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Painting The Streets Of Jackson Ward

Brooke Nicholson | August 18, 2020

Topics: art, Art 180, arts district richmond va, big secret, bloomberg art initiative, city of richmond art, community, Gallery5, jackson ward mural, jackson ward richmond va, maggie walker memorial plaza, maggie walker richmond va, richmond va art, richmond va murals, Venture Richmond

Where West Marshall meets Brook Road, a new pedestrian plaza is coming — and with local organizations like Gallery5, Venture Richmond, Big Secret, and more behind it, it’s set to brighten up the intersection through art. 

The already-colorful City of Richmond is about to get another rainbow upgrade, thanks to a grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Asphalt Art Initiative. After 200 cities applied for the grant, one of the sixteen $25,000 grants was jointly awarded to both Venture Richmond and City of Richmond Public Art Commission. The grant supports cities that use art to improve community safety, and creates further public engagement.

PHOTO: Site plan for the upcoming project funded by Bloomberg’s Asphalt Art Initiative in Richmond, via Venture Richmond.

Richmond’s newest project will include the intersection of West Marshall Street and Brook Road in the Arts District/Jackson Ward neighborhood. The grant will help fund a new pedestrian plaza, a parklet, and an intersection mural. The list of partners on the project is still growing, but so far includes the City of Richmond, Gallery5, Venture Richmond, Big Secret, ART 180, Vanderbilt Properties, and Walter Parks Architects. ART 180 is in charge of coordinating the public art components of the project, and Walter Parks Architects is responsible for providing in-kind design services.

“Collectively, these elements build upon the momentum of the neighborhood as the nexus of the Arts District, and enhance the route into Jackson Ward anchored by the Maggie Lena Walker Memorial Plaza a block away,” said Susan Glasser, Public Art Coordinator for the City of Richmond. “On a practical level, the project aspires to increase pedestrian traffic by enhancing safety and street life, to create a revitalized and beautified environment in an underutilized public space, and to promote civic engagement in the neighborhood.”

Venture Richmond is also donating $5,000 to the project that will come from the organization’s event Park(ing) Day design/build competition, hosted last September. Venture Richmond’s overall mission is to ensure that the City of Richmond focuses on enhanced vitality of Richmond, the downtown area, and Riverfront, along with enhancing property management services. Together with the city’s Public Art Commission, which invests in local artists to improve economic and cultural identity growth, the organization hopes to create a new destination from an existing intersection. It will not only brighten the busy section, but enhance its functionality.

PHOTO: Butterfly mural in Asheville, NC, by Sound Mind Creative. Photo by Justin Mitchell.

“It’s really exciting to see a lot of hard work by the community rewarded by a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, to make changes to that intersection that make it safer and more attractive to the residents and businesses in the area,” said Max Hepp-Buchanan, Director of Riverfront and Downtown Placemaking for Venture Richmond. “In the age of Covid-19, it’s more important than ever that we design public spaces like this for people to safely gather and make social connections.”

Bloomberg Philanthropies’ main initiative is to invest in cities around the world, ensuring that there is a good focus on the arts, education, public health, and government innovation among other areas. In 2019, Michael R. Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Philanthropies — which includes all of his giving along with personal philanthropy, foundation, and Bloomberg Associates — donated $3.3 billion.

The City of Richmond is eager to hear what the public and Richmond locals want out of this project, and have made a survey for volunteers to record their opinions. The City hopes to start off its public engagement process with a bang, ensuring that the voices of locals are heard, and that the project will not impinge too much on the lives of those living around the intersection. Community members are highly encouraged to take the survey, if possible, so city officials can gather as much information as possible for a swift, smooth project timeline.

PHOTO: Underground at Ink Block in Boston, MA. Mural by Silvia López Chavez. Photo by @Rediovision.

Richmond’s newest project of the three conceptual elements hopes to further engage the community in local art, and will create a more functional intersection within the popular public intersection. 

To learn more about the initiative and follow updates, visit Venture Richmond’s website and take the community survey.

