MEADVILLE, Pa. — Aug. 17, 2008 — The art galleries of Allegheny College will present “8-Hour Projects,” an exhibit with 13 artists working in the Bowman and Penelec Galleries, beginning Saturday, Aug. 30. The public is invited to observe the artists at work on Work-in-Progress Day on Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The finished projects will be on exhibit from Tuesday, Sept. 2 through Tuesday, Sept. 30.
In conjunction with the opening, several of the exhibiting artists will present informal talks about the process, materials and content of the works they created for “8-Hour Projects.” The artists' talks will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Art Galleries. Following the talks, at approximately 8 p.m., a reception will be held to celebrate the opening of the exhibition.
All events are free and open to the public.
“8-Hour Projects,” consisting of artworks created in one day in the Art Galleries, is an annual event at the Allegheny College Art Galleries. Work-in-Progress Day has proven to be popular, with people dropping in throughout the day to see how ideas evolve over the course of eight hours to become completed artworks.
Each artist has been assigned a wall or floor space of approximately 10 x 10 feet, and the artists will be working with a variety of materials. The artists are Ken Batista, Julie Stunden, George A. Lipchak, Cara Erskine, Renee Ickes, Kim Beck, Eric Stern, Marc Burgess and Lauren Frances Adams, all from Pittsburgh; Mark Keffer, from Bedford, Ohio; Michelle Droll, from Kent, Ohio; Colleen McCubbin Stepanic, from Springfield, Pa.; and Colleen Toledano, from Philadelphia.
Toledano's installation, “subFOUNDATION,” in Megahan Gallery, will feature sculptural work done on site on Friday, Aug. 29 and Saturday, Aug. 30. The exhibit will explore relationships between “skeletal” support structures and the outward appearance of the “bodies” they uphold. A 2001 graduate of Allegheny College, Toledano exhibits widely across the United States. She teaches ceramics at Arcadia University.
Presentation of these exhibitions and lectures is supported in part by Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), the regional arts funding partnership of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency. State government funding comes through an annual appropriation by Pennsylvania's General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by the Arts Council of Erie.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 12:30-5 p.m.; Saturday, 1:30-5 p.m.; and Sunday, 2-4 p.m. The Art Galleries are wheelchair accessible. Because programs are subject to change, the public is encouraged to call ahead to verify. The Art Galleries are located in Doane Hall of Art, east of North Main Street between College and John Streets. For more information, phone (814) 332-4365 or visit the gallery's Website: www.allegheny.edu (select Academic Programs, then Art, then Art Galleries).
