Tag Archives: Featured

Second Thursday Art Night

Enjoy an special after-hours event at the Torpedo Factory Art Center every month. Browse open studios and galleries, interact with artists, and enjoy special programming. Stop by on your way to dinner and make an evening of it!

In March, we imagine tomorrow with The Future is…. Find forward-facing exhibitions with March150 in Target Gallery and Heidi Nam’s Netted: Morphological State of our Urban Space in The Art League Gallery.

Draw your vision of the future of Alexandria and the Torpedo Factory with AIA Northern Virginia and Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center.

In the New Project Studio, create a Fundred Dollar Bill, a currency of imagination, and contribute to the national project that supports efforts to end childhood lead poisoning. Artwork will be collected and includes in the Corcoran’s Fundred Reserve exhibition of 453,168 (and counting) hand-drawn bills collected from across the country.

Join Post-Graduate Resident Jay Hendrick for a workshop “How to Build a Boat When No One Knows How to Build a Boat” and more to see and do on all three floors. Be sure to stop by EatsPlace, which now serves wine and beer.

Late Shift at the Factory: darlingdance

Inspired by performance art, theatre, and the storytelling nature of art, Late Shift at the Factory celebrates the live experience in all its forms. This new after-hours performance series seeks to pull back the curtain on the process and share insights into some of the most creative performance minds in the area.

For the inaugural event, the Torpedo Factory Art Center welcomes darlingdance for an exclusive look at their new performance BABE (Expansion Pack), followed by a Q&A  with the performance troupe moderated by Director Hayley Cutler.

Tickets are $10 in advance / $15 at the door.

Buy Tickets

About Babe (Expansion Pack)

BABE (Expansion Pack) is a brand new postmodern dance duet from D.C.’s most exciting and unique performance company, darlingdance. The movement is at once abstract and deeply intimate, curious and clear in purpose. darlingdance is known for taking risks with its audience’s emotions, and BABE (Expansion Pack) is no exception. The movement is funny, endearing, off-putting and unapologetic. Originally inspired by a series of site-specific bus stop performances, the piece draws further inspiration from Torpedo Factory’s beautiful and unusual space. After the performance, there will be a rare opportunity to engage in a Q&A with darlingdance’s Artistic Director Hayley Cutler, who otherwise likes her work to remain a mystery!

About darlingdance

darlingdance is a project-based modern dance company founded in Washington, DC in August 2010 by choreographer Hayley Cutler. Since its founding, darlingdance has presented work extensively throughout DC and beyond, and has engaged in collaboration with a number of local musicians and artists.

Praise for darlingdance:

“Precise and beautiful.” – DC Metro Theater Arts

“A choreographer to watch.” – Washington City Paper

“Mature beyond her years.” – Pinkline Project

 

Photo by Maggie Picard.

 

Second Thursday Art Night: Love & Friendship

Enjoy an special after-hours event at the Torpedo Factory Art Center every month. Browse open studios and galleries, interact with artists, and enjoy special programming. Stop by on your way to dinner and make an evening of it!

In February, join us as we celebrate an evening of Love & Friendship. This month’s line-up features a reception in the Target Gallery for Ipseity and The Art League Gallery previews Patrons’ Show. In Studio 327, the Alexandria Archaeology Museum exhibits artifacts from the Friendship Firehouse and a presentation with a representative from the FFH Museum at 7 and 8. Jay Hendrick, the winter post-graduate resident, leads a workshop in Studio 12. DIY projects are led by The Mobile Art Lab in the New Project Studio and artists from the Torpedo Factory Artists’ Association. Food & drinks provided by EatsPlace Cafe & Marketplace.

Mobile Art Lab in the New Project Studio

#mobileartlab

Alexandria’s Mobile Art Lab activates public spaces and connects the arts with people. From screenprinting in Market Square to a silent disco in Montgomery Park, the big blue truck has organized a variety of activities and performances throughout the city.

In February, the Mobile Art Lab sets up in the New Project Studio (Studio 8). See displays of past events and performances and share your ideas for future activites or venues.

Artists and performers who are interested in partnering with the Mobile Art Lab can also find a sign-up sheet for more information.

