Year: 2014

Taste of GreenMarket2Local grouper, mead, focaccia bread and organically grown salads are just some of what visitors can sample on Saturday, Nov 1st at the Alliance for the Arts’ 3rd annual Taste of the GreenMarket. Market vendors will offer samples beginning at 9:00AM and at 10:30AM Chef Gloria Jordan of La Trattoria Cafe Napoli will take the stage for a cooking demo & tasting featuring local seafood, greens, exotic fruit, and baked goods. Visitors can interact with Gloria and her assistants as they prepare the food, and learn new and exciting ways to use locally grown specialties in their own kitchens. Farmer Ken Ryan of Herban Gardens will also be offering a selection of his tasty beverages.

Taste of GreenMarket1There is a free outdoor yoga session beginning at 9:30AM, a weekly GreenMarket feature led by Yoga Bird’s Anna Haney Withrow. The Alliance GreenMarket offers acres of outdoor fun to every visitor, including mossy mature shade trees, a large pond, picnic tables, and public art displays. The GreenMarket is a great place to meet new friends or show visitors from out of town a fun social hub. Kids and dogs appreciate the wide open green spaces, too! Also on Saturday, November 1st from 9AM-1PM members of the SWFL Florida Fine Craft Guild will demonstrate their specialties during Artists@Work, a free, family friendly demo day inside the Alliance main building.

Established 5 years ago, the GreenMarket gives back to the community through free events like Taste of the GreenMarket, Urban Farming workshops, and environmental awareness rallies. Whether you are a year round resident, snowbird or visitor, it is time to discover one of Fort Myers’ best kept secrets: The Alliance for the Arts GreenMarket, to support local and build community. Click HERE for more information about the market.

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Best in Show winners Dale & Jeff Ocasio with their winning piece.

Hundreds of people turned out for the opening reception of the Alliance for the Arts’ recent exhibit “Layers, Fiber, Collage & Assemblage.” More than 70 area artists submitted 140 pieces representing a wide variety of 2D & 3D mediums for the juried show. The juror, Fort Myers artist Jeffrey Scott Lewis, selected 39 works for the final exhibit, and awards were presented during the opening reception.

Dale & Jeff Ocasio took home $100 for their Best in Show piece “Island Birds, Vincent & Lucia.” It is sculpted layered masking tape over recycled wire with magazine paper collage. The 2nd Place winner, Leo Johnson, won $75 for his collage on canvas called “Mr. Pop.” 3rd Place winner, Sheila Elsea, won $50 for her mixed media collage “Performer: Before the Show.” Juror’s choice awards went to Katherine Boren, Dan Cronin, Juan Diaz, Katie Gardenia, Polly Matsumoto, and Michelle Rothacker.

Participating artists include: Jayne Baker, Katherine Boren, Stacey Brown, KiKi Brewsaugh, Deborah Butler, Donna Chase, Dennis Church, Dan Cronin, Juan Diaz, Sheila Elsea, Patricia Esposito, Ronald Evans, Toni Ferrell, Karen Flanders, Lia Galletti, Katie Gardenia, Gay Germain, Andy Getch, Muffy Clark Gill, Donald Gilmore, Carolyn Gora, Leo Johnson, Mike Kiniry, Kim Goins Kosek, Julie Markytan, Polly Matsumoto, Carolyn McGahey, Kellen Beck Mills, Marilyn Niederman, Jeff & Dale Ocasio, Bea Pappas, James J.R. Roberts, Ava Roeder, Michelle Rothacker, Joel Shapses, Africa Valdez, Dale Weber, Beverly Yankwitt, Barbara Yeomans and Roseline Young.

The exhibit remains on display in the Alliance Main Gallery through November, 1. Acrylic paintings by Andrew Hart are featured in the Member Gallery, and watercolors by Honey Costa are displayed in the Foulds Theatre lobby. The November Alliance Members exhibit “100 Under $200” opens with a reception on Friday, November 7. You can download the prospectus HERE. The next juried exhibit at the Alliance “Printmaking” opens March 6, 2015.