Ghost Of Pop 2019

Justin Mcclung | December 9, 2019

Topics: Gallery5, livemusic, PalmPalm, Things to do in Ricmond, things to do in RVA

Ghost of Pop 2019 time! Kick off the holiday season right with a whole bunch of local bands, holiday vendors, holiday photo fun, drink specials, and all the magic that can be contained in a former firehouse turned art/music venue.

Doors 7pm / Music 8pm // ADV $5 / DOS $10

Palm Palm

Deli Kings

Prabir Trio

Saw Black

Aster
https://asterr.bandcamp.com/

+ DJ Julie all night!!

Tickets will go on sale Friday 11/15

– – – – – – – – – –
Love going to Gallery5? Never been to Gallery5 before? Either way, friendly reminder here:
Gallery5 is a 501c3 non profit arts organization devoted to engaging communities through the arts. Support our mission by making a donation at www.LongLiveGallery5.com

Want to Win $1,000? Check Out Gallery5 This Friday

Oliver Mendoza | August 1, 2019

Topics: $1000, 1000 giveaway, art, art collaborative, art exhibition, danny crump, events, First Fridays, flux factory, Gallery5, game show, giveaway, Jackson Ward, local art, one spa at a time, performance art, richmond events, rinkworm, sarah dahlinger, springboard collective

Springboard Collective is bringing their latest interactive art installation to Gallery 5 in the form of a game show with a thousand-dollar prize.

First Fridays in Richmond has always been a great time to visit some of the local galleries, socialize with friends, and enjoy some local art… but add a $1,000 giveaway and an interactive art exhibition, and First Fridays just got a lot more interesting. 

Gallery 5, an art gallery and music venue in Jackson Ward, will be hosting a special interactive art exhibition brought by Springboard Collective. 

Springboard Collective produces interactive, immersive exhibitions, and encourages their audience to get involved. Originating from New York, Danny Crump and Sarah Dahlinger are co-directors of the production. They’ve collaborated with many different artists for shows in New York, Philadelphia, and now Richmond. 

“Because Gallery 5 is also a music venue, we’re making it more of a performative installation, and the $1,000 competition is more of a show,” Crump said. “There will be a lot of sculptural installations as well.” 

Photo via Springboard Collective

The two have been involved in such exhibitions as Rinkworm, a week-long pop-up roller rink, and One Spa on a Time, a 60-hour spa resort installation at the Flux Factory in NYC. 

According to Crump, there can sometimes be more than 20 artists involved in one exhibition. “Many of our projects tend to have a performative aspect, both interactive and in a programmatic way,” Crump said. The way this works is that Springboard invite specific artists to create a show or a performance art piece within the context of their installations.  

The competition that takes center stage at this installation is in the form of a single-elimination bracket-style tournament, with 64 possible entries. Each participant has a 1-in-64 chance to win $1,000. It’s set to be part of the performative aspect of the installation, and will be geared like a game show, such as Legends of the Hidden Temple. 

“Playing with people’s expectations is a big part of the transformation of this space, and that helps to create an escape,” Crump said. 

Photo via Springboard Collective

According to Dahlinger, their projects tend to bring people out for a variety of different reasons — and though it is sometimes a risk to encourage so much audience participation in their work, everyone who attends is nonethless encouraged to engage at their own pace. 

“With this one, the core idea being a $1,000 competition, we’re hoping to stay cryptic with what that entails,” said Crump. “But we can say essentially that if you can play rock-paper-scissors, you can compete in this tournament.”

“For us, artistically and creatively, I think the gesture of giving away $1,000 is generous,” Dahlinger said. “A lot of our projects are really generous, and the spaces all get built from the ground up.” 

Photo via Springboard Collective

Dahlinger and Crump said they will be starting the setup of the installation this week as they come into Richmond. They’d like to invite people to come by Gallery 5, check out what they’re up to, and help out with the setup. 

Gallery 5 is located on 200 West Marshall St, and doors will open for Springboard Collective’s installation at 6pm on Friday, August 2. The competition will begin at 8pm, followed by an after-party and award ceremony at 9pm. For more info, click here.

