1708 Gallery

319 West Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220
Tue-Fri: 11am-5pm
Saturday: 11am-4pm
info@1708gallery.org
804.643.1708

1708 Gallery receives NEA grant to support InLight Richmond!

November 30th, 2012

NOVEMBER 30, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Emily Smith, Executive Director, 804.643.1708 or esmith@1708gallery.org

1708 Gallery receives NEA grant  to support InLight Richmond

Grant one of 832 Art Works grants totaling $23.3 million in funding nationwide

Richmond, VA— National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced on November 27, 2012 that 1708 Gallery is one of 832 non-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. 1708 Gallery is recommended for a $20,000 grant to support InLight Richmond 2013, a juried exhibition of light-based art.

InLight 2013 will include video projections, interactive environments, multi-media projects, light installations, the Community Lantern Parade, and a curatorial program in which a group of artists will be commissioned by a curator to produce projects that respond directly to the site. Facades, walls, storefronts, doorways, parking lots, alleyways, and the natural environment in the selected location will serve as installation sites.

“I’m proud to announce these 832 grants to the American public including 1708 Gallery’s InLight Richmond,” said Chairman Landesman. “These projects offer extraordinary examples of creativity in our country, including the creation of new work, innovative ways of engaging audiences, and exemplary education programs.”

“InLight is a labor of love for 1708 Gallery and reflects a tremendous collaboration between the many talented artists, the property owners, and city officials, just to name a few of the many partners. There is nothing more validating than witnessing joy and excitement play across the faces of the audience as they experience the artworks of InLight,” comments Emily Smith, Executive Director of 1708 Gallery. “Having just completed the 5th annual InLight, we are proud of the past successes, and are excited about the possibilities for the future.”

Smith added, “In recent years, 1708 has been thrilled to receive grants from national and international organizations like The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Foundation for Contemporary Art, and the Danish Arts Council, which is supporting 1708’s current exhibition. 1708 is incredibly honored to add the NEA to its list of supporters.”

In March 2012, the NEA received 1,509 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $74 million in funding. The 832 recommended NEA grants total $22.3 million, span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and focus primarily on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing works for the benefit of American audiences. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

1708 Gallery is a non-profit arts organization committed to presenting exceptional new art. 1708 Gallery is committed to providing opportunities for artistic innovation for emerging and established artists and to expanding the understanding and appreciation of new art for the public.

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1708 Gallery invites you to become a member!

November 19th, 2012

JOIN A COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE WHO
SHARE A PASSION FOR CONTEMPORARY ART

Since its founding in 1978, 1708 has continued to be a pioneer in Richmond’s arts community. 1708 Gallery moved to its current location at 319 West Broad Street in 2001, leading the reinvigoration of this downtown corridor. In 2008, 1708 introduced InLight Richmond, a one-night public exhibition of light-based art, performances and community projects. On November 2, 1708 and Richmond celebrated the 5th anniversary of this dynamic program.

1708 Gallery remains committed to its mission of presenting exceptional new art, providing opportunities for artistic innovation, and expanding the understanding and appreciation of new art. This past year, 1708 supported 38 artists through seven exhibitions, and facilitated thirteen programs that offered opportunities for engagement and education to its audience.

If you’re not already a member, I invite you to participate in this energy and excitement by becoming a member of 1708 Gallery. Membership provides vital funding for exhibitions and programs at 1708 Gallery and in turn, directly supports the careers of many young artists. In addition to the crucial support your contribution provides to our operation, members receive the fantastic benefits outlined in our membership brochure, like a custom glass word of your choosing hand-made by artist Sarah Rebekah Byrd Mizer.

Joining is easy! Mail in a completed membership form to 1708 or join online at www.1708gallery.org. Thank you for your consideration.

With appreciation,

Emily Smith
Executive Director

Watch this video of the InLight 2012 People’s Choice Award winner!

November 8th, 2012

Local Richmond filmmaker Kontra made this short film detailing the development and execution of Nelly Kate and Dave Watkin’s InLight 2012 installation, Interstitial Transduction, which was selected by the audience for the People’s Choice Award.

 

Interstitial Transduction: 2012 InLight People’s Choice Award Winner from Kontra on Vimeo.

Announcing the InLight 2012 Award Winners!

November 8th, 2012

1708 Gallery is pleased to announce the awards from its fifth annual InLight Richmond. Last night InLight 2012 illuminated the facades, storefront windows, parking lots and alleyways of Richmond’s downtown Arts & Culture District with light-based art, performances and the Community Lantern Parade. Thousands from the greater Richmond community attended the free, one-night event to experience and participate in engaging and dynamic artworks by national artists installed outside the gallery walls.

