Louisville, KY (August 23, 2012) - The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 715 W. Main Street, will host Storytelling as Craft: Chapter One from Friday, September 7 to Sunday, November 11, 2012.
The Museum will exhibit art works that use narrative and narrative structures as the primary medium in a show that questions the premise of craft as a physical object. Through the presentation of tangible art alongside works that use various other strategies-namely, the spoken word and pictorial fields, the museum explores the large range of works derived from storytelling. Works in photography, installation, quilting, sculpture and soundwill illuminate the ways that language can inform a wide range of approaches to art making and explore a juxtaposition of folk, craft, and contemporary arts, as well as performance arts.
Participating artists in Storytelling as Craft: Chapter One include Mindy Shapero, Ellie Ga, Frank X Walker (Affrilachian Poets), Kentucky Cane carvers Elisha Baker and Denzel GoodPaster, Theaster Gates, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, RebekkaSeigel, Cindy Sherman, Edgar Tolson, and TrisVonna-Michell.
The opening reception of Storytelling as Craft: Chapter One will be held on Friday, September 7th from 6:30pm to 9:30pm in conjunction with the Republic Bank First Friday Trolley Hop, and will include an artist talk by Mindy Shapero, a graduate of Manual High School who currently lives in Los Angeles, and a performance by Ellie Ga.
A component of the exhibition will explore DIY trends and amateurism in the art and craft relationship by giving non-professional storytellers the same stage as professional artists and storytellers. Visitors, the Affrilachian Poets, musical groups, and storytellers from The Moth Radio Hour will perform on a stage within the exhibition. During museum hours visitors will be encouraged to participate with their own personal stories on the stages provided. These stories will be streamed live over the internet. As a result, viewers will be able to follow these tales and exerts of this exhibition at locations all over the world.
Events being held as part of Storytelling as Craft: Chapter One include:
- Friday, September 7 at 6:30pm
Mindy Shapero, Artist Talk
Ellie Ga - Performance / Artist-in-Residence
- Saturday, September 8 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm
Ellie Ga - The Fortunetellers
A live narrative-based performance that combines narration, video, slide and overhead projections, and recorded sound.
- Sunday, September 9 from noon to 3:00pm
Storytelling With Fiber Workshop
- Sunday, September 9 from 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Louisville Walking Tour
Historian Rick Bell will lead a 90-minute walking tour that will start and end at KMAC where attendees will trace the footprint around Revolutionary-era Fort Nelson.
- Tuesday, September 11 from 7:30pm to 9:30pm
FIELDED with Softcheque musical performance
- Thursday, September 13 at 8:00pm
Sao Paulo Underground concert
- September 19 through 22 during regular Museum hours
Reading of the Iliad
In conjunction with IdeaFestival and Louisville Classical Academy Louisville Classical Academy presents a lively community reading of the Iliad, Homer's epic tale of Olympian gods -- Zeus, Aphrodite, Hera, Athena, Apollo -- and legendary heroes -- Achilles, Ajax, Hector, Paris. Featured readers and performers will include musicians, poets, actors, and daring participants of all ages and backgrounds.
- Sunday, October 14 from noon to 3pm
Digital Storytelling Workshop
- Friday, October 19 at 8:00pm
Sic Alps Musical Performance
- Monday, November 5 at 6:00pm
Glenn Adamson Lecture,Victoria and Albert Museum Curator
- Sunday, November 11 from noon to 3:00pm
Storytelling With Paper Workshop
KMAC collaborated with the following organizations on the exhibit: the Kentucky Arts Council, the Fund For the Arts, the Brown-Forman Corporation, the National Endowment of the Arts, WPFL -The Moth, The Huntington Museum of Art, The Photographic Archives of University of Louisville, Louisville Classical Society, Kentucky Historical Society, The University of Kentucky, Marianne Boesky Gallery, KaviGupka Gallery, Tara Anderson, Rick Bell, Michael Hall, and Shelly Ward. The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft is open Tuesday through Friday, 10:00am to 5:00pm, Saturday and Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm, and closed on Mondays.
About the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft is located at 715 West Main Street in downtown Louisville and provides a platform to explore materials, techniques, and artistic expression. The Museum's goal is to educate and inspire while promoting a better understanding of art and craft through exhibitions, collaborations, outreach and the permanent collection. The Museum forges alliances within Kentucky, regionally, nationally, and internationally in order to participate in a broader conversation about art and its role in society. For more information, visit www.kentuckyarts.org or call (502) 589-0102.
- END -
