ARTISPHERE Celebrates Its First Birthday
Release Date: Saturday, October 1st 2011With The 1 Party Featuring A Commissioned Video Work to Light its Trademark Dome Set to Original Musical Scores Plus a Free Birthday Open House
Arlington, VA - To commemorate its first birthday, Artisphere invites the community to celebrate with an evening of art, music and interactive, off-beat arts activities at The 1 Party on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at 8pm and a free fun for all ages Birthday Open House on Sunday, October 9, 2011 from noon to 6pm.
In honor of Artisphere’s birthday, local artist and cinematographer Brian Stansfield was commissioned to create Orbit, a site-specific video work sponsored by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, to light Artisphere's Dome as a central feature of The 1 Party on Saturday, October 8. Attendees will gain access to downloads of original scores inspired by Stansfield's work by six artists including folk/ambient musician Aaron Thompson, sound artist Yoko K, as well as artists performing live at Artisphere that evening—electro/house/dance DJ supergroup Volta Bureau (Will Eastman, Micah Vellian and Outputmessage) in their first live performance; dance music singer, songwriter, DJ and producer Alvin Risk; Hays Holladay of electronic music duo Bluebrain; and Barcode Orchestra. The scores can be downloaded onto an iPod or portable music player in advance. Rather than playing the music on loudspeakers during the party, guests can sync their music device at the beginning of the video to listen to any of the pieces. None of the musicians will have heard what the others have created prior to the unveiling, nor will the video artist have heard what the musicians have done with his work.
"Artisphere is thrilled to celebrate its birthday with an incredible interactive lighting of our Dome with the support of the Rosslyn BID," says Artisphere Executive Director José A. Ortiz. "We're also opening our doors on Sunday to the Arlington and DC-wide community with a free family arts open house that brings back some of our favorite artists. What a wonderful way to celebrate turning 1!"
On Sunday, October 9, art lovers of all ages are invited to Artisphere’s free Birthday Open House for an arts adventure for the whole family. Chill out in the Dome Theatre for animated films, shake your hips in salsa lessons for the whole family, see art creation at Wheelchair Action Art making workshops, feel the beat in a drum circle with the Drum Lady Kristin Arant and participate in a special performance art program with SULU DC. Enjoy UrbanArias mini modern opera, shadow puppetry with Nana Projects and get a sneak peek at WSC Avant Bard’s next production in an open rehearsal. Plus, hands-on arts activities including sun tag, comic book collage, face painting, button making and of course, birthday cake for all! The free Birthday Open House is made possible with the generous support of the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.
Dome projection video artist Brian Stansfield, a native Arlingtonian, co-founded a local production company Wandering Hat based in Falls Church, VA. Stansfield has been in production for the last 12 years shooting, editing, producing and directing feature and short films, documentaries, music videos and video art, as well as a wide variety of commercial work.
Artisphere's birthday weekend celebration sponsor, the Rosslyn Business Improvement District provides services designed to make Rosslyn an exciting, urban commercial center. Funded by a special tax paid by property owners in the 17-block commercial office core, the work program includes marketing and promotion; social service coordination; beautification, cleaning and maintenance of public areas; economic development; community activities and events; and transportation, parking, pedestrian and safety programs.
For more information on Artisphere and its first birthday celebration, visit www.artisphere.com. Artisphere is a new breed of urban arts center that features four performance venues, three visual art galleries, a 4,000 square foot ballroom and free Wi-Fi. Artisphere’s wide array of programming ranges from contemporary visual art, theatre, live music, and film to new media, family programs and salsa dancing. Artisphere is located at 1101 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia, two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro (blue/orange) and within walking distance of Georgetown. Artisphere is open Monday through Friday from 11am to 11pm; Saturday from 11am to 2am and Sunday from 11am to 6pm. Admission to Artisphere and all its visual art galleries is free; there is a cost for ticketed events. Artisphere is pleased to offer its patrons free parking evenings after 5pm and on weekends.
Artisphere is managed by Arlington County’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources and supported in part by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, corporations, foundations and individuals.