The InLight Richmond 2012 juror, Melissa Ho, Assistant Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, selected Virginia artist Devon Johnson’s Noms de Pays for the Best in Show Award. Johnson’s digitally converted 8mm film evokes feelings of time and loss and the fleetingness of memory. Installed in a courtyard in downtown Richmond, Virginia, the intimacy of the space and a sense of history in the architecture extended this sense of nostalgia.

Ho also selected New York artist Jason Peters’ installation Meandering Dynamics, constructed with found buckets, LED lights and cable, for the Best in Green Award.

InLight Richmond 2012 attendees were invited to vote for their favorite work of art by texting. The People’s Choice Award was given to Richmond, Virginia’s own Nelly Kate and Dave Watkins for their interactive audio visual installation and performance, Interstitial Transduction.

Bring Your Own Beamer to InLight on Nov 2nd!

October 23rd, 2012

Calling All Artists for BYOB-RVA

at 1708 Gallery’s InLight Richmond
Friday, November 2, 7 p.m. to midnight

Organized by Norberto Gomez, Jr., BYOB-RVA is a feature of InLight Richmond 2012, 1708 Gallery’s 5th annual public exhibition of light-based art and performances.

BYOB or Bring Your Own Beamer is a series of one-night exhibitions hosting artists and their beamers (projectors). All artists are invited to show work during BYOB-RVA, with the only requirement being they provide their own projector (open to interpretation) and work. Installation is free-form, with artists reacting to the space and their fellow beamers throughout the night.

Beamers, or projectors, may consist of typical digital projectors used by computers or TVs, overhead projectors, or even a child’s toy. Other “screen” materials like computer monitors or televisions are also acceptable. BYOB-RVA is also open to creative interpretations of a “projector,” light & dark as medium, the moving image, music/sound/noise, installation, shadow-performance, etc. Please bring your cords, dvd players, computers, VCR, extra power strips, etc.

First initiated by Rafaël Rozendaal in 2010, over 80 BYOB events have taken place throughout the world, from Berlin and Tokyo, to San Francisco and New York City.

For more information check out the BYOB-RVA Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/531875486838474/ or email Norberto at info@norbertogomezjr.com.

Video of InLight 2011!

October 18th, 2012

Check out this video from 1708′s InLight Richmond 2011 with music by the Trillion who will be performing at this year’s InLight Richmond. The video was shot by Eric Carlson and edited by Caroline Moyer. Two very talented individuals! If you’ve never been to InLight, this is what you’ve been missing. Join 1708 for InLight 2012 on Friday, November 2nd along the new Arts & Culture District on downtown W. Broad St. For more information, please visit www.1708gallery.org/inlight.

 

 

 

Video of Invisible’s performance at 1708!

October 16th, 2012

The New Obsolete from 1708 Gallery on Vimeo.

Performed by Invisible at 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA, Oct. 13, 2012

None of Your Business

October 9th, 2012

As Crest, our most recent exhibition, winds down, we have one final piece to highlight. For her series of interventions titled “None of Your Business,” Naoko Wowsugi makes modest alterations to small businesses that improve the business’s functionality and foster communication between the patron and the server. From exchanging a styrofoam toothpick holder for a ceramic espresso cup to inserting a cowbell to ring for service in small-staffed storefronts, her actions playfully transgress traditional boundaries between what we consider public and private.

Wowsugi extended “None of Your Business” into our downtown neighborhood as part of her work in Crest. Her sidewalk sign contributions to three (that we know of) neighboring businesses include adding Happy Hour details to the sign for Lift Coffee Shop & Café (218 W. Broad), placing a picture frame on the Corporate and Museum Frame sign (301 W. Broad), and creating an entirely new, interactive sign for Richmond Camera (213 W. Broad). In her artist statement, Wowsugi states that she sees herself as an “unsolicited [community] technician” “seek[ing] potential projects that strengthen connections among others, their environments, and [herself] in everyday life.” Wowsugi’s interventions are unimposing, intimate and essentially public, and suggest a contagious generosity of spirit.

Wowsugi’s sign contributions are on view indefinitely here in the 2-300 blocks of W. Broad Street. You can learn more about her work at her website, wowsugi.com.

Announcing Lantern-Making Workshops for InLight Richmond

September 27th, 2012

1708 Gallery is pleased to invite you to participate in InLight Richmond on Friday, November 2, 2012. The evening of light-based art and performances will kick off with a Community Lantern Parade. Create one-of-a-kind, artful lanterns in one our workshops listed below or at home to carry in the parade.

