Artist-musician duo Blue Lobelia & Kurtis Eugene present an all-ages workshop this Friday for local musicians and visual artists to collaborate
September 12, 2017 – Fredericton, N.B.
For Immediate Release
This Friday, Rachel Bruch (Blue Lobelia) and Kurtis Eugene, a Halifax-based artist-musician duo, invite local musicians and visual artists to participate in a collective mixed-media artistic composition inspired by performing live musical improvisation.
The workshop, titled Seeing Music, will take place on September 15, from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, at YogaGrow (441 King Street, upstairs from Savage’s).
Participants will have the opportunity to explore and create both music and visual art, by working with guided musical improvisation for creative stimulation. Participants are encouraged to bring their preferred instrument and art supplies. No prior experience is required, all necessary materials will be provided, and all ages are welcome.
Seeing Music is presented by Connexion Artist-Run Centre for Contemporary Art (Connexion ARC), part of the centre’s public artistic programming during the Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival, titled AFTER HOURS.
“This workshop will be a unique experience. Art and music are two things that naturally go hand-in-hand but it is not an everyday occurrence for the two to interconnect in a live setting,” says Kasie Wilcox, Director of Connexion ARC. “Participants will have the opportunity to engage one another with their medium of choice while contributing to a dialogue about art and music.”
AFTER HOURS will be Connexion ARC’s first presentation during the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival, a line-up of public art installations and performances were announced last week. The collaborative partnership between the two Fredericton-based cultural organizations, as well as a number of downtown businesses, started as a community-minded initiative to reach audiences outside of gallery walls.
Connexion ARC hopes to offer the residents of Fredericton an opportunity to engage with a wide range of contemporary art, situated within the context of the community, by building spaces that promote artistic production and experimentation in a hands-on way.
Rachel Bruch, a Halifax-based visual artist and professional musician, reached out to Connexion ARC to propose the workshop. She was first introduced to improvisation techniques during her Music Therapy degree at WLU in Ontario. In 2016, she began touring and composing as the indie-folk outfit, Blue Lobelia.
Her workshop partner, Kurtis Eugene, a composer and professional musician, sites his experience with local music ensembles as the inspiration to begin working more actively within the community music setting.
Blue Lobelia and Kurtis Eugene are both familiar faces to the arts and music scene of Fredericton, as well as to Connexion ARC and the YogaGrow space. They performed at YogaGrow last spring during Flourish Festival; a four-day, multidisciplinary festival held every April that celebrates independent art and music.
“Overlaps between arts and music scenes can tend to happen out of necessity,” explains Wilcox. “For small, independent, do-it-yourself (DIY) cultural scenes, like the ones found in Fredericton, it’s important for them to have spaces where they can exchange with one another, in order to remain responsive and energetic. For this workshop, one of our hopes is that it will act as a springboard for new collaborations. Everyone is welcome to participate.”
Since transitioning to an art project space without a fixed location earlier this year, Connexion ARC wanted to consider new ways to revitalize its long-standing connection to the local music community in Fredericton. For many years, Connexion ARC has been one of the city’s central of all-ages venues, hosting numerous live music events at the Chestnut Complex and Charlotte Street Art Centre, among other locations that previously housed the centre.
Tate LeJeune, a former gallery assistant at Connexion ARC, active in numerous Fredericton-based independent acts (Union Suit, LAPS, Pastel Skeleton, Moque Salade…) was first introduced to Connexion ARC by attending live music events as a teen. When asked about his experience, he had this to say: “I was excited that rock bands could exist in an art gallery. It hadn’t crossed my mind before. Neither had contemporary art, and that became an interest of mine through later visits to the ARC. Connexion felt like a big blank basement full of buried possibility.”
Cultivating a supportive space that encourages emerging, innovative ideas has remained the principal foundation of Connexion ARC for over three decades.
“I got the impression that contemporary art and music was very important, boundary-pushing work that was less concerned with making money than with making an emotional impact,” says Indigo Poirier, of Wangled Teb, and a member of the four-piece Fredericton-Montreal band, Ski Team. “I was really excited about having Connexion ARC here to support things like that.”
Full Workshop Details:
Seeing Music with Blue Lobelia and Kurtis Eugene
Friday, September 15
7:00 – 9:00 pm
YogaGrow (441 King Street, upstairs from Savage’s, Fredericton, NB)
All ages welcome.
Suggested Workshop Donation:
$12.00 for non-members
$10.00 for Connexion members
$8.00 for students
Free entry with the purchase of a Connexion membership at the time of the workshop
The workshop will be followed by a musical performance during which participants are welcome to continue creating their art composition.
For more information on Connexion ARC, AFTER HOURS, and memberships to the centre, visit connexionarc.org
Connexion Artist-Run Centre for Contemporary Art is located at 65 York St, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Office Hours: 12:00 – 4:00 pm, Tuesday – Friday.
For More Information:
Kasie Wilcox
Director
1 506 647 6423
director@connexionarc.org
connexionarc.org
Follow Connexion ARC on Facebook: /ConnexionArtistRunCentre
Follow Connexion ARC on Instagram: @connexion.arc
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