Tag Archives: Featured

The Late Shift: Art Rock City

Equal parts rock, hip-hop, and freestyle. Add in skateboards and graffiti for good measure. Big summer fun returns to the waterfront.

  • Jarvis DuBois, an independent curator, and Carolina Mayorga, a D.C.-based artist, talk about Caroline Hatfield, the solo artist selected for Target Gallery’s competitive 2018 Open Call for Solo Exhibition.
  • Alexis Gomez looks back on his three months in the Post-Grad Residency studio.
  • Welcome Duende District Artist-in-Residence Shani Shih in the New Project Studio.
  • Celebrate Pride Month with NOVA Pride and Safe Space NOVA.
  • The Board Bus returns, promoting skateboard culture directly in front of the Art Center.
  • DJ Detroyt will spin a special 2-hour Art Rock City set from 7:30-9:30pm, followed by AndyCAPPS providing an hour of freestyle beats from 9:30-10:30pm.
RSVP Now

The Late Shift is a free monthly after-hours series featuring exhibition receptions, music, live performances, artist talks, and more. Select Fridays, 7 – 11 pm.


Schedule

7 pm: Opening Reception 

2018 Congressional Art Exhibition – Site 2 Community Gallery

The Torpedo Factory Art Center is proud to partner with the Office of Congressman Don Beyer to host the top ten honoree’s of the“2018 Congressional Art Competition” from Congressman Beyer’s 8th District. The exhibition will be up from June 1 – July 9th, 2018 with a reception on June 15th with comments from Congressman Beyer at 7pm. (Image Credit: Catherine Owens, a junior from St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School and Torpedo Factory Art Center’s  2018 “High School Art Award” recipient.)

 

8 pm: Juror Talk

Jarvis Dubois and Carolina Mayorga – 2018 Open Call for Solo Exhibition: Caroline Hatfield – Target Gallery (Studio 2)
In UnearthingCaroline Hatfield creates sculptural landscapes composed of industrial relics, geological formations, and mutable material boundaries that accumulate into form. The combined objects and materials emanate a cyclical energy of transformation and process. The work references the sublime experiences of our world as well as a shift outward towards a science fictional sublime. Join us for a conversation at 8 pm with jurors Jarvis DuBois, an independent curator, and Carolina Mayorga, a D.C.-based artist.

9 pm: Artist Talk

Alexis Gomez – Studio 319
Post-Grad Studio Resident Alexis Gomez wraps up his three months at the Torpedo Factory Art Center with a talk about his experiences and the future of his work.

During his residency, Gomez integrated the virtual and physical realms as he experimented with new-media including VR/3D animation in conjunction with figural sculpture. Originally from Fairfax, Virginia, Gomez received his bachelor’s of fine arts from the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University. Gomez is an interdisciplinary artist with a focus in figural sculpture, painting, and animation. He is a Sparkplug member at the District of Columbia Arts Center and Flatfile artist at Transformer Gallery. He is currently living and working in Virginia.

 

7 – 11 pm: Artist-in-Residence  and Closing Reception

Duende District Pop-Up – New Project Studio (Studio 8)
Duende District, a DMV-based pop-up bookstore by and for people of color – where all are welcome – celebrates their final month in the New Project Studio with a closing reception and a showcase of their current Artist-in-Residence, Shani Shih.

Founded in February 2017 by Angela Maria Spring, Duende District’s mission is to bring a highly inclusive and pleasurable general bookstore experience in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas, serving a multicultural community with an equally multicultural ownership/staff, and all are welcome.

 

DUENDE DISTRICT ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE

Shani Shih is a multidisciplinary visual artist in Washington DC. Her personal artwork speaks at a visceral level; it features bold linework, gritty textures, and expressive human figures intertwined with harsh industrial structures, and represents everyday social and bodily experience in the stratified landscapes of the modern world. Through her creations, she aims to communicate a shared experience of suffering and endurance, as well as everlasting love and hope – providing comfort, strength, and acknowledgement to all.