New Project Studio: Mobile Art Lab

Alexandria’s Mobile Art Lab activates public spaces and connects the arts with people. From screenprinting in Market Square to a silent disco in Montgomery Park, the big blue truck has organized a variety of activities and performances throughout the city.

In February, the Mobile Art Lab sets up in the New Project Studio (Studio 8). See displays of past events and performances and share your ideas for future activites or venues.

Artists and performers who are interested in partnering with the Mobile Art Lab can also find a sign-up sheet for more information.

Ipseity

Public Reception: Thursday, February 9 • 6-8 pm • Juror Talk at 7 pm

“Those heavenly moments … when a sense of the divine ipseity invades me”

— L. P. Smith

In the new all-media show at Target Gallery, the contemporary exhibition space for the Torpedo Factory Art Center, 17 artists explore their personal selfhood. Ipseity, defined as individual identity, features artwork that touches on themes of gender, religion, ethnicity, sexuality and other labels people use to identify themselves. Jessica Kallista, founder of Olly Olly alternative art space in Fairfax, Virginia, juried the exhibition.

When originally conceiving the exhibition, Leslie Mounaime, director of Target Gallery, was inspired by the L.P. Smith quote, “Those heavenly moments… when a sense of the divine ipseity invades me.” “The zeitgeist of today has a strong thread focused on selfhood,” said Mounaime. “From lighthearted selfies on social media to more weighted conversations around topics like faith, ethnicity and gender, societal narratives about who we are as individuals and as a people are being reflected in contemporary art.”

“From many of these works, I am reminded that identity exists even at the cellular level,” said Kallista. “We may attempt to cover our true ipseity, deny it, or show it to the world in fluid fragments. We may attempt to retreat into or to exert ourselves through passion, humor, or excess. Yet, when we allow ourselves to be cut to the core and become hollow and afraid, if we can choose to rest in hope, we can remain defiant and even resilient. The story I hope for this exhibition to tell is a story of redemptive bliss.”

The participating artists, half of whom are based in Virginia, touch on subjects of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, religion and other labels people use to identify themselves. The exhibition includes 19 works in a variety of media, including photography, mixed-media, sculpture, and video.

Participating artists

Josh Band, VA
David Barr, VA
Anna Beyer, VA
Therese Brown, CA
Heloisa Escudero, VA
Megan Franasiak, ME
Francine Gintoff, CT
Jim Haller, VA
Utsa Hazarika, NY
KEYHAN, VA
Jake Lahah, VA
Nahid Navab, VA
Nooshin Rostami, NY
Cynzia Sanchez, GA
Amy Swartele, NY
Dona Teare, MD
Suzanne Vigil, VA
Simone Welsh, DE

About the Juror

Jessica Kallista is an artist and curator in Northern Virginia. She received her MFA in Creative Writing/Poetry from George Mason University in 2002. In November 2014 she founded Olly Olly, an alternative art space, in Fairfax, Virginia. She also serves as Business Representative on the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts. Possessed with a frenetic energy to constantly create both literary and visual art she combines the two in collages that employ elements of chance, repetition, and appropriation. Through her work as an artist and curator Jessica seeks to disrupt the isolation of those living in suburbia by creating situations of surprise, play and experimentation while instigating dialogue about gender, sexuality, feminism, embodiment, decolonization, commodity fetishism, creativity, and interconnectivity. Jessica’s work has been shown at a variety of venues including Target Gallery, GRACE, The Fridge, Tempus Projects, NoMüNoMü, Fenwick Gallery at George Mason University, and the Margaret W. and Joseph L. Fisher Art Gallery.

Image Credit: Simone Welsh, My Three Sisters, 2016. Hand-built porcelain modified with sulfuric and phosphoric acids

Art + Inclusivity: Second Thursday Art Night

Enjoy a special after-hours event at the Torpedo Factory Art Center every month. Browse open studios and galleries, interact with artists, and enjoy special programming. Stop by on your way to dinner and make an evening of it!

In January, join us for Art + Inclusivity, in partnership with the Alexandria Human Rights Commission.

