The South Arkansas Arts Center has announced a project to create a collaborative installation art project, scheduled to premiere at the South Arkansas Arts Center in May 2019.
The arts center invites all artists to attend a special gathering regarding the creation of the installation in the Merkle and Price Galleries at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 28. All interested artists are invited to attend.
“The meeting is an open call to artists in drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, film, sound and more to participate in a true group collaboration. The goal will be to transform the Merkle and Price Galleries into a 360-degree immersive art installation. The artists will work as a team, each offering their specific expertise, while also taking the opportunity to learn from and about their colleagues,” according to Susan Harper at the arts center.
This art installation project is intended to create a dialogue between different artists in different disciplines, as well as educate and inspire the public. Gay Bechtelheimer, project curator, said of the installation, “The spirit of the project is to interconnect our circle of artists and engage our community, which includes Magnolia and Camden,” she said.
“While SAAC has often opened its doors to many kinds of art, these different disciplines have never worked together in this way and an installation of this scale has never been attempted in our community. As defined by the Museum of Modern Art, an art installation is a form of art developed in the 1950’s which involves the creation of an enveloping sensory experience in a particular environment, often inviting active engagement by the spectator. The work will be an educational opportunity for our entire region, including people who may never have had the opportunity to experience an installation project in person,” Bechtelheimer said.
The show will premiere in May 2019, and surrounding events will include a lecture to the public about the creative collaboration process, as well as the individual artists’ contributions.
For more information about the installation, call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit the website at www.saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.