Josie Morway and friends are at it again with part two of the awesome Project Digs...um...project.
OPENING RECEPTION PARTY: FRIDAY JULY 28th from 7pm to midnight. Musical guest tba.
ALL-DAY OPEN HOUSE AND CLOSING EXTRAVAGANZA: SATURDAY JULY 29th from noon to midnight. Entertainment and party after 7pm
From the Project Digs' website:
Mission Statement: As artists and creative professionals, we are often solitary in our work habits, and yet our work requires audience, participation, collaboration and communication to thrive. We work in individual studios or out of our homes, our work only meeting an audience when it’s put into a gallery space that requires the work to be finished and polished, and seldom represents the idea of process or addresses the relevance of the work to the world in which we live. Gallery space, in its formality, also seldom encourages comfortable conversation or collaboration.The mission of the Digs shows is to close the gap between making work and showing work by bringing art and dialog into a variety of living and working spaces. Even more importantly, we seek to bring artists of all sorts together; to talk, share ideas, and hatch new plans.In the 1920’s Vladimir Mayakovski said of museums and galleries that “We do not need a dead mausoleum of art where dead works are worshiped, but a living factory of the human spirit - in the streets, in the tramways, in the factories, workshops and workers’ homes.” In 2006 it might be said that our “living” factory of art needs– if it’s going to inspire others and shape our community– to be brought into the apartments, the condos, the warehouse studio spaces, the department stores and the cubicles that we now inhabit. The first Project Digs took place in April in a 3-story home on Courtland Street. Over 20 artists showed their projects. Some of the participants included Josh Kretzmann, who transformed an entire room into a startling geometric experience in paint; J Hogue, whose intense photos of the interiors and architectural details of abandoned mills covered an entire wall, pinned up like collected butterflies; and John Dee, who created lush, slick acrylic paintings of strange and dark yet amusing narratives. The show drew over 300 attendees on its opening night, and led to countless new connections and plans for future projects.
Project Digs Part 2 is coming up on July 28th and 29th, and will take place at 83 Tobey Street. The Tobey Street house is a recently rehabbed Victorian that’s available for sale as four separate, very affordable units. Gabe Francis, who is selling the units, says that the affordable price reflects his desire to promote ownership in a neighborhood (and especially among a demographic) where renting is still the norm. Project Digs Part 2 is a chance for us to keep local art and Providenc’s DIY spirit in the spotlight as our neighborhood changes. The show will feature more artists than last time filling over 3,000 square feet, and include such projects as a series of cycling portraits, prints made with rust rather than ink, and large sculptural work.Come, see the art, meet the artists, see musical performances, and investigate the house. Maybe you’ll leave with a painting, or a new home - Dig?
