BRATTLEBORO — “Creative Relations,” a multimedia group exhibit in which 10 artists explore how family history, significant relationships, and social/cultural contexts influence the making of art, will open Friday, June 2, at 118 Elliot.
In the show, some artists' work explores how creativity helps heal the legacy of personal and cultural trauma. Other artists' work arises from discovering their voice in relation to the past.
Each artist interprets and shares the theme, often including text, through their own lens, inviting viewers into the creative process to create a deeper experience for all.
The exhibition includes work by Toto Feldman, Liza King, Shanta Lee, John Loggia, Phyllis Odessey, Tina Olsen, Jack Pombriant, Lissa Weinmann, Kathryn Wocell, and Hope Zanes.
Participating artists will attend the Friday, June 2 Gallery Walk opening from 5 to 9 p.m. Refreshments will be served. The show will run through the month. Gallery Hours are Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 7 p.m., or by appointment by contacting 118elliot@gmail.com.
Several artists in the exhibit will create unique installations to amplify how their work is related to personal history. For example, 85-year-old Hope Zanes relates her large gum bichromate photographs to her long-time neighbor and world renowned photographer, Lotte Jacobi, who encouraged her in this process.
Two public events in June will continue to explore the “Creative Relations” theme:
– On Thursday, June 15, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at 118 Elliot, select exhibition artists will share personal perspectives on how relationships influence their work in a roundtable discussion led by an experienced moderator. The public is invited to join this discussion on what fuels creativity and how it relates to specific events in life.
• On Sunday, June 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 118 Elliot, writers including Liza King, Arlene Distler, Tina Olsen, Laurie Panther, and Steve Minkin will explore this theme through spoken word at a “Creative Relations Poetry Brunch.”
In addition to the featured “Creative Relations” show, the gallery will continue to display the interactive “Brattleboro Words Trail: Murals, Maps, and Sound” exhibit by Cynthia Parker Houghton.
Coming in August: “Signs & Sounds,” a graphic musical scores exhibit, opens with Hallie Lederer's live public painting of a score to be played by a community improvisational orchestra on Saturday, Aug. 26, to close 118 Elliot's month-long improvisational “Nu Mu Festival.”