Shani is also dedicated to supporting communities in need through public art, teaching and community arts, with a focus on serving underrepresented Asian Pacific American communities. During the 2016 primaries, Shani co-curated Bern the System!, a street art showcase that featured 70+ regional artists and uplifted messages of social change. She then served as a lead organizer for a four-city mural campaign centering the message of the indigenous-led Water is Life movement—which led to the 2017 founding of the 411 Collective, a graffiti/street art collective that supports local and national community advocacy initiatives with public art. In 2018, with the help of 1882 Foundation/Chinese American Citizens Alliance/Harrison and Ann Lee Memorial Scholarship Fund, she founded the Chinatown Art Studio, a youth art space servicing Asian Pacific American youth through multimedia art instruction and creative empowerment programming.

As Duende District’s current Artist in Residence, she is excited to share her personal story and voice through her creations. She is pleased to also present “In Our Eyes,” a special youth art display that spotlights diverse voices of Asian/Pacific Islander American youth in the DC area, from the Chinatown Art Studio program and beyond.

 

 

www.shanishih.com

www.instagram.com/shanishih

7 – 11 pm: Hands-on Art Making with Marcella Kriebel

Mobile Art Lab in the Grand Hall
Join artist Marcella Kriebel (@marcellakriebel) for hands-on watercolor projects in partnership with Alexandria Office of the Art’s beloved Mobile Art Lab.

About Marcella Kriebel

Her collection of watercolors, and illustrated cookbooks reflect her early interest in drawing and painting, coupled with her education – majoring in Studio Art and Cultural Anthropology. She used this background as a springboard for travel, journaling and cooking in numerous Latin American countries. She has remained in DC as a working artist since 2011, dividing her time between commissioned work and expanding her collection of original watercolor art prints for sale at a variety of market venues and online.  She is an avid river kayaker and an Oregon native who appreciates the great outdoors as a balance for the busy life of an inner city DC resident.

 

 

7 – 10 pm: Artists Row

Meet art students and recent grads Strange Lens (@strange.lens), Matt Nolan (@manahoac), and Malik Radford (@malikradford), from George Mason University and Virginia Commonwealth University. One night only!

 

 

 

7 – 10 pm: The Board Bus

Visit The Board Bus as it returns to the Torpedo Factory Art Center for one night only! The ever-popular skateboard bus will be parked on the Union Street side of the Art Center, directly in front of the entrance.

The world’s only, fully-stocked, walk-in, mobile skateshop – featuring skateboarding equipment and apparel from local and national brands.

The promote skateboarding as the healthy and constructive activity that it truly is; doing their best to sell products that do the same. Likewise, their interior retail space is entirely solar powered in an effort to support clean and renewable energy. #RideTheBus

 

7:30 – 9:30 pm: Late Shift Music with DJ DeTroyt

DJ Detroyt was born in Detroit, Mich., a city that founded Motown greats such as Marvin Gaye and The Jackson 5. During his studies at Howard University, DeTroyt got the opportunity to work with his friend, mentor, and Howard D.J., Terrell Williams, or DJ Chubb E. Swagg on the infamous Twerk Tape I mixtape as the sole audio engineer. DeTroyt worked under Williams and next to Raleigh, N.C. native and Howard alum, DJ LR. He was a featured D.J. on the Twerk Tape IV, alongside DJ Chubb E. Swagg, DJ LR, and fresh face DJ Kaptain, and began seeing his fame rise to unexpected levels on several college campuses. Follow this musical talent from the D/M/V on his soundcloud page:  or as his alter ego Steady Murphy.

 

 

9:30 – 10:30 pm: Freestyle Session with AndyCAPPS

 

AndyCAPPS is a musical instrument that manifests himself through Native instruments technology and strings. Building on a family music tradition, Capps took his love of rock and hip-hop and developed a strong tonal and rhythmic signature using live “finger drumming” and guitar solos in a one-man band style. Sans the leg cymbals, Capps takes silence and makes sounds that fit somewhere between AraabMuzik and Hendrix. With a growing fan base online and around the DMV, Capps is preparing to take his talents on the road with the backing of a team of supporters including DJ City, Mixware LLC, The James Dewitt Yancey Foundation, and sPACYcLOUD. Prepare to be astonished by the lightning fast live production.


Extended Hours in Galleries

7 – 8 pm: Fiberworks (Studio 14)

In recent years, the the tradition of fiber art has undergone a renaissance. Working with a wide range of materials to include silk, paper, leather, wool, cotton and recycled materials, Fiberworks creates both wearable and decorative works of art and is a founding studio at the Art Center.