Top Photo via Springboard Collective

Let Your Freak Flag Fly: Dirtwoman’s Legacy Returns to Richmond Tonight

Benjamin West | April 5, 2019

Topics: arts, Dirtwoman, donnie corker, First Friday, gallery 5, Gallery5, paint me bitch

Porno theaters and biker haunts, streams of punk rockers flowing from bar to street to bar again, stitched up in Germs gear and Buzzcocks back patches. A line of motorcycles slouch crooked near the sidewalk, like iron horses in front of a saloon.

This was Grace Street in the 1990s, which, at that point, had maintained a rowdy reputation for decades.

“It was a very unusual place,” arts and culture critic and video producer Jerry Williams said. “All the canyons of buildings were not there, it was a bunch of funky stores.”

Anyone can picture the ripped jeans, the stained flannel and chunky boots padding around, a result of our fetishized nostalgia for the grunge era — from which cyclical fashion tendencies are coming back around to a smartphone generation — but the much harder sell is the beautiful weirdness that was Donnie Corker.

PHOTO: Dirtwoman, Alice McCabe

Corker, like a bug in amber, is forever suspended in the Richmond consciousness under his moniker ‘Dirtwoman.’ He was a gay man and a drag queen, who began wearing his sister’s dresses in the 60s when he was just 13, and made a living as a sex worker in his youth. As an adult, he melted into the Grace Street scene, selling flowers from a lawn chair on the corner of Grace and Harrison.

“Donnie was really a sweetheart of an individual, and very intense,” said Parker Galore, executive director of Gallery5 and a friend of Corker for many years.

From his stoop in front of the Village, Corker hurled insults (Williams refers to his famous “potty mouth”) or unleashed pick-up lines and flattery when an attractive guy walked by. He was an endlessly “social creature,” according to Chris Dovi, Codeva executive director, longtime Richmond reporter and friend of Corker’s, and although Corker never learned to read or write, he would memorize the phone numbers of people he met, calling them throughout the day. He could talk for hours.

When Corker died on September 26, 2017, he left behind a lot of stories — from having crabs eaten out of his crotch for a GWAR video, to his over-the-top charity performances, to crashing the inauguration of former Governor Doug Wilder — everybody who knew him has their own, and many who didn’t are intimately familiar with the legends. Williams has spent the last 20 years compiling these stories into a feature-length documentary set to have its hometown premier at the Richmond International Film Festival April 25, and in conjunction with their 14th anniversary celebration, Gallery5 is hosting a Dirtwoman art exhibition tonight — paintings, photos, drawings, and more inspired by Corker himself. This all comes on the tail end of the first-ever Dirtwoman Week, the news of which broke Monday (on April Fool’s Day, ironically enough).

So get out and celebrate the way Corker would have done it.

Let your freak flag fly.

PHOTO: Dirtwoman, Noah Scalin via Jerry Williams

The Exhibition

Among the DJ booths, fold-out tables, singing saxophones, and fire dancers populating the downtown streets every First Friday, Richmonders are bound to encounter Gallery5 at some point in the night. It juts out into a Marshall Street intersection like the stern of a ship, both a literal and figurative masthead of Historic Jackson Ward.

Though he said he’s never used these labels, Galore said the Gallery has been identified as the “art rebels” over the years. They’ve maintained a staunchly-DIY ethic, and the public has latched on, recognizing the nonprofit as something special.

“The city just is bursting with creativity and wonderful ideas,” Galore said. “It’s always really great for us to do what we can to give any of those ideas a home or an incubator.”

Friday, in conjunction with their 14-year anniversary celebration, Gallery5 is hosting an art show dedicated to Corker — who would sometimes hang out on the front steps of the converted firehouse, according to Galore.

The exhibition, Galore said, features “about 34” pieces of art depicting Dirtwoman in many different mediums, from blown-up photos featured in artist Alice McCabe’s famous Dirtwoman calendar, to paintings and illustrations.

“There’s a lot of really interesting, and endearing, and awesome interpretations of Dirtwoman, and it’s a lot more eclectic than you would probably imagine,” Galore said.