On November 29, 2016, the City of Alexandria formally adopted a statement on inclusiveness. Spend the evening with us as we celebrate the mosaic community that makes Alexandria great.

Target Gallery – Studio 2

The Art League – Studio 21

  • 7:30 pm: Reception for Member 25 and Habits.

Art + Inclusivity – Main Hall

  • Learn more about Alexandria’s commitment to a diverse and thriving community through programs and services offered by the Alexandria Office of Human Rights and the Human Rights Commission, and read the City of Alexandria’s statement on inclusiveness.

Site 2

  • 8 pm: Ethiopian artist Daniel Taye returns for an exhibition of his Alexandria series. (Site 2 is located in the 2nd floor hallway by the elevator.)

New Project Studio – Studio 8

  • 6:30–8 pm: Due to popular demand, Connecting the Dots: The DMV is extended through January 31. Stop by to see works by 23 different emerging artists living in the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia). The project serves an an incubator for local artisans, influencers, and creatives to network, create, brainstorm, and share ideas.

Post Graduate Studio – Studio 12

  • 6–9 pm: Welcome new Post-Graduate Jay Hendrick as he begins his three-month residency at the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

First Floor – North Hall

  • Fierce Sonia (Studio 5) leads visitors in creating a community statement collage that highlights the diverse and inclusive community of Alexandria. The finished work will be displayed in Site 3 for the month of January. (Site 3 is located in the 3rd floor hallway by the elevator.)

TAG – Studio 311

… and More!

Warm up with sweets and hot beverages from EatsPlace Cafe & Marketplace and enjoy music all evening.

Daniel Taye

Exhibition Dates: December 8, 2016-January 8, 2017
Reception Date: Thursday, January 12 • 6-8:30 pm • Artist Talk at 8 pm
Location: Site 2 ( Second Floor Landing)

Ethiopian painter Daniel Taye returns to the Torpedo Factory to display the work he’s been inspired to create based on his travels in Alexandria.

You may remember Taye, as he was in the New Project Studio this past summer. He has channeled his uninhibited flow of thought and rare perspective into capturing daily life in our city.

Find his work in Site 2, located in the hallway by the elevators. Hear him speak about his work during Second Thursday Art Night, January 12, at 8 pm.

Taye is known for his evocative landscape and figurative work as he experiments with different mediums, color composition and depth. He has been described as an artist who inspired more puzzled expressions than praise, but his uninhibited flow of thought and rare perspective are ultimately his forte. Taye’s paintings do not fit the usual categories of Ethiopian fine art, traditional religious art, or abstract impressionism, but the strokes and the enchanting color schemes over the canvas bring his work to life.

Taye grew up involved with the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and eventually became a deacon. The church played an important role in his education and was the cornerstone of his formative years. He entered the Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts in the late 1980s, and graduated with Distinction in 1990. He worked on the Gold Mine Documentation Project for the Ministry of Mining until 1993. His art has been exhibited in numerous venues throughout Ethiopia such as the National Museum, Goethe Institute, and Italian Cultural Institute. His work has also been showcased in the United States, Europe, and Africa.

Jihee Kang: Post-Graduate Resident Talk

As her post-graduate residency comes to a close, Jihee Kang talks with moderator Amelia Hankin about her experiences during her time at the Torpedo Factory. Hear her speak about how Alexandria inspired her work and process, and her thoughts on the future of art in the DMV.

6:30 Reception, 7:30 Talk
Click here to RSVP

Jihee Kang creates irrational juxtapositions and modifies the scale of her work in such a way that she brings lightheartedness and humor to her soft sculptures. Her work, which is quite detailed and labor-intensive, examines issues of dualism and identity, a product of being split between two cultures, Korean and American. Her current series focuses on the transformation of an object from one shape to another. During her residency, she further explored identity issues through playful three-dimensional works, and hosted a series of weekly workshops for visitors.

