Fiber arts fans will want to block out time for Atlanta Quilt Festival

The opening reception of the 2013 Atlanta Quilt Festival, noon-4 p.m. July 28 at the South Fulton Arts Center, stitches together many activities that should appeal to anyone into the fiber arts.

Handmade quilts and dolls will be on view and a quilt market will make its debut, featuring quilters and doll-makers demonstrating their craft while guests shop for one-of-a-kind creations, hand-died fabrics and books.

Also, quilt artist Latifah Shakir will lead a noon-3 p.m. yoga workshop for quilters challenged by all the repetitive motion demanded by their craft ($15). And vocalist Akil Z. Shakir will perform his soul-styled Oldies But Goodies Revue during the reception.

Another festival highlight, at 3 p.m. Aug. 3, is a lecture by Aisha Lumumba, known for portrait quilts often featuring famous African-Americans ($10).

Continuing through Aug. 10, the free fest is being presented by the Clara Ford Foundation in collaboration with Hammonds House Museum and South Fulton Arts Center (4645 Butner Road, College Park). 404-612-3087, www.clarafordfoundation.org.

OPERA

Atlanta countertenor big at Santa Fe Opera

Atlantan David Daniels is preparing to play the title role of “Oscar,” a world premiere that is a highlight of the Santa Fe Opera’s summer festival season.

The opera by Theodore Morrison, based on the trial of Oscar Wilde on charges of “gross indecency with other male persons”and his subsequent imprisonment, debuts July 27, with four additional performances through Aug. 17. “Oscar” is a co-production with Opera Philadelphia, which will mount the work during its 2015 season.

The back story is that Morrison long had wanted to write an opera for Daniels, the noted countertenor who in a globetrotting career has credits with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Berlin Philharmonic and Basel Chamber Orchestra.

In 2004 in London, Daniels was performing a song cycle on the poems of James Joyce that Morrison had written for him. British stage director and Wilde scholar John Cox attended the recital, met the composer and suggested that he should write an opera. Conversations between the three were sparked, and in 2006 the subject of Oscar Wilde was set.

“We present Oscar Wilde as hero, not as victim,” Morrison said. “His life, and all he stood for, has great relevance today.”

Daniels himself paid for a demo recording of “Oscar” that helped secure what became a co-production between Santa Fe and Philadelphia.

He said what he relates to in Wilde is more the human side than his words or wit. “The fact that I am a gay man and he was a gay man,” the singer told the Santa Fe Opera’s magazine, Crescendo. “The fact that I see a human side of him that faced homophobia in a way that I’ve seen in my life and have experienced, but not to the point of being put in prison.”

Daniels, who moved to Atlanta in 2007, making his debut with the Atlanta Opera in 2009, said playing Wilde has the potential to be a career highlight. “How many singers have something composed for them, a complete opera?”

More on Daniels: www.danielssings.com. More on "Oscar": www.santafeopera.org.

EVENT

At Culture Shock, the art of interpretation

The next Culture Shock, the High Museum of Art’s date-night arts party, at 8 p.m. July 27, will carry the theme “Leave Room for Interpretation.”

Four performers/groups will be doing the interpreting: the the freestylin’ rappers of Soul Food Cypher, the Atlanta Opera, poet Kevin Young and the contemporary dance troupe Wabi Sabi

Their challenge is to respond to two High exhibits: the photography show “Rashid Johnson: Message to Our Folks” and “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” a showcase of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age.

$15; $5 students with ID. 1280 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. 404-733-4200, www.high.org.

THEATER

Act3 leads MAT nominees

Act3 Productions of Sandy Springs leads in the recently announced Metropolitan Atlanta Theater (MAT) Awards nominations, with 27. Right behind it are Onstage Atlanta with 24 nominations and Marietta’s Next Stage Theater Company with 17.

MAT is the Atlanta community theater version of the Tonys, covering companies that do not have an agreement with the Actor’s Equity Association labor union.

Act3’s nominations include best play (“Arabian Nights”), best musical (“Jekyll & Hyde”) and best new work (“The Strange Attractor”).

The award ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center. Full list of nominees: www.matawards.com/awards-ceremony/nominees.

VISUAL ART

Looking forward, back with Jennifer Schwartz

Now that Jennifer Schwartz's cross-country Crusade for Collecting tour is over, she is settling back into her Virginia-Highland space, which opens a "Summer Salon" show featuring new works from gallery artists July 23 (through Sept. 27). Gallery hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. 675 Drewry St., No. 6, Atlanta. 404-885-1080, www.jenniferschwartzgallery.com.

Meanwhile, it's fun to catch up on Schwartz's thinking-outside-the-box crusade, in which she drove a VW bus to 10 cities and held pop up events aimed at recruiting new photography collectors. Blog entries, including some by participating photographers, and entertaining videos can be found at www.crusadeforart.com/blog.

New space for Madison Artists Guild

The Madison Artists Guild, a grassroots group founded in 1985 and now featuring a 150 members, has a new gallery home.

The MAG Gallery is at 217 W. Jefferson Street, across from Town Park in Madison, the picturesque town an hour east of Atlanta. The debut show features paintings, pottery, photography, jewelry, stained glass and leather work by 22 artists.

Gallery hours: 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturdays, 1-5 p.m. Sundays. 770-367-1203, www.madisonartistsguild.org.

ARTS