WonderRoot, the Reynoldstown arts nonprofit, had such a strong response to its arty twist on a CSA (community supported agriculture) program that it has announced its second CSA (in this case, community supported art) project.
The first edition, announced in January, soon sold out, with 50 investors purchasing “shares” in artwork by nine accomplished and emerging local artists for $300. So at a “pick-up party” earlier this month where the final three works of art were distributed in “art boxes,” WonderRoot executive director Chris Appleton and new creative director Stephanie Dowda spelled out plans for “Season 02” of the CSA.
The second round will include six original works of art — in a range of media including photography, painting and printmaking — with only 30 shares available at $800 each. The commissioned artists will be Mike Black, Masud Olufani, Ashley Anderson, Jane Garver, Seana Reilly and Roni Henderson.
Though the numbers have changed, the ideas behind the CSA remain the same: to support Atlanta artists by commissioning them to create work; to cultivate a culture of art collecting locally; and to develop a sustainable business model in the arts.
For the new season, “we decided to modify the share/price structure in order to offer a larger commission to the CSA artists while reducing their workload,” Appleton explained. “We anticipate, each year, a number of seasons at varied price points, numbers of artists and numbers of shares. By doing so, we’ll be able to connect artists and art lovers in many different ways.”
Each of the Season 02 artists will receive a commission of $1,200, he said.
At the party, several of the Season 01 "investors" queued up to register for the next series. Information or to purchase a share: www.wonderroot.org/csa.
THEATER
Ongoing drama of female veterans
The Sandy Springs theater troupe Act3 Productions will stage “A Piece of My Heart,” which explores the how the Vietnam War changed six women, Aug. 14-17.
The performances of Shirley Lauro’s play, which follows five nurses and a country singer, will benefit Mary Hall Freedom House. The non-profit agency provides housing, medical care, day care, employment training and substance abuse treatment to female veterans.
“A Piece of My Heart” “puts a face on the women who served their country, many of whom struggled to readjust to civilian life once they returned home,” Act3 artistic director Patti Mactas said.
Aug. 14 is Industry/Veterans Night (tickets: $15). The performances Aug. 15 and 16 includes a pre-show reception and silent auction and will be followed by a Q&A with a veteran who has received assistance from Mary Hall Freedom House (tickets, $100). The Aug. 17 show is $25. Performances are at 8 p.m.
6285-R Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 770-642-5500, www.act3productions.org/current.php.
VISUAL ART
‘The Book as Art’ in Decatur
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Decatur Book Festival, whose eighth edition takes over downtown Decatur over Labor Day weekend, has explored literature in about every way you can imagine.
But a new gallery exhibition presented by the Decatur Arts Alliance at the Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur is considering books from a different angle. The exhibit, “The Book as Art: 21st Century Meets Tradition,” surveys the many forms that tomes can take as artists’ books.
The show’s widely and wildly varied 47 works include examples from 20 states, Canada and Israel.
Several pieces comment on the tenuousness of the traditional book form in a digital-obsessed world, such as Illinois artist Ben Dory’s “Book Furniture II,” a shelf-like “time capsule” created from discarded Encyclopedia Britannica volumes; and San Francisco artist Alexis Arnold’s “Chemistry: An Experimental Science,” in which the cover and pages of a text book have been “frozen” by heavy crystal growth.
Whitney Stansell, the College Park artist inspired by Southern storytelling traditions, presents an imaginative work in three pieces: a book that details primary characters in her tale; another of nine connecting landscapes (capable of stretching 18 feet); and a third of paper doll-like secondary characters who are invited to explore the landscapes.
The Decatur Arts Alliance has acquired a piece from the show that it hopes will become the beginning of a book art collection: “Through the Looking Glass I” by Martin and Erik Demaine of Cambridge, Mass. Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass,” the artists printed the latter title and the phrase “curiouser and curiouser” in repeating patterns on paper, folded along concentric circular creases. The paper was then inserted into a hand-blown glass sculpture, displaying the paper literally through a looking glass.
“The Book as Art” continues through Sept. 20. Jurors were Atlanta book artist Brian Dettmer, Jonesboro printmaker and Art Institute instructor Jerushia Graham and Beck Whitehead of the Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas.
Gallery hours: 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays. A public reception for the artists will be held 6-9 p.m. Aug. 29. One West Court Square, Suite 110, Decatur. 404-371-9583, www.decaturartsalliance.org.
DESIGN
L.A. public TV gives admiring look at BeltLine
The Atlanta BeltLine was favorably featured recently on the "City Walk" series of the Southern California public television station KCET. Burbank-based KCETLink is carried nationally via satellite on DirecTV and DISH, but Atlantans can catch up to show online at www.kcet.org/shows/citywalk. The 10-minute BeltLine report airs after segments on walking in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.