7 – 8 pm: Scope Gallery (Studio 19) and Fire On (Studio 22)

As one of the original medium-specific cornerstone galleries of the Torpedo Factory Art Center on the waterfront of historic Old Town Alexandria, Scope Gallery has been providing visitors with the highest quality of clay art work since 1974.

The gallery provides a vast array of ceramics including functional artisan high-fire pottery, sculptural forms and decorative vessels. More than 30 local Washington-area artists exhibit at Scope, representing more than a dozen international regions and countries, resulting in a depth and blend of diverse forms seen nowhere else. Each artist personalizes his or her art form and technique, affording visitors the opportunity to examine endless possibilities in clay and more specific aspects of glazing, firing, construction and decorating techniques.

7 – 8 pm: Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery (Studio 29)

Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery was the first fiber arts gallery in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. It was established in September of 1974 and was an original occupant of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. It is a cooperative association of up to 70 fiber artists, many of whom teach and have been published.

7 – 9 pm: The Associates Gallery (Studio 311)

The Associates Gallery is dedicated to highlighting works from the Art Center’s roster of Associate Artists. This special exhibition titled “Postcards from the Ledge” plays off the idea of summer travels and Alexandria as an exciting destination. The entire show is comprised of 5” x 7” works of art, across a wide range of media. All pieces are paired with a handwritten artist postcard.

7 – 11 pm: Printmakers Inc (Studio 325)

For over 35 years Printmakers Inc has been a workshop/gallery where professional printmakers share facilities, materials and ideas while interacting with and educating the public about this art form. Prints by member artists are included in many collections worldwide, among them the Library of Congress, National Women in the Arts, British Airways Smithsonian National Museum of American History and many more.

Stop by all night for extended hours and to view the current exhibition of prints in their gallery.

 


ALX Pride

Celebrate Alexandria’s commitment to a diverse and open city for all. Since 1988, Alexandria has celebrated Pride Month through various events, projects, and collaborations. Select donations tonight will go towards supporting  NOVA Pride and Safe Space NOVA.

Plus: From Friday June 1 to Saturday June 30, participating studio artists, galleries, and project spaces will display Pride-related artwork for to celebrate the achievements the Pride movement has achieved over the years, as well as the 30th anniversary of the City of Alexandria’s first Pride Month back in 1988.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center is a free and open space for all to visit. We are proud of our diverse community of artists, creative talents, art supporters, and visitors from across the world.

At any time during the month of June, stop by the Information Desk on the first floor or any participating studios to pick up your FREE map of Pride 2018 Art Studio Displays.

Participating studios and galleries:

Name

Studio/Gallery

Fierce Sonia 5
Duende District – New Project Studio 8
Lisa Schumaier 16
Dawn Benedetto 18
Scope Gallery 19
Fire On 22
Gale Waller 225
Kara Hammond 306
Ahmed Ansari 308
Matthew Johnston 310
Alexis Gomez – Post Grad Studio 319
Veronica Barker- Barzel 320
Sissy Cutchen 326
Dennis Crayon 328
Sermin Ciddi 331
Marcel Deolazo 332
Bev Ryan 333
Matthew Cuenca-Daigle 335
Guy Jones & Alvena McCormick 337
Mary H. Lynch 339

 

 

Torpedo Talks: Comic Book Films

Every second Thursday, visit until 9 pm and browse open studios and galleries, get to know the artists, and enjoy special programming throughout the building.

Don’t miss the monthly lecture series, Torpedo Talks, at 8 pm in the Main Hall. This series features some of the contemporary art world’s best-known artists, art curators, and art professionals.

In June, we’re joined by Christopher Irving, comic book and popular-culture historian for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. His talk reveals the origins of comic books and how they have translated into film and TV over the decades. It showcases everything from the 1940s movie serials to the current blockbuster movies out today and how both media have helped change one another.  Featured are the classic Adventures of Superman TV show, Batman with Adam West from the 1960s, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the current DC Comics shows on network television.

About Christopher Irving

Christopher Irving is a Richmond-based comic book and popular culture historian. He received a BFA in Arts Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Masters in Literary Criticism from Brooklyn College. He currently serves as consulting editor of Comic Book Creator magazine.


