Art exhibit uses city’s history as lens to explore national issues
Opening artists' reception will be held July 31 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Creative works by three Asbury Park artists will be shown alongside pieces from nine other artists in the upcoming boardwalk exhibit “Promised Land.”
Promised Land is an exhibition of contemporary artworks by twelve emerging east coast-based visual artists that explores a broad range of current national issues as inspired by the past and present history of Asbury Park, NJ.
John Vigg, co-director of The Collective Art Tank, Scott Szegeski, co-owner of Lightly Salted Surf Mercado, and Mike Richison, co-creator of the Augmented Asbury Park virtual reality exhibit, are the three Asbury Park artists selected to be a part of the exhibition.
“Epitomized by American writer Stephen Crane and American songwriter Bruce Springsteen as a symbol of our nations ‘hopes & hypocrisies’, Asbury Park is emblematic of many aspects of broader American history and culture,” stated exhibition curator Victoria Reis in a release.
The city’s prime location along the northeast corridor made it an ideal meeting point to bring the artists together to build their peer artist network, provide an opportunity for the development of new work, and to engage new audiences, Reis said,
During the week of June 5, artists were invited to a five-day residency in the city to pursue creative research. They met with a multitude of community leaders within Asbury Park to learn about the city’s history and culture and how it reflects and relates to broader American history and culture, the release stated. The resulting work includes a diverse variety of visual mediums including painting, video, installation, sculpture, performance art, sound art, and photography.
The exhibit will run Aug. 1 to Sept. 7 in the Fifth Avenue Pavilion. Exhibit hours are Wednesday and Thursday noon to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from noon to 8 p.m.; and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
An opening reception will be held Thursday, July 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. Click here to RSVP by July 28.
Promised Land artists include: Jane Carver (New York, NY), Kevin Darmanie(Newark, NJ), Dahlia Elsayed (Newark, NJ), Alison Kuo (New York, NY), Mike Richison (Asbury Park, NJ), Raúl Romero (Philadelphia, PA), Jessica Segall (New York, NY), Crystal Stokowski (Philadelphia, PA), Scott Szegeski (Asbury Park, NJ), Lisa Marie Thalhammer (Washington, DC), Tang (Washington, DC), and John Vigg (Asbury Park, NJ).
Other events scheduled in coordination with the exhibition are as follows. All events will take place within the Fifth Avenue Pavillion, located in suites 501 – 503 at 1200 Ocean Avenue, unless otherwise noted.
AUG 1
At 12:30 p.m. Promised Land artist Dahlia Elsayed will launch the first of her “Porch Talks on the Ocean Avenue” facing the porch of the Fifth Avenue Pavilion. She and David Shoemaker, boat-builder and fisherman, will talk about boats, boat-making, fishing and more. Visit the Professional Porch Sitters Union blog for further details.
1-3 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Promised Land artist Alison Kuo offers Cone Spa treatments to Promised Land audiences.
AUG. 2
1-3 p.m. Promised Land artist Alison Kuo offers Cone Spa treatments to Promised Land audiences.
3 p.m. Promised Land featured painters Kevin Darmanie and Lisa Marie Thalhammer will present an informal talk of their work moderated by Tim Doud, a painter and associate professor of art at Washington, D.C.’s American University. Doud is also the visiting artist program coordinator of the studio art program at the university.
5 p.m. Jane Carver will perform the full composition of her sound piece, “Whirl Up, Sea.”
AUG. 3
2:30 p.m. Promised Land artist Mike Richison and Ed Johnston lead a tour of Augmented Asbury. The tour begins with a talk inside the Promised Land exhibition space which will continue along the boardwalk.
Full exhibition details can be found at www.transformerdc.org.
Visit transformerdc.org for Promised Land artist statements & bios, and updates on weekly creative & educational programming throughout the run of the exhibition.
Promised Land is supported by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Madison Marquette and Asbury Park Waterfront.
[Image credit: Promised Land by Vigg Designs.]
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