This upcoming art talk looks intriguing, and one of Gallery MAR‘s artists, Bridgette Meinhold, will be speaking. I’m going to try to make it, and you should too.

Environmental Art: Visual Arts and Literature: “A discussion about the connections among the environment, art, and activism.”

Current Artists in Residence at Spiro Arts (writer-Nancy Lord) and (visual artist-David Sullivan) will discuss their work and ideas, relative to environmental concerns, moderated by Park City artist/eco blogger Bridgette Meinhold. Each resident will address specific concerns to their hometowns of Alaska and Louisiana, how these concerns may relate to Park City, and the role of art in wrestling with environmental issues.

Date and Time: Thursday, May 12th (6 – 7pm)

Location: Spiro Arts at Silver Star – Central Studio Building, 1825 Three Kings Drive, Park City UT 84060

Cost: Admission is free and open to the public. A $5.00 donation is recommended to help Spiro Arts sustain its mission

About Spiro Arts: Spiro Arts is an Artist in Residence community and workshop center, located in the beautiful Silver Star community in Park City, UT. Situated on a historic mine site adjacent to Park City Mountain Resort, the rustic architecture and newly restored mine buildings provide a unique setting for Spiro’s multidisciplinary programs, while also serving as headquarters for Park City’s Sundance Film Festival. Spiro Arts hosts a diverse community of visual and literary artists while offering residencies, open studio events, a public lecture series, conferences, life drawing sessions, art auction gala, and a summer workshop for adults and children.

For additional info visit: http://www.spiroarts.org/

Upcoming Events at Spiro Arts

Artists in Residence Open Studios

The Open Studio Events are free and open to the public, come share an evening with our Artists-in-Residence. All open studio events take place at Spiro Arts central studio building, located at Silver Star. A $5.00 donation is recommended to help Spiro Arts sustain its mission and programs.

Friday, May 20th (6 – 9pm) and Friday, July 22nd (6 – 9pm)

I visited the Spiro Art Center this week to see their most recent residents’ work and took a couple pictures for our out-of-state readers. The Park City art community really came out for this event; the energy was lively and the artists were eager to speak about their work.

Haven’t heard of the Spiro Art Center yet? Spiro selects three to five residents for each of its twice-yearly terms. The artists submit applications and a jury selects participants based on their proposal, resume and samples of their work. The four current artists were recently featured in this Park Record article by Alisha Self.

Leading up to the open house, I purposely avoided information about the exhibit so that I could see it with fresh eyes and an unbiased perspective. Although, to be fair, I had several friends and colleagues tell me I “just had to see the amazing work.” I’m glad I waited. The artists’ works were incredibly unique and would have been difficult (for me!) to comprehend without seeing them in person.

All four artists were on hand to discuss their work and share their viewpoints. From wool sculpture to animation and installation, this show ran the gamut of emerging artists in a contemporary format. What a site to see such fresh and innovative work here in Park City!

We even saw a bit of art in action: Greg Wrenn (a poet and author finishing up his novel) read from one of his latest poems. And Dawn Gettler (an installation artist) perhaps got more action than she was hoping for, when three separate Spiro visitors walked through her art piece and disrupted her sugar-formation pieces (top picture).

2010 Artists-in-Residence, Term I (April)

• Sjors Vervoort-Visual (Netherlands)
• Faith Hagenhofer-Visual (Washington)
• Dawn Gettler-Visual (Illinois)
• Greg Wrenn-Writer (Missouri)

Mark your calendar for their upcoming events:

• Open Studio Event on May 28th (6-9pm).
• May 8th: The Poem You Weren’t Expecting, Instructor: James Arthur (AIR – May)
• June 7-11th, Artspark Summer Session, Instructors: Susan Parker and Justin Parisi-Smith
• July 5-9th, Encaustic-painting with hot wax, Instructor: Daniella Woolf

Save the date!

March 20, 2009– the Spiro Art Center in Park City announces their Art Auction and Gala to benefit Spiro’s community and youth programs, residency opportunities and scholarships. Mark your calendars now for an enchanting evening of art, music, food and fun surprises. A supporter from their beginnings, Gallery MAR will be in attendance. See you there!

Spiro Arts is currently accepting artwork donations from artists, gallery owners, and other interested parties for our annual Auction & Gala benefit. They offer a FREE Thursday night life drawing class every week. Donations help to support this program. Call 435-649-6258 for more information.

Spiro Arts is an Artist-in-Residence community and workshop center, located in the beautiful Silver Star Resort community in Park City, UT. Situated on a historic mine site adjacent to Park City Mountain Resort, the rustic architecture and newly restored mine buildings provide a unique setting for Spiro’s multidisciplinary programs, while also serving as headquarters for Park City’s Sundance Film Festival. Spiro Arts hosts a diverse community of visual and literary artists while offering residencies, open studio events, a public lecture series, Writers at Work Conference, life drawing sessions, Art Auction Gala and summer workshops for adults and children.