Presented in partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

In Cultural Conversation: Presented by Duende District & PEN/Faulkner

As part of its Pop-up Bookstore in the New Project Studio, Duende District joins with PEN/Faulkner to present the second installment of their In Cultural Conversation Series featuring Shade Mountain Press, an intersectional feminist press.

We welcome Rosalie Morales Kearns, Shade Mountain founder & author of 2017 Duende Favorite novel, Kingdom of Women, & Kirsten Imani Kasai, author of 2018 Duende Favorite novel, The House of Erzulie, published by Shade Mountain Press.

They will be in conversation with Duende District owner Angela Maria Spring. Join for a powerful reading & discussion.

Register Now

Duende District, a collaborative pop-up bookstore for and by people of color, where all are welcome, has partnered with PEN/Faulkner for a new series, In Cultural Conversation. This recurring series features writers of color from all cultural backgrounds using literature to begin bridge-building conversations about the challenges all our communities face today.

ALX Pride Mix and Mingle with NOVA Pride

The Torpedo Factory Art Center stays open late until 9 pm to host a special mingle in honor of the start of Capital Pride in the DC/Maryland/Virginia area and the 30th anniversary of the City of Alexandria’s support of Pride Month. Stop by for music in the Grand Hall, drinks and snacks, and open artist studios and projects, including a Pride Selfie Station. Proceeds go to benefit NOVA Pride, Northern Virginia’s fastest growing LGBTQ+ organization, with a mission to educate, advocate, and celebrate in service to the LGBTQ+ Community in the area. Special thanks to partner group Alexandria Restaurant Partners for providing additional in-kind support for this event.

Special Opening Reception for Celebration, a photo exhibition of Pride celebrations and marches throughout the years, including rare images from the first New York City Pride March in 1970.

RSVP Now

 

About NOVA Pride

NOVA Pride is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with a mission to cultivate and grow a coalition to educate, advocate and celebrate in service to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) community of Northern Virginians and our straight Allies. A young, grassroots, 100% volunteer-run organization, NOVA Pride provides a unified voice for, and a local base to, LGBTQ+ Northern Virginians – enhancing our visibility and relevance in the DMV region. NOVA Pride brings a sense of community to families, youth, and people of all scenes and sexualities through its year-round activity, including an annual festival every fall.

 

About Alexandria Restaurant Partners

Alexandria Restaurant Partners is group of experienced and successful restaurants in the Alexandria area: Virtue Feed & Grain, Mia’s Italian Kitchen, Vola’s Dockside Grill, The Majestic, and Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza + Tap. During the week of the Capital Pride celebration in D.C. (June 6-11), $1 from every cocktail sold will be donated to local nonprofit NOVA Pride.

 

 

Music provided by DJ Bootysattva 

Bootysattva is a DJ from the world, ready to take you on a journey spinning technofeminist beats, baile funk, femme rap, soulful sounds, and their own tailored music to dance and heal to. Follow them on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/bootysattva or on Instagram @taylofo

 

 

 


Related Programs

Celebration

Exhibition of Pride photographs by Lester Blum and Peter J. Robinson, Jr.
Grand Hall
Monday, June 4 – Sunday, June 10
Opening Reception, Thursday June 7, 7 – 9pm (part of ALX Pride Mix and Mingle)

Photo credit: Lester Blum, “Strength in Unity” 2015


Pride 2018 Art Studio Displays

Participating studio artists, galleries, and project spaces will display Pride-related artwork for to celebrate the achievements the Pride movement, as well as the 30th anniversary of the City of Alexandria’s first Pride Month in 1988. See a list: here.

The Late Shift: Art on the Edge

In May, welcome Caroline Hatfield, the solo artist selected for Target Gallery’s competitive 2018 Open Call for Solo Exhibition. Stay late for a lively celebration of new and experimental art from across the region.

The Late Shift is a free monthly after-hours series featuring exhibition receptions, music, live performances, artist talks, and more. Select Fridays, 7 – 11 pm.


Friday, May 25
7 – 11 pm
Torpedo Factory Art Center
RSVP here

Art on the Edge

New and Cutting-Edge art from artists across the region, as well as artists from the Torpedo Factory Art Center. Stop by for opening receptions, special artist projects, and new media, including videos, performance art, and augmented reality.