Jihee Kang

p4-croppedJihee Kang was born in South Korea and currently lives and works in Washington, D.C. She completed a BFA with distinction at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Design in 2013. She is enrolled in the MFA program at American University and will complete her thesis in the spring of 2016. Kang works predominantly in sculpture and her work crosses media including installation, painting, drawing, and printmaking. She has been the recipient of the International Prize “Marche d’ Acqua” Fabriano Watercolor 2012, presented by the Museo della arta e della Filigrana (Museum of Paper and Watermark) in collaboration with InArte Fabriano in Fabriano, Italy, a UNESCO Creative City.

Amelia Hankin
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Amelia Hankin received her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has exhibited at the Janet Turner Print Museum (Chico, CA), Ellen Miller Gallery (Boston, MA), Eastern Oregon University, University of Richmond Museum (Richmond, VA), Ridderhof Martin Gallery at the University of Mary Washington (Fredericksburg, VA), 55 Mercer Gallery (New York, NY), International Print Center New York (New York, NY), the 808 Gallery at Boston University (Boston, MA), The Chazan Gallery (Providence, RI), Columbia College (Columbia, MO), The Xavier University Art Gallery (Cincinnati, OH), and the RISD Museum of Art (Providence, RI). She received an artist’s travel grant to study Eastern woodblock printmaking techniques at Kyoto Seika University in 2005. Since then, Hankin has attended residencies at Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, the Women’s Studio Workshop, and Vermont Studio Center. Collections include, Fidelity Investments, the Seaport Hotel in Boston, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, and NIH as well as numerous private collections. She has taught printmaking, design, and drawing at American University, George Mason University, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Hankin is represented by the Miller-Yezerski Gallery in Boston.

The Migration Project

migration-squareThe Torpedo Factory Art Center presents The Migration Project, the latest work by Jane Franklin Dance, as part of our Community Partnership Program.

The Migration Project explores human flight through stories of relocation. Whether a family history dating back from multiple generations, or a recent relocation, something is shared through the ‘pull’ to find better opportunity or the ‘push’ to leave because of no choice. The extraordinary increase in global migration over the past 500 years has left traces in our DNA. An immersive visual experience evolves as Jane Franklin Dance and voices from within the community share family histories and interact with the space and with the art.

The large scale installation occupies the floor and walls; is contained by the physical boundaries yet comes alive in the space. Similar to a visual art gallery, audiences will ‘move through’ and participate from various viewpoints rather than one stationary location. The performances progress in tandem with the length of time the installation remains in place.

Torpedo Factory artist Rosemary Feit Covey‘s art installation, originally shown as The 0 Project, is a large-scale sculptural piece meant to give voice to the underrepresented and traditionally ignored. Hand-held masks echo the countless faces that create the texture of the banners. Dawn Whitmore adds brief video statements and sound installations drawn from words and phrases provided by individuals who have told their stories.

Friday, December 9, 2016
Main Hall of the Torpedo Factory Art Center
Doors: 7:00PM
Event: 7:30PM

Tickets: General admission tickets are $25 online and $30 at the door.

Buy Tickets

About Jane Franklin Dance

Jane Franklin Dance crosses disciplines in partnership with music, media, visual artists and community participants. A vibrant part of the Washington DC/Northern Virginia cultural community, Jane Franklin Dance has been presented at multiple venues and festivals and internationally in Mexico. A recipient of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Creative Communities Award, Jane has developed innovative and collaborative projects combining dancers with the round wall skateboarding community, with a life size kinetic sculpture, with the architecture of a specific site, with dogs & owners, and with interactive live video and sound for numerous public art projects. Jane Franklin is a recipient of the American Association of University Women Elizabeth Campbell Award for the Advancement of the Arts in Arlington, and Jane Franklin Dance has been recognized by Virginia’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. The company tours for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Paul Mellon Arts in Education Program and the Virginia Commission’s Tour Directory.

About the Torpedo Factory’s Community Partnership Program

The Torpedo Factory Art Center regularly co-presents programs with outside groups to bring new artists, works, and disciplines to our visitors. Recent partnerships have included Eames Armstrong, Heloisa Escudero, ReelAbilities Film Festival, AIA Northern Virginia, USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore, Nomadic Jazz, DC Public Opera, Underground Kitchen, Alexandria Choral Society, and Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.