InLight Richmond 2012 will take place in the new Arts & Culture District along Downtown W. Broad Street.  The parade will gather at 7 p.m. (look for all the lanterns) where you will receive an LED candle for your lantern.  The parade will begin at 7:30 p.m.  More information about where to meet, where to park, etc. will be available at www.1708gallery.org/inlight.


Organized by 1708 Gallery, a non-profit space for new art, InLight Richmond is an annual, public exhibition of light-based art and performances. Each year InLight Richmond encourages artists to respond to a particular section of our diverse city, attracting audiences to unique areas of Richmond. This year, 1708 Gallery’s downtown neighborhood will be transformed by art installations selected by juror Melissa Ho, assistant curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, presenting a mix of visual, performance and interactive art. Fun for the whole family, you won’t want to miss this opportunty to experience and participate in public art!


The InLight Richmond 2012 Community Lantern Workshops and Parade are generously sponsored in part by MeadWestvaco Foundation and Main Art Supply.

LANTERN-MAKING WORKSHOPS

 

OCTOBER (ALL MONTH)
Lantern-Making at The Children’s Museum

For the month of October, The Children’s Museum of Richmond is offering lantern-making in the Art Studios at both the Short Pump and Downtown locations. Lantern-making is free with admission. Visit www.c-mor.org to plan your visit.

 

OCTOBER 5TH
First Fridays Lantern-Making Workshop
6 to 9 pm, all ages, QUIRK Gallery parking lot, 311 W. Broad St.

Join 1708 Gallery on Broad Street in the QUIRK Gallery parking lot for artful lantern-making. FREE.

 

OCTOBER 5TH
West Main Street Gallery Art Walk Lantern-Making
6:30 to 8:30 pm, all ages, First Friday Sampler, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 W. Main St.

1708 Gallery brings lantern-making to the West Main Street Art Walk. FREE.

 

OCTOBER 13TH
Side by Side: ENGAGE at Visual Arts Center
10 am to 12 pm, Adults w/ kids 5–15, $10 per team, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 W. Main St.

The Visual Art Center’s Side by Side is a fun studio art program for teams of one or two children and a grown-up. Doors open at 9:30 am. First come first served.

 

OCTOBER 13TH
Lantern-Making at VMFA
1 to 4 pm, all ages, VMFA, 200 N. Boulevard

Join the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in a celebration of the art of glass. This VMFA day of discovery includes “stained glass” lantern-making with 1708 Gallery, tours, musical performances on glass instruments, ice sculptures, hot glassblowing demonstrations and more to celebrate the exhibit opening on October 20th of Dale Chihuly’s work. FREE.


OCTOBER 13TH and 20TH (2 day workshop)
Clay Lanterns at Visual Arts Center
10 am to 12 pm each day, adults, $50 ($40 for VisArts members), Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 W. Main St.

Using the patterns and imagery of Morocco, create a clay hanging lantern to light your way or illuminate your table. Register at http://visarts.org/artclasses/clay-fall/inlight-richmond-clay-lanterns

 

OCTOBER 14TH
House Lanterns, designed by Matt Lively
1 to 3 pm, all ages, Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 West Main St.

Create a paper lantern shaped like a dwelling. FREE.

 

OCTOBER  27TH
Bring your Own Craft at QUIRK Gallery
2 to 4 pm, all ages, QUIRK Gallery, 311 W. Broad St.

Join 1708 Gallery at this BYOC creative event at QUIRK Gallery. 1708 Gallery will supply all the materials to make a variety of crafty lanterns. FREE.

 

OCTOBER 28TH
Family Maharaja Lanterns at The Visual Arts Center
1 to 3 pm, all ages, The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, 1812 W. Main St.

Lantern-making inspired by the lights and colors of India.  Bring the kids and join artist Sarah Hand in making these artful lanterns.  Families will work in groups to create the lanterns. FREE.

 

NOVEMBER 2ND
Lantern-Making at InLight Richmond 2012
6 to 7:15 pm (Parade starts at 7:30 pm), all ages, InLight 2012 site

Participate in the InLight Richmond Community Lantern Parade!  Bring a lantern you’ve made or make one with us just before the parade kicks off the event. FREE.

video from Avery Lawrence’s performance at 1708

September 21st, 2012

Avery Lawrence Performance at 1708 Gallery from 1708 Gallery on Vimeo.

Avery Lawrence is Moving a Tree and Arranging Suitcases, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA, June 22 – August 4, 2012, Filmed by Mark Strandquist and Edited by Caroline Moyer, www.1708gallery.org | ©2012

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