press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Genevieve Antaky, 510/482-3553
gantaky@comcast.net
PUBLIC INFO: 510/652-6122 or
www.emeryarts.org

EMERYVILLE CELEBRATION OF THE ARTS PRESENTS
22nd ANNUAL EMERYVILLE ART EXHIBITION
OCTOBER 4 - 26, 2008
Opening Reception, 6-9pm, Friday, October 3, 2008
5815 Shellmound Way, Emeryville, CA

The 22nd Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition, sponsored by Emeryville Celebration of the Arts, Inc., featuring works of artists and craftspeople, both established and emerging who live or work in Emeryville, will take place October 4 through October 26, 2008, at 5815 Shellmound Way, Emeryville, CA. (The exhibit is located at a different donated space each year.) The show is open daily from 11 am to 6 pm. Public Transportation: MacArthur BART station, Emery-Go-Round Hollis Amtrak Route (weekdays) and PM City Loop Route (weekends); AC Transit Bus #19. For directions, log on to: www.emeryarts.org/directions.html or call 510/652-6122.

There will be a gala public reception with the artists in attendance on Friday, October 3 from 6 pm to 9 pm. A no-host bar will raise funds for the Emeryville Youth Art Program. Music will be provided by the David Berson Bay Moods Quartet.

The 22nd Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition continues to celebrate the work of Emeryville artists and includes paintings, sculpture, photographs, prints, textiles, ceramics, and glass works. Jurors Maria Medua, Director, SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco; Paul Tomidy, independent curator and visual artist; and Svea Lin Vezzone, Director, Swarm Gallery, Oakland, have selected the collection of work from 90 Emeryville artists. Tomidy returns for the fourteenth year to curate this exhibition. (Works on exhibition are for sale.)

The mission of the non-profit Emeryville Celebration of the Arts, Inc. is to foster an appreciation for the arts and artists of Emeryville, and to promote the city as a culturally vital and progressive center for living and working. For more than twenty years the Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition has continued to support this mission by providing a free public venue, open to all, to experience the rich diversity of artistic expression of those who live and work within the city of Emeryville.

Contributing artists include Ana Lisa Hedstrom, textiles; Ken Kalman, sculpture; Teresa Kalnoskas, painting; Reuben Margolin, kinetic sculpture; Robert Ortbal, mixed media sculpture; M. Louise Stanley painting, Canan Tolon, painting; Ann Weber, sculpture.

Curator & juror Paul Tomidy said of this exhibit:
“The 22nd Emeryville Art Exhibition continues to evolve with new artists showing along with continuing artists. Many mediums are featured such as painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography and printmaking. In fact many works are amalgams of parts combining various mediums. Today in 2008 we also see the pervasive influence of computers; visual computer programs, digital photography, and digital printing. The digital age is upon us with information and reproduction resources swimming fast as artists’ options increasingly expand. Both viewer and artist have a lot to explore and digest in our widening art experience.”

Emeryville Art Exhibition juror Svea Lin Vezzone, director of Swarm Gallery, states:
“Jurying the Emeryville artist exhibition gave me the opportunity to view artwork I would not otherwise see. It was a pleasure to visit the artist's workspaces, meet the artists and see larger bodies of work. This exhibition represents only a sampling of the artistic productivity happening in the city of Emeryville; there are artists in all corners of this city, contributing to the creative flow of everyday life here. Touring buildings and seeing this cultural vitality were the highlight of the jury process for me, as was seeing the breadth of media being used. I was particularly excited about the technically extravagant work of Reuben Heyday Margolin, M. Louise Stanley's allegorical and humorous paintings, and Candace Kling's dramatic textile works.”

Maria Medua, director of the SFMOMA Artists Gallery, responded to her experience as an Emeryville Art Exhibition juror by saying:
“Serving as a juror for this show really brought home the meaning of, “leave no stone unturned.” It yielded several delightful and surprising results. I was inspired to see how many artists from Emeryville are yet to be discovered and shown more widely in the Bay Area. I encourage everyone to come to the show and be among the first to see these wonderful works.”

Sharon Wilchar, who was on the original Emeryville Celebration of the Arts Board of Directors and has been Project Coordinator of the Exhibition for the past 20 years, remarked:
“The City of Emeryville has recently embarked on a strategic planning process for an Emeryville Arts and Cultural Center that will provide a permanent home for our Annual Exhibition. This development will free up some of my Board’s time, energy, and resources to create additional arts programming for the Emeryville community. Until that date, I am so genuinely grateful to our business community for their willingness to provide venues for the exhibition for each of our 22 years. BRE Properties, Inc. has gone over the top for us this year in this capacity.”

For the third consecutive year, the Emeryville City Council has approved a Purchase Award Program in connection with the Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition. A selection panel, including Karen Tsujimoto, Senior Curator, Oakland Museum of California, will review the works in the exhibition and make a recommendation for the Purchase Award. With the approval of the City Council, the artwork selected will be purchased from the contributing artists and become part of the City’s permanent collection displayed at City Hall.

The 2008 exhibition site is generously donated by BRE Properties, Inc. The exhibition is funded by a Community Promotions grant from the City of Emeryville matched by contributions from the business and residential communities. Sponsors (to date) include Bayer USA Foundation, TMG Partners, Pixar, Wareham Development Corporation, Kava Massih Architects, Novartis, Bay Street Emeryville, Oaks Card Club, Woodfin Suites Hotels, Schmier Industrial Properties, IKEA, Ruby*s Cafe, and the Townhouse Bar & Grill.

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CALENDAR LISTING - ART EXHIBITS:
What: Emeryville Celebration of the Arts’
22nd Annual Art Exhibition
An exhibition of artwork created by established and emerging artists and craftspeople who live or work in Emeryville. The work includes paintings, sculpture, photographs, textiles, ceramics, and glass works.

When: The exhibit is open to the public October 4 - 26, 2008
11am-6pm, Daily
Opening Reception: 6-9pm, Friday, October 3, 2008


Cost: Admission to the exhibition and opening reception is FREE

Location/Info: 5815 Shellmound Way
Emeryville, CA

Public Transportation: MacArthur BART station, Emery-Go-Round Hollis Amtrak Route (weekdays) and PM City Loop Route (weekends); AC Transit Bus #19

For directions log on to: www.emeryarts.org/directions.html or call 510/652-6122


CALENDAR LISTING - BENEFITS:
What: Emeryville Celebration of the Arts’
22nd Annual Art Exhibit - Opening Reception
Meet the artists and get a sneak-peek of the collection on display at Emeryville Celebration of the Arts’ 22nd Annual Art Exhibit – an exhibition of artwork created by established and emerging artists and craftspeople that live or work in Emeryville.

A no-host bar will raise funds for the Emeryville Youth Art Program, which brings professional artists into Emeryville public schools.
Music will be provided by the David Berson Bay Moods Quartet.

When: Opening Reception, 6-9pm, Friday, October 3, 2008
The exhibit is open to the public
October 4 - 26, 2008
11am-6pm, Open Daily

Cost: Admission to the reception is FREE;
Proceeds from the no-host bar benefit Emeryville Youth Art Program

Location/Info: 5815 Shellmound Way, Emeryville, CA
v For directions log on to: www.emeryarts.org/directions.html or call 510/652-6122
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