October 1, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sondra Peron, 413-587-1069 / speron@northamptonma.gov

Follow the River: A Juried Exhibition with Performance at Hosmer Gallery

Forbes Library, 20 West Street, Northampton, MA

October 3-29, 2011

Ribbon-cutting Ceremony, Route 9 RR bridge, Northampton: Friday,  October 14, 4pm.

Reception at Hosmer Gallery, in conjunction with Arts Night Out: Friday, October 14, 5pm to 8pm.

Special performance featuring The Thursday night Underscore +/- group, developed by Nancy Stark Smith: Saturday, October 15, 2pm to 4pm.

All events are free and open to the public.

The Northampton Arts Council presents Follow the River, a juried exhibition of work celebrating and reflecting on the essential qualities and importance of water. The exhibition is of works by artists living and working in Western Massachusetts and is located at the Hosmer Gallery in Forbes Library during the month of October 2011.

Follow the River presents a wide variety of types and styles of art from photography and paintings to cinematography and contact improv, all of which revolve around the central theme of water. The exhibition showcases the work of 37 different local artists, selected from a group of more than 80 artists who submitted over 260 works of art for consideration.

Please join Acting Mayor of Northampton David Narkewicz, Northampton Arts Council Board of Directors Chairperson Betsy Stone, and artist David Teeple, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the route 9 RR bridge at 4pm, Friday October 14, 2011. Then, meet all the artists, including juror David Teeple, for the Arts Night Out reception (also on Friday, October 14) from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m the Hosmer Gallery to celebrate Northampton’s largest public art project in over twenty years.

Come back to the Hosmer Gallery on Saturday, October 15 from 2pm to 4pm, for STREAMING: A Public Viewing of the Underscore (a dance installation), part of the Follow the River exhibition. Featuring The Thursday night Underscore +/- group, this performance is based on a long form dance improvisation developed by Nancy Stark Smith.

Underscore offers a glimpse into a living world —somewhere between a 3D moving art installation, a visit to the zoo, a boat ride down the river, and your living room. Over two hours, the dancing will move through a broad range of dynamic states, including long periods of very small, private, and quiet internal activity and other times of higher energy and interactive dancing. The 20+ phases of the score—each with a name and a graphic symbol—create a general map for the dancers. Within that frame, they are free to create their own movements, dynamics, and relationships—with themselves, each other, the group, and the environment. Each Underscore is unique.

This exhibition is held in conjunction with the new public art project on the Route 9 railroad bridge. The new work, Water Music by David Teeple, consists of 18 stainless steel panels, which represent the surface of water and a blue aerial map of the Connecticut River.

The theme for this exhibition was derived from Teeple’s piece. The Northampton Arts Council and Teeple are working together throughout the course of the year creating programs for the community designed to raise awareness of the importance of water and the arts for the Pioneer Valley; this exhibition is just one part of this.

The juror for Follow the River is David Teeple. For this exhibition, Teeple sought out the work of artists “whose work engages, inspires and celebrates the life-affirming properties of water, while also addressing the water challenges facing the planet.”

Gallery Hours: Mon/Wed 9am to 9pm, Tue/Thu 1pm to 5 p.m., Fri/Sat 9am to 5pm

This is exhibition is presented in cooperation with the Hosmer Gallery at Forbes Library. Many thanks to Faith Kaufman at Forbes for making this community gallery open and accessible to all area artists.

sondra peron, arts administrator

northampton arts council

240 main street

northampton, ma 01060

http://www.northamptonartscouncil.org

413-587-1069 direct  (mon/wed/fri)

413-587-1269 office

413-587-1548 fax