For its October juried exhibit the Alliance for the Arts asked artists to create new works following the theme “Layers, Fiber, Collage & Assemblage.” 74 artists submitted 140 pieces representing a wide variety of 2D & 3D mediums. On Friday, October 3 the 39 pieces selected by juror Jeffrey Scott Lewis will go on display to the public during a reception from 5-7PM.

Participating artists include: Jayne Baker, Katherine Boren, Stacey Brown, KiKi Brewsaugh, Deborah Butler, Donna Chase, Dennis Church, Dan Cronin, Juan Diaz, Sheila Elsea, Patricia Esposito, Ronald Evans, Toni Ferrell, Karen Flanders, Lia Galletti, Katie Gardenia, Gay Germain, Andy Getch, Muffy Clark Gill, Donald Gilmore, Carolyn Gora, Leo Johnson, Mike Kiniry, Kim Goins Kosek, Julie Markytan, Polly Matsumoto, Carolyn McGahey, Kellen Beck Mills, Marilyn Niederman, Jeff & Dale Ocasio, Bea Pappas, James J.R. Roberts, Ava Roeder, Michelle Rothacker, Joel Shapses, Africa Valdez, Dale Weber, Beverly Yankwitt, Barbara Yeomans and Roseline Young.

Juror Jeffrey Scott Lewis is a visual artist and former Visual Display Artist for national companies such as Disney, Ace Hardware, and Ralph Lauren. He has an MFA in Media Design from Full Sail University and a BA in Liberal Studies Florida Gulf Coast University. He says the selection process was challenging. “While all the entries had merit, I chose works that seemed to achieve an excellence in terms of aesthetics or that interpreted the theme of the show in a new or unique way.  It is my hope that inclusion in this show inspires the artists to continue to strive for that level of excellence.”

In recognition of outstanding works, cash awards will be presented at 6PM during the reception for Best in Show, 2nd and 3rd Place. The exhibit remains on display until November 1. The juror will lead a Gallery Walk on Saturday, October 4 from 10-11AM.

Paintings by Andrew Hart will be on display in the Member Gallery during the exhibit. Hart works primarily with acrylic paint on mixed media paper, starting most works in charcoal. He says he enjoys painting portraiture, and recently has incorporated different and varying inspirations into his work, including black and white photographs, caricature, bold outlines, collage work, and splashes of vibrant color.

October 2014 flyerThe Acoustic Music Society of Southwest Florida presents three hours of live bluegrass music in the theatre at the Alliance for the Arts on Sunday, October 19 from 2-5PM. The concert features New Creek, Larry Wilson & Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Swinging Bridge. 

Tickets are $8 at the door, or $6 for Alliance members. Seating is open and first come, first serve.  Children 12 and under are free if accompanied by an adult. Pre-sale tickets are not available. Doors open at 1:30PM.

Lee Krasner coverThe monthly Member Gallery Book club at the Alliance for the Arts continues on Tuesday, October 21 from 6:30-8:30PM with a discussion of Lee Krasner: A Biography by Gail Levin. Now celebrating its one year anniversary, the Alliance Member Book Club is a monthly exploration of arts-related literature. It’s one of the many benefits of membership at the Alliance for the Arts.

Perhaps best known as the long-suffering wife of Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner is now, finally, being recognized as one of the 20th century’s modernist masters. In Lee Krasner, author Gail Levin gives us an engrossing biography of the painter—so memorably portrayed in the movie Pollack by actor Marcia Gay Harden, who won an Academy Award for her performance—a firebrand and trailblazer for women’s rights as well as an exceptional artist who led a truly fascinating life.

Alliance individual memberships are $50 per year, families can join for $75 per year and college students can become a member for just $15. Membership benefits include 20% discounts on all classes & camps, FREE class Try It sessions and open studio sessions, discounts on concert and theatre tickets and special exhibition opportunities. Click HERE to learn more or become a member now.