Arts in Columbia

[waccamatt]

I usually use a combination of Free Times and The State's weekend section, but I have 2 favorite places: The Nickelodeon and Trustus Theatre, so I usually just keep up with what is going on there.

[krazeeboi]

The Free Times cover story this week deals with the increase in alternative arts venues in Columbia. Pretty cool.

[krazeeboi]

Here are some notes from the Columbia Museum of Art:

Robert Turner, a retired literature professor at the University of Pennsylvania has given the Columbia Museum of Art its largest art donation since the early 1950s, which includes 57 Chinese bronze pieces, ceramics and sculptures made between 2000 B.C. and 1368. They cover many of the most important artistic periods in Chinese history. This latest donation fills an important gap in the museum

[waccamatt]

That is very exciting news for the Columbia Museum of Art. I may be biased, but is there a better art museum in the country in a city the size of Columbia?

[krazeeboi]

^It's certainly a great asset to the city and state, that's for sure.

I didn't realize that Artista Vista was right around the corner; it will actually coincide with the first few opening days of the Festival of the Arts. That particular weekend looks to be quite a busy one for downtown Columbia.

[krazeeboi]

Here's an article in today's edition of the The State about the Festival of the Arts. This week's edition of the Free Times also has several articles about the festival.

I hope this gets lots and lots of support. It would really be a shame if it didn't.

[waccamatt]

I saw Nunsense Amen at Trustus tonight and it was hilarious. There are nice magazines for the Arts Festival with the schedule of events and some articles.

[krazeeboi]

Here's a blurb about the Columbia Museum of Art from the minutes of the last city council meeting from the latest edition of the Columbia Star:

Director Karen Brosius brought council up to date on the CMA. Concluding February 4, the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition was the best attended in recent memory, 26,000 visitors from 45 states and nine countries. Thanks to advertising over NPR in Raleigh, 500 visitors came down. This past year the CMA added $10 million to the local economy. With a blockbuster planned to open in the spring of 2009, still unnamed, the CMA staff is studying the museum in Raleigh to see how that museum handled its Monet exhibition and how they managed to attract 215,000 visitors in 12 weeks.

[krazeeboi]

As Marvin Chernoff indicated a few weeks before the start of the festival, he won't undertake another Columbia Festival of the Arts next year. In terms of attendance, it was really a mixed bag; it seems as though the most success came with the theaters and the art galleries.

Since this was really just a coordination of events and functions that would have occurred anyway, I think the festival might have seen more success if special events were planned. Also, I think it ran a bit too long; if someone else takes up the baton, it might be better to condense this to about four days or so.

[krazeeboi]

Here's the Free Times take on the festival. The last quote in that article makes an interesting point:

[emerging.me]

Here's the Free Times take on the festival. The last quote in that article makes an interesting point:

What do you guys think?

Starrett is right on the money.

[waccamatt]

I think the festival was a good idea, but I think 1 or 2 really big events should have been scheduled during the festival in order to draw more interest from out of town. Unfortunately, I only made it to one event, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[krazeeboi]

The former S.C. Philharmonic music director, Nicholas Smith, has agreed to lead the Columbia Festival of the Arts starting in 2009. A festival will not be held next year, and Smith plans a number of changes, including holding it earlier in the year and expanding it from nine to 17 days.

[CorgiMatt]

Tomorrow through July 6, there will be an art exhibit in the first floor gallery of Richland County Public Library on Assembly Street. It's called Corporate Viewpoint. The artwork is by Donna Rozier, whose paintings celebrate the colors and architecture of Columbia's city center. "The State" paper has shown some examples of her work.

[krazeeboi]

Anybody know anything about this?

[krazeeboi]

Pretty interesting piece of news from this week's edition of the Free Times:

Poetry fans, rejoice! The Southern Fried Regional Poetry Slam Festival calls the Capital City home this year, and more than 200 poets and spoken-word artists from across the Southeast will descend on our hep little burg for the three-day festival, which centers around a lyrical battle for the Southern Fried Championship Crown. This isn

[CorgiMatt]

The arts contribute big to the Capital City's economy.

http://www.thestate.com/136/story/91844.html

[krazeeboi]

Here are some shots of some pieces from the Material Terrain exhibit on display in Boyd Plaza:

[Spartan]

Thats pretty cool. Good photos!

[krazeeboi]

Thanks. Those were some pretty interesting pieces. I think some were inside the museum as well.

[CorgiMatt]

The Columbia Museum of Art has a new website. You can see a lot of the collection online.

http://www.columbiamuseum.org/

[CorgiMatt]

I just received my semi-monthly newletter from Columbia's City Center Partnership, "Around the Block," and the unveiling of the new sculpture on Boyd Plaza at the Columbia Museum of Art will take place Tuesday, September 25th at noon.

Also, for the second year Fall N2 Art is running alongside the Greek Festival today and tomorrow on Main Street.

http://www.thestate.com/weekend/story/179185.html

[krazeeboi]

Great news about the Keenan Fountain. Someone should really be there to take pictures at the unveiling.

[CorgiMatt]

I was downtown this morning and they were installing it. I walked up to Fall N2 Art and there's quite a spread of nice art.

[waccamatt]

We walked right past it during the Gay Pride Parade this afternoon and there was a crane there installing it. I was kinda busy trying to read my music to see how much had been completed.