Second Thursday Art Night at the Torpedo Factory Art Center will feature the fantastic and the macabre.
- 6 – 9 pm:
- Visitors are encourage to bring a few friends along to play Exquisite Corpse, a surrealist party game that was popular with artists like André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, and Salvador Dali. In this group drawing activity, each participant draws a section of the picture, while only seeing the end of what the previous person contributed. The resulting image is as quirky and bizarre as the participants can imagine.
October is Virginia Archaeology Month. To celebrate, the Alexandria Archaeology Museum will have its own exquisite skeleton, Zark the dog, on display. Visitors are encourage to share their love for him with hashtag #zarkbark.- After two months of collecting doodles and illustrations from visitors, the four community sketchbooks will be on display in the Site 2 hallway, located by the elevator on the second floor. Visitors have left drawings, scribbles, cartoons, poems, and notes. Leaf through the books and even leave your own sketches behind for others.
- With an eye toward contemporary conversations surrounding gender identity, equality, and feminism, Target Gallery’s exhibition, Angel Soldier Dance Sublime features the work of four artists as they explore themes of femininity and power and the intertwining relationship of gendered archetypes.
- 6 – 7 pm; 8 – 9 pm: Singer/songwriter Janna Audey performs throughout the evening with her husband, guitarist Rob Santos. Hear a mix of original songs along with a romantic collection of songs made famous by the Rat Pack, the Bee Gees, the Carpenters, and others. Santos’ edgy guitar complements the soulful timbre of Audey’s voice.
- 7 pm:
- Alexandria Archaeology Museum: Zark the dog wasn’t always part of a museum display. Learn how archaeologist found him under a pile of stones on Royal Street, how they figured out his name, and what his burial in the early 1900s reveals about Alexandria’s past.
- 7:30 pm:
- The Art League Gallery: Opening reception for two new exhibitions in The Art League Gallery. Superstition & Belief is an all-media exhibition with work referencing myths, religion, fantasy, and dreams. Each Day is a Celebration features Sheila Harrington’s still-life oil paintings that illustrate the passage of time through food and drink.
Earlier in the day, Carlyle House will be offering complementary programming. They will display an 18th-century mummified cat that was found in the wall of the house and will also offer an Exquisite Corpse drawing activity for visitors. Carlyle House is located at 121 North Fairfax Street in Alexandria. The hours are 10 am – 4 pm.