So among live music and a local vendor takeover of the second floor, go check out Paint Me, Bitch!: The Dirtwoman Artshow beginning tonight at 7 p.m. inside Gallery5.

“It’s cool to do something that’s part of Richmond history with this person who should be celebrated for all the quirky, wonderful, weird things that they brought, and gave permission for us to be ourselves,” Galore said.

PHOTO: Dirtwoman, Douglas Orleski via Jerry Williams

The Documentary

Much of the Dirtwoman portraiture flooding the first floor of Gallery5 doesn’t stand alone — the art comes directly from Williams’ much-anticipated documentary about the life of Corker.

Spider Mites of Jesus is set to premier at the Florida Film Festival in a couple weeks, followed by a hometown premier at the Byrd Theatre April 25 for the Richmond International Film Festival. The project, nearly two decades in the making, encapsulates Dirtwoman’s history and pinpoints Corker’s unique personality. It’s built from a collection of 70 interviews, rare historic footage, and the loving work of a community of people who knew him well.

Director Jerry Williams, also known as TVJerry, often encountered Corker as a student at VCU in the late 60s.

“I remember him walking around with a wig on,” Williams said. “…He was unashamed, he would call you out if you gave him any shit.”

When the “good old disco days” rolled around (eg. the 70s), Williams started at CBS 6, and Corker, who watched a lot of TV, became fond of Williams. He doesn’t remember exactly how they met, but soon enough, they became friends.

“I guess you could say we were both semi-famous gay people in town,” Williams said with a little laugh.

The idea for the documentary began in the late 90s, when Williams wrangled together a crew of friends to interview Corker and film his 50th birthday bash at a former club on Grace called Caffeine’s. The whole shebang was complete with other drag queens and live music, and later they filmed the aforementioned GWAR music video skit — Sleazy’s Crabhouse.

“And then we all got busy making a living for a number of years,” Williams said.

Corker had congestive heart failure in 2017, and the waysided passion project was resumed once again. Williams said at that point he was “cruising into retirement,” and he knew this was a perfect time to begin again.

He called in many favors from his friends in the industry, a community of local professionals, many of whom had been active on his website — Tales from the Grips, and later Sifter — who collected stories from the TV and film world, told by those who lived it.

“Everybody who worked on it pretty much worked for free,” Williams said.

PHOTO: Dirtwoman, Brad Douglas

The footage, the interviews, and the stories when crafted into the film were much too long at first, according to Williams. He spent over a year editing — cutting, and cutting, and cutting.

“Which was hard because there’s so many stories about Donnie and so many outrageous things that I just couldn’t include them all,” Williams said.

While the task, like Corker, might have seemed huge and daunting, the resulting film is like Dirtwoman in other ways: hilarious and heartwarming.

It’s hard to summarize what Dirtwoman meant — and means — to the Richmond community. Douglas Orleski of RVA Coffeestain, whose work will be featured in Paint Me Bitch! said it wonderfully:

“In a world that is increasingly unauthentic, I found [Corker’s] unashamed nature refreshing.”

“You might have difficulty explaining Dirtwoman to someone from out of town, but Richmonders, they get it.”

Tickets for the hometown premier of Spider Mites of Jesus are $10 for general admission and available here.

“Glitter and Grit” Exhibit Pushes Female Artists Out of the Margins Into the Center

Brianna Scott | September 6, 2018

Topics: Amelia Blair Langford, art, female artists, Gallery5, Glitter and Grit, graffiti, Kate Duffy, Meme, Nico Cathcart, RVA ARt, street art

“It’s sort of my mission in life to empower women in the arts,” Nico Cathcart said, dressed in her paint covered jeans and plaid shirt, fresh out of working on her latest mural.

It’s an honest goal to want to use your platform to help elevate others in the margins. Richmond’s art scene is bursting at the seams with artists of different mediums, creating diverse and beautiful works across the city in galleries and on the side of buildings. But even in a city with a top arts school, the newly opened ICA, and an abundance of art galleries hosting exhibitions, it still can be a challenge for women and minority artists to have their talent appreciated and supported.