 

7 – 9 pm Reception, 8 pm Talk: Opening Reception: 2018 Open Call for Solo Exhibition: Caroline Hatfield – Target Gallery (Studio 2)

In “Unearthing”, Caroline Hatfield creates sculptural landscapes composed of industrial relics, geological formations, and mutable material boundaries that accumulate into form. The combined objects and materials emanate a cyclical energy of transformation and process. The work references the sublime experiences of our world as well as a shift outward towards a science fictional sublime.

Growing up in a Southern Appalachian coal mining community, the subjects involving environmentalism and land use have a lot of personal significance to Hatfield who often recalls the region’s ironic juxtaposition of protected wilderness and mined land as a major influence on her work. Hatfield’s work explores concepts of utopia and science fiction through the experience of sites, landscape, and materiality in their interdisciplinary practice. Sculptural landscapes composed of industrial relics, geological formations, and mutable material obscure boundaries and accumulate into form. The combined objects and materials emanate an energy of transformation and process, often with a cyclical quality. Depicting elemental landscapes and geological force, their work references the sublime experiences of our world while shifting outwards towards a science fictional sublime. Foreign but familiar, the models, miniatures, depictions, and descriptions of alternative worlds offer a glimpse of potential found in the balance of presence and absence.

Caroline Hatfield received their BFA in Sculpture at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, and is a candidate for MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Art at Towson University, Towson, MD.

The jury panel for this opportunity was: Jarvis DuBois, Independent Curator; Carolina Mayorga, D.C.-based Artist; and Victoria Reis, Director of Transformer.

 

Gallery Receptions, Open Studios, and Special Activities

 

7 – 11 pm: Augmented Reality Project: Alexis Gomez – Grand Hall

The Grand Hall of the Art Center comes alive with Augmented Reality art pieces, courtesy of Post-Grad Studio Resident Alexis Gomez. Stop by the AR table to view the artworks via our exclusive Art on the Edge app. Then visit his studio on the third floor (Studio 319) to see a sampling of Gomez’s latest projects.

During his residency, Gomez integrates the virtual and physical realms as he experiments with new-media including VR/3D animation in conjunction with figural sculpture. Originally from Fairfax, Virginia, Gomez received his bachelor’s of fine arts from the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design at the George Washington University. Gomez is an interdisciplinary artist with a focus in figural sculpture, painting, and animation. He is a Sparkplug member at the District of Columbia Arts Center and Flatfile artist at Transformer Gallery. He is currently living and working in Virginia.

 

7 – 11 pm: Shade Renee: Installation Piece (One Night Only) – The Pop-Up Studio (Studio 9)

Visit artist Shade Renee and her brand new immersive art experience for one night only during our Late Shift. She has taken over Studio 9 for one month while the space undergoes a renovation in preparation for the new cafe. Stop by and see her pop-up project before it is gone!

Shadé Reneé, a graduate of Parsons School of Design, specializes in couture, fashion that is custom and made-to-measure. Her work is treated with opulence, love, and fierceness. She’s best known for hand-embroidery and bead work, dedicating more than 3,000 hours to this talent. Recently, she was the local emerging artist selected for the “Experimentation/Exploration” Emerging Artist Residency in the New Project Studio by Jessica Kallista of Olly Olly.

 

7 – 11 pm: Duende District Pop-Up: Artist-in-Residence Ashley Dequilla Opening Reception – New Project Studio (Studio 8)

Duende District, a DMV-based pop-up bookstore by and for people of color – where all are welcome – celebrates with an opening reception for Ashley Dequilla, their current Artist-in-Residence.

Founded in February 2017 by Angela Maria Spring, Duende District’s mission is to bring a highly inclusive and pleasurable general bookstore experience in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas, serving a multicultural community with an equally multicultural ownership/staff, and all are welcome.

Ashley Dequilla is a Filipina-American artist and educator who currently resides in Washington DC. She attended the College of William and Mary and the Maryland Institute College of Art, and has shown her works in the United States and in the Philippines. She is published in the Filipino American Artist Directory, and is currently training as a Visionary Responder for the Sanctuaries, a non profit organization in Washington DC whose mission is to ignite the power of the sacred arts for social and political change.