BIRTHDAY WEEKEND ACTIVITIES OVERVIEW
ARTISPHERE
1101 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22209
THE 1 PARTY Saturday, October 8, 2011 8pm
Celebrate Artisphere's first birthday with an evening of original art, incredible music and off-beat and interactive artsy activities. In honor of turning one, Artisphere commissioned local artist and cinematographer Brian Stansfield to create Orbit, a site-specific video work sponsored by the Rosslyn Business Improvement District, to light Artisphere's Dome. Party attendees will get advance access to downloads of original scores to Stansfield's work created by five artists including sound artist Yoko K as well as artists performing live at Artisphere that evening—DJ supergroup Volta Bureau (in their first live performance), Alvin Risk, Hays Holladay (Bluebrain) and Barcode Orchestra. The evening also includes late night access to Artisphere’s gallery exhibitons, live interactive mural creation with artist Arijit Das and You, Me, Them Everybody LIVE!, a very special edition of Brandon Wetherbee's live variety show featuring interviews, and more.
Tickets and Passes can be purchased through www.artisphere.com.
• $15 for first 150; 151+ $20
• $30 VIP Backstage Pass, includes access to VIP lounge overlooking Ballroom; swag bag; $1 drinks (signature cocktails, wine and beer)
FREE BIRTHDAY OPEN HOUSE Sunday, October 9, 2011Noon – 6pm / Free
Join Artisphere arts adventure for the whole family. Chill out in the Dome Theatre for animated films, see art creation in Wheelchair Action Art making workshops, shake your hips in salsa lessons, feel the beat in a drum circle with the Drum Lady Kristin Arant and participate in a special performance art program with SULU DC. Plus, birthday cake for all! Made possible with support from the Rosslyn Business Improvement District.
ON VIEW THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND
Data/Fields
Terrace Gallery
Internationally renowned sound artist Richard Chartier brings together a celebrated group of international artists for Data/Fields, a thought-provoking new media exhibit which explores the connection between the viewer and the flow and transfer of data at Artisphere from Thursday, September 22 –Sunday, November 27, 2011. These selected and commissioned works by Caleb Coppock (U.S.), Mark Fell (U.K.), Andy Graydon (U.S./Germany), Ryoji Ikeda (Japan), France Jobin (Canada) act as hubs of sensory information—sites of signal, noise, presence, and absence. Data/Fields marks the artists’ gallery debut in the Washington, DC-area and includes two premiere exhibitions in the United States.
Victor Ekpuk: ART on the ART Bus
Works-in-Progress Gallery
Victor Ekpuk, an Alexandria, Va.-based artist, is inspired by ancient African writing and symbols. Throughout the course of Ekpuk’s month-long residency creating a new installation for the ART Bus, the public is invited to meet the artist, watch him at work and participate in creating art using personal symbols borrowed from the immediate environment. ART on the ART BUS is a mobile gallery showing original art on an Arlington Rapid Transit, or ART, public buses, cultivating a vibrant arts experience for transit riders in the area. One ART Bus will be in permanent rotation throughout the different routes available to ART Bus passengers.
Contrasts by Andrew Zimmermann
Mezz Gallery (The 1 Party VIP Backstage Lounge)
Contrasts is a exhibition of landscape photographs made in the Colorado Front Range. The work, made half in winter and half in summer, presents a particular geographic place as a set of dynamic contrasts. The series shows the natural world is constantly in flux, rather than fixed and unchanging.
I’m Nobody, Who Are You? by Maya Ciarrocchi
Town Hall Video Wall
Inspired by Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name, I’m Nobody! Who are You?, is a multi-channel video installation comprised of life-sized video portraits exploring the question of identity and whether the mediated image can adequately reflect the reality of the subject. Ciarrocchi will be continuing the creation of this video work in the WIP Gallery from September 11-13, showcasing the final work from October 1-31.
“One of the top 10 performing arts venues in the DC-area.” – Washington Examiner
Address/Contact
Artisphere 1101 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22209
Phone: (703) 875-1100
TTY: (703) 228-1855
www.artisphere.com
Please note that Artisphere’s Spectrum Theatre is directly adjacent to Artisphere’s main building and is located at 1611 N. Kent Street.
Tickets
Tickets for all events, unless otherwise noted, are available for advance purchase online through tickets.artisphere.com. Tickets are also available for purchase through the Box Office Call Center at (888) 841-2787.
Online
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Hours
Monday–Friday, 11am–11pm
Saturday, 11am–2am
Sunday, 11am–9pm