“Sometimes I’m the only woman on the bill…people aren’t taking the extra step to get outside the boy’s club,” said Cathcart, a local muralist and sign maker.

Image may contain: 1 person
Nico Cathcart, “Mother Missi” – Oil, Spray, Gold Leaf on canvas

So, in an effort to lift up and highlight female artists, Cathcart worked with Gallery5 to put together the “Glitter and Grit” exhibit opening this Friday. At first, the gallery approached her about doing a solo show, but the artist had a much bigger idea in mind.

“I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to gather female artists who were strong artistically, with strong voices and get them all in the same room,” she said. 

Over 10 artists with mediums ranging from graffiti to abstract to drawings are featured. And while their styles differ, the one factor that ties them together is their connection in trying to navigate the male-dominated art world.

For many of the artists, it’s not about putting men down—it’s about creating a space for female artists to thrive where their art and voices are front and center.

“I think it’s very important for women to have the lens in the art world,” said Amelia Blair Langford, a fellow Richmond artist who is among those participating. 

Amelia Blair Langford, “The Majestic I”

Many of the artists took the opportunity to make something meaningful that may not be feminine in nature.

Artist Kate Duffy has been working on a piece called “Trail Eyes” for the exhibit. It focuses on being outdoors, playing outside as a kid, and getting down and dirty with bugs and picking flowers.

“I keep joking with friends that I’m not bringing any glitter I’m only bringing the grit,” she said. “I think it’s cool for Nico to curate this, but then also trust us to create whatever we want because she respects us as artists. It’s important for us [women] to network with each other to help each other get opportunities.”

Kate Duffy, “Buttermilk”

For some of the artists like Duffy, finding confidence in their work and finding a voice was a major challenge to overcome. 

“I wasn’t taught to advocate for myself and take up space and to take what was mine,” Duffy said. “We teach our young men, and society is shifting, but that this is their world and it’s for them so they take these opportunities. For some young women, it can be difficult finding that confidence and taking what is yours.”

Shaylen Broughton, a local abstract artist who uses acrylic paints and ocean water to create her fluid artwork, is also on the bill. The “Undercurrent” artist echoed similar sentiments as Duffy on the male-dominated art scene. 

“People tend to think that the men, especially with mural art, are better cause they’re stronger or more capable. I think it’s important to push that away and highlight female artists to show that we can do just as good if not better,” she said. Broughton will showcase her bright, colorful, and electric art on canvas alongside Amy Smith Marie, Andrea Owens, Austin Miles, Chelsi Fiore, Lucky Signs, Nikki Leone, and Meme. 

Shaylen Broughton

Miles, a local painter, tends to focus her work on women of color and stressed the importance of representation in art. 

“It’s interesting when you’re in a show with a group of artists and notice you are one of a few women or one of two black artists,” she said. “But it’s also a proud moment when I’m able to enter this space, what I’m doing is paving a way for other artists.”

Austin Miles

Most of the participating artists are based out of Richmond, but Meme hails from the West Coast. The Northern California graffiti artist and skateboarder found there weren’t many females involved in street art or skating. Meme helped form Few & Far, a movement that brings together creative women involved in various forms of art.

“I wanted to be more about what I can contribute to society, more than just taking for myself,” Meme said.

Virginia Graffiti Mural Artist
Meme

Like Cathcart, the two artists who hail from different backgrounds, have used their platforms to expand the network of women they work with and put more female artists on the map.

“I had a guy say to me that feminine art isn’t serious and guys won’t respect that—it made me really angry,” Cathcart said. “Women are powerful and create life. I get called a ‘bitch’ because I call out sexism and racism, but it’s important for people to question why an art show has no women or only one female artist. It’s normal to have a show with a bunch of guys. Question that.”

“Glitter and Grit” opens this Fri., at Gallery5  at 7 pm. In addition to the art showcase, check out music from Georgie Isaacs, Dani Nelson and Chris Smith, Shangri Lords, and Adar. Gallery5 will have a market with fellow vendors Dag Nab it, The Raw Aura, Eliza Jane Prints
Lebow’s Art & Design, Caroline Seaman Resin Art & Jewelry, and Gold Star Vintage.