 

8:30 pm – 9:30 pm: “Suffocate With Your…” Live Interactive Performance by Heloisa Escudero – Various Locations in the Grand Hall

Phobias and irrational fears can have an unhealthy affect on the lives of someone who suffers from it. In this interactive performance suffering is replaced by a humorous action of literally wiping and suffocating the symptoms away with your posterior cheeks. This action a form of non-religious prayer will help you or someone to get closer to achieving that goal via laughter.

Heloisa Escudero received her BFA in Photography and concentrations in Sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art and MFA in Sculpture with concentration in New Genres at San Francisco Art Institute. She currently works at the Hirshhorn Museum as an Exhibition Specialist. Escudero’s art piece, “One Star Double The Wishes” is currently on display in the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Grand Hall for the “Art in Common Spaces” exhibition through September 2018.

 

7 – 8 pm: Fiber Demonstrations with Annemarie Feld and Heasoon A. Rhee – Fiberworks (Studio 14)

In recent years, the the tradition of fiber art has undergone a renaissance. Working with a wide range of materials to include silk, paper, leather, wool, cotton and recycled materials, Fiberworks creates both wearable and decorative works of art and is a founding studio at the Art Center. Stop by Studio 14 for art demonstrations by two Fiberworks members – Annemarie Feld and Heason A. Rhee. Live demonstrations in the studio begin at 7 pm (Rhee) and 7:45 pm (Feld).

Annemarie Feld

Born in Switzerland, Annemarie Feld worked as a crafts teacher before moving to the U.S. in 1975. She received an additional degree in Communication Arts and Design from the Virginia Commonwealth University and opened Feld Design in 1980, designing award-winning visual communications materials for multi-national clients based in Europe and the United States. Feld’s designs create tension by counterbalancing the soft, irregular shapes of natural leather or fabrics with hard-edged metal handles and clasps ordinarily used in farm equipment. Re-purposed hardware, natural imperfections on leather, irregular shapes and recombination of vintage buttons lead to the design solution.

“The challenge of weaving a dramatic story with textures and shapes instead of words, gives me satisfaction. Successfully combining the mix of fabric, leather, organic fibers and other materials in fresh and unexpected ways is a wonderful creative challenge. Fish leather enhances the Llama fleece vest and the closures on my clothes might be combinations of vintage buttons and modern day machine parts.”

 

Heason A. Rhee

Rhee was trained as a textile scientist and worked in a textile chemical companies, yet was always intrigued by the design aspect of textiles. There are two components in designing textiles: one is pattern, the other is color. When she was in reproducing fabrics for antique cars restorations, she became familiar with weaving structures. This led her to design her own patterns. In the development process, the patterns are created with a combination of creating rough sketching and Photoshop software. Currently, most of her works are created with a 40 shaft dobby loom. Beginning in May, she started weaving with a Jacquard loom which allows graphic imagery and pattern to be woven with articulation.

 

 

7 – 8 pm: Extended Hours and Art Demonstration – Scope Gallery (Studio 19) and Fire On (Studio 22)

As one of the original medium-specific cornerstone galleries of the Torpedo Factory Art Center on the waterfront of historic Old Town Alexandria, Scope Gallery has been providing visitors with the highest quality of clay art work since 1974.

The gallery provides a vast array of ceramics including functional artisan high-fire pottery, sculptural forms and decorative vessels. More than 30 local Washington-area artists exhibit at Scope, representing more than a dozen international regions and countries, resulting in a depth and blend of diverse forms seen nowhere else. Each artist personalizes his or her art form and technique, affording visitors the opportunity to examine endless possibilities in clay and more specific aspects of glazing, firing, construction and decorating techniques.

Scope Gallery and Studio 22 artist Tracie Griffith Tso will be demonstrating Chinese brushpainting from 7-8 p.m. Learn how traditional compositions are made, centering on black ink and disciplined strokes of natural-hair bamboo-handled brushes and catch her new work, debuting in Studio 17 Friday and Saturday. Visit traciegriffithtso on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and at inksart.com

 

 

7 – 8 pm: Extended Hours and Art Demonstration – Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery (Studio 29)

Visit Studio 29 in the Grand Hall to view the gallery works up close, and for a live art demonstration with Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery Member Grace Mehanes.

Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery was the first fiber arts gallery in the metropolitan Washington, DC, area. It was established in September of 1974 and was an original occupant of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. It is a cooperative association of up to 70 fiber artists, many of whom teach and have been published.

Grace Mehanes is an active member of Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery. She will provide demonstrations of this unique craft beginning at 7 pm.

 

 

7 – 11 pm: Extended Hours – Printmakers Inc (Studio 325)

For over 35 years Printmakers Inc has been a workshop/gallery where professional printmakers share facilities, materials and ideas while interacting with and educating the public about this art form.

Prints by member artists are included in many collections worldwide, among them the Library of Congress, National Women in the Arts, British Airways Smithsonian National Museum of American History and many more.

Stop by all night for extended hours and to view the current exhibition of prints in their gallery by Printmakers Inc Member and new studio resident M. Alexander Gray (Studio 344).

 

7 – 11 pm: Hands-on Art Making with the Mobile Art Lab – Grand Hall

Join Alexandria Office of the Art’s beloved movable art project as they set up shop in the Torpedo Factory Art Center for a night of fun art-making.


7 – 9 pm: Torpedo Factory Art Center presents: The Mason Pop-Up Art Space

Six students from George Mason University’s School of Art participated in this three-day Pop-Up Art Space, a new arts initiative developed by the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

The Participating Artists:

Andrea Benge  @andreabengeart

Danielle Dravenstadt  @ddravenstadt

Strange Lens  @strange.lens

Kate Fitzpatrick  @katesfitz

Matt Nolan  @manahoac

Kevin Wallace  @ir_artman

 

Curated by Nikki Brugnoli

 

Pop-Up Art Space
104 S. Union Street (next door to the Starbucks, before Virtue Feed & Grain)
Alexandria, VA 22314
Friday May 25 – Sunday May 27
Hours: 12 – 6 pm
Opening Reception: Friday May 25, 7 – 9 pm

 


Music provided by DJ Bootysattva 

Bootysattva is a DJ from the world, ready to take you on a journey spinning technofeminist beats, baile funk, femme rap, soulful sounds, and their own tailored music to dance and heal to. Follow them on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/bootysattva or on Instagram @taylofo

 

Caroline Hatfield: Unearthing

Exhibition Dates: May 25 – July 15, 2018

Opening Reception: Friday, May 25th 7 – 9 pm | Gallery Talk 7:30 pm

Target Gallery is happy to announce Caroline Hatfield as 2018’s solo exhibition recipient. Hatfield’s work explores concepts of utopia and science fiction through the experience of sites, landscape, and materiality in their interdisciplinary practice. Growing up in a Southern Appalachian coal mining community, Hatfield’s artwork features subjects of environmentalism and land use. They have a lot of personal significance to Hatfield, who recalls the region’s ironic juxtaposition of protected wilderness and mined land as a major influence on their work.

Sculptural landscapes composed of industrial relics, geological formations, and mutable material obscure boundaries and accumulate into form. The combined objects and materials emanate an energy of transformation and process, often with a cyclical quality. Depicting elemental landscapes and geological force, their work references the sublime experiences of our world while shifting outwards towards a science fictional sublime. Foreign but familiar, the models, miniatures, depictions, and descriptions of alternative worlds offer a glimpse of potential found in the balance of presence and absence.

Caroline Hatfield received their BFA in Sculpture at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, and is a candidate for MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Art at Towson University, Towson, MD.

The jury panel for this opportunity was: Jarvis DuBois, Independent Curator; Carolina Mayorga, D.C.-based Artist; and Victoria Reis, Director of Transformer.

Yoga & Sound

Local sound artist, yogi and meditation guide, Jeneen Piccuirro, will lead her signature one-hour class carefully guiding a gentle yoga series with a crystal bowl accompaniment and closing with a gong meditation. Jeneen’s authentic integrated holistic offerings are designed with comfort, health and ultimate rejuvenation in mind. It’s a great start to the weekend for mind, body and soul while surrounded by the art and creativity of the Torpedo Factory.

Doors open at 8:30 am. Class starts promptly at 9 am. Please arrive with time to settle in and bring a yoga mat and water bottle. (A limited number of mats will be available for rent by the teacher for $5.)

