as always) as 1708 Gallery‘s InLight festival and we’ve got the video to prove it.
[Read more…] about InLight 2016 offered tons of great public art – check out the winners (and video from the show) here!

Current offers unique contemporary art fair for experienced and novice collectors this weekend

Brad Kutner | October 19, 2016

Topics: 1708 Gallery, ADA Gallery, Candela Books + Gallery, contemporary art in Richmond, Current, Glave Kocen Gallery, Page Bond Gallery, Quirk Gallery, Reynolds Gallery, scotts addition

Richmond’s first contemporary art fair is hitting the scene on October 20. Current is a brain child of several local gallery owners and directors including 1708 Gallery, ADA gallery, Candela Books + Gallery, Glave Kocen Gallery, Page Bond Gallery, Quirk Gallery, and Reynolds Gallery.
[Read more…] about Current offers unique contemporary art fair for experienced and novice collectors this weekend

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