Top photo: Amelia Blair Langford

 

Yeni Nostalji Discuss Debut Turkish Pop Album Ahead of Gallery5 Release Show Tonight

Andrew Goetzinger | May 18, 2018

Topics: Gallery5, rva music, turkish pop, Yeni Nostalji

Yeni Nostalji is a pop band made up of local Turkish and American musicians whose unique pop sound has been entertaining all of us for quite some time. They’ve collaborated with big staples like the Richmond Symphony, Richmond brass sensations NO BS! Brass Band, and even local salsa band, Bio Ritmo. And now the five-piece, which is fronted by Christina Marie Gleixner who sings all of their songs in Turkish, will release their self-titled debut album at Gallery5 tonight. 

Taking inspiration from European and Turkish pop and modern indie pop ballads, the band has crafted a symphonic experience and the songs feel as if you’re being taken through the soundtrack of a love story. Yeni Nostalji officially released the album May 4 via Ropeadope Records after recording it with Lance Koehler of Minimum Wage Recording, and the album is a splendid collaboration between the band, 15 different artists including Reggie Chapman (No BS! Brass Band,) and Andrew Randazzo (Butcher Brown) incorporating 20 instruments throughout.

Rounding out Yeni Nostalji is Turkish drummer Emre Kartari, along with his wife Ayça Kartari on bass, guitarist and arranger Gary Kalar, and Moldovan-born Vlad Cuiujuclu, fellow guitarist, and composer. Kalar is responsible for many of the string and horn arrangements on the album.

Emre and his wife were not on the album, but joined shortly after. “She’s a classical musician by nature, so we would rarely play together before then,” said Kartari. “It is actually nice having a separate job that we can both work together at. It is not really even considered work for us, we just play for fun, there is no stress,” Emre added.

Gleixner isn’t actually Turkish and is in fact from Roanoke, but her love for the music and her story of how she became initially introduced to the culture is one of a kind and has transcended to her own unique interpretation of what the language and music. 

“Well, it’s kind of a strange story,” she said, laughing. “I heard the song “Öyle Sarhoş Olsam Ki” by Tanju Okan, and was very taken by it. I instantly wanted to learn how to sing it in Turkish. At the time I didn’t know what the lyrics were saying so I learned phonetically by stopping and starting it over and over again.”

She then decided to bring her vision to the only Turkish Richmonders she knew, Evrim Doğu, who owns Church Hill’s Sub Rosa Bakery. “I knew he would be interested in joining forces, at least for a moment in time, so we decided to collaborate. He played on a few songs in the album, two of which he wrote,” she said. 

I thought it may be a little tough gauging interest for a band that is slightly out of the ordinary given its roots. Not being able to understand lyrics are often a deterrent for some listeners, but a means of personal interpretation for others.

“If they don’t understand the lyrics, I am hoping new listeners appreciate this kind of music like I originally did, like an abstract painting,” Gleixner said of her music. “That is definitely what sparked my interest to learn the language, and I am now writing my own songs in Turkish which I am very proud of.”

While the music and genre may have been inspired by 60s and 70s Turkish and European pop radio, the singer credits her songwriting influences to Leonard Cohen, Morrissey, and Dolly Parton, making for a genre-breaking album breaking all boundaries and rules when it comes to sound. 

That’s exactly what I like about it, I listened to the entire debut album that she gave me at our interview from start to finish without knowing what the names of the songs were or any of the lyrics at that. I liked the fact the listening experience has the potential to be different for everyone depending on how you interpret it for yourself given the melody and feeling that the music evokes for you specifically.

Yeni Nostalji’s debut song on the 10-track album, “Ölümsüz,” is a hauntingly beautiful ballad, which according to Gleixner, is about wanting to cheat death so you can be in love forever.

As for their album release show at Gallery5, expect fellow performances by local songwriter Keilan Creech will be opening the show and DJ OlNuBi, or Armando Muñoz, best known from his involvement with KINGS and The Flavor Project, will be running the DJ table all night.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

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