Price: $10 advance ticket sale online. $15 at the door.

Buy Tickets Now

Organized by the Friends of the Torpedo Factory Art Center. 


Class outline

Class begin with a crystal bowl meditation and will include gentle movement for circulation and flow and move in to a few accessible seated Asanas (poses) for stretching and release. Options for all levels will be offered. Chairs will be available for those who would like them. Class will end with a 15 min Savassana, in which students will be invited to lie down and listen to the gong.

Crystal Singing Bowls are made of quartz and resonate to specific frequencies. They create a clear “toning” that brings a state of calm and centeredness to the body. This vibrational sound is heard and felt through the whole body and assists in the process of relaxation which can be very helpful in yoga asana or meditation practices.

The Symphonic Gong in contrast, made of a brass compound, belongs to some of the oldest musical instruments known. It has complex harmonics with a clear fundamental tone and rich dynamic overtones that literally wash over and through the body. Due to the complexity and totality of this sound, the effects are quite comprehensive and the sound in affect “re-sets” the body and mind to a state of neutral.

Instructor Bio

Jeneen Piccuirro, MFA, has over 25 years of experience leading original Art, Meditation, Yoga, Dance, Sound Healing and Movement based offerings, and is a pioneer in integrating and genuinely combining these modalities to bring the body & mind into balance for long term well-being. Her skillful approach gently shifts people out of habits of escapism and avoidance into healthier patterns of acceptance and understanding, paving the way for a deeper residing peace and joy.

Panel Talk: Emerging Artists of the DMV

A panel discussion with Ksenia Grishkova, Blair Murphy, and Jack Rasmussen

8 pm Talk; 8:45 pm Q&A

Target Gallery’s exhibition, Emerging Artists of the DMV, features work by four up-and-coming artists from the region. The exhibition jurors will speak about the current state of the visual arts in the region and where it is going.

Panelists are: 

About Torpedo Talks

Every Second Thursday of the month, join us at 8 pm for a free discussion in the main hall. Created on the belief that the arts is for everyone, we invite a different contemporary artist, curator, or activist in the creative arts world to stop by and share their knowledge in a short power-packed talk. It’s a chance to get inspired while connecting with other open-minded folks in your area.

RSVP on Facebook

Duende District in the New Project Studio

Duende District, a DMV-based pop-up bookstore by and for people of color – where all are welcome – will be at The Torpedo Factory Art Center this summer.

Regular business hours will be 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with specialized hours for events. Art Center visitors can shop a highly curated selection of adult and children’s titles, all by authors/illustrators of color, and engage in a series of community literary events for all ages.

The bookstore will also feature work and studio hours by local Virginia artists of color, to be announced.

Founded in February 2017 by Angela Maria Spring, Duende District’s mission is to bring a highly inclusive and pleasurable general bookstore experience in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas, serving a multicultural community with an equally multicultural ownership/staff, and all are welcome.

Professional Practices for the Visual Artist

This workshop, presented by Jeffery Allison, Paul Mellon Collection Educator and Statewide Manager at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), is devoted to the needs of the individual artist. Topics include photographing artwork, funding opportunities, developing professional relationships with galleries and publications, copyright issues, and marketing on the web. This program has been organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and is supported, in part, by the Paul Mellon Endowment and the Jean Stafford Camp Memorial Fund. This workshop is sponsored by the Friends of the Torpedo Factory.

Workshop Location:
Torpedo Factory Art Center
105 North Union Street
Studio 326
Alexandria, VA 22314

Purchase Tickets

Please bring laptop, notebook, and writing tools to take notes during this workshop. Any other necessary supplies will be confirmed prior to the workshop. 


About Jeffery Allison
Jeffrey Allison is the Paul Mellon Collection educator at VMFA and a professional photographer. He holds a BA in photography and film from Virginia Intermont College and an MFA in photography from VCU.

About the Friends of the Torpedo Factory
The Friends of the Torpedo Factory Art Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation which promotes, enhances and preserves the unique assets of the Torpedo Factory Art Center and its value to the community by cooperating with the factory and artists to provide education and awareness of the arts through programs, exhibits and events.

The Friends present workshops for artists, art lectures and demonstrations for the established art lover and young audiences alike, as well as mentorship programs for students in the Alexandria area.