Third Friday features "Bailout Biennial" kick-off amidst other events

It's hard to believe that it's the third Friday of January already -- seems like just yesterday we were kicking the year off. But here we are, and this means it's time for another Third Friday arts and culture event in Durham.

Over at Golden Belt, Third Friday kicks off with a politically well-timed exhibition looking at our recent financial crises through an artistic lens, with 26 artists from ten states and four countries taking their own look at the meltdown:

Golden Belt will host the opening of the first (and perhaps only) BAILOUT BIENNIAL in response to the current economic crisis and scandals surrounding the $700+ billion bailout. This charged, provocative exhibition delves deeply into capitalism, the global economy, post- industrialism, and greed. And unlike most biennials—blockbuster affairs with multi-million dollar budgets, superstar artists, and pavilions—this one was organized from a simple call for submissions and has absolutely no budget. This biennial is a spirited collective of global artists willing to bear the expense of transporting and insuring their own art—all in the name of shedding light and poking holes in the dull screen of our economic condition.

 The BAILOUT BIENNIAL will be on view from January 16 – March 15, 2009 (Mo – Sa 10-6pm, Su 12-5pm) at a newly restored Golden Belt——one of Durham, North Carolina's last historic textile mills to be creatively reused. Both inspired by and housed in rustic, vacant space in the Golden Belt complex boasting high ceilings, wood floors and pillars, and enormous windows, the BAILOUT BIENNIAL serves as both a statement and an ongoing dialogue and exploration of how politics, history and art interact. Artwork includes: free bailout bonds and pins stating how much each of us is paying for this bailout ($2,296.84); dot matrix portraits of the men on our paper money made from the artist’s blood; the story of shrimp and how this luxury item becomes a common commodity on our tables; large photographs of homeless people holding what they keep, demolition derbies, and undeveloped gated communities; paintings of pennies from heaven; a gargantuan pig; communist and capitalist symbols on paper plates; wringing hands; and more.

This free exhibit is joined by Marcha Forzada, "an installation composed of hundreds of photographs that envelop the viewer in a multitude of perspectives of Mexico City, weaving an open narrative." This exhibition is also running through March 15 at Golden Belt. The east Durham arts complex hosts an opening reception for the exhibitions this evening.

Also tonight: the opening of Branch Gallery's first exhibitions of 2009, Latino/a America and the experimental film project "If Only To Wake My Neighbors Up."

There's still more on the agenda for Third Friday this month, from the multimedia works of "Nuclear Fishin and Other Curiousities" and the performance of Hungry Ghosts by Paperhand Puppet Intervention at Manbites Dog Theater, to the last chance to catch Durhamite Mikel Robinson's North Carolina scenes at Through This Lens. Read the full run-down after the break.

Third Friday Durham
Friday January 16th
Free (except for PPI)
5-10

It’s a little discussed but absolutely, totally true (no, I didn’t
just “make it up”) fact that art is even more moving,
earth-shattering, and soul-shakingly fabulous in the cold. So bundle up,
grab some hot chocolate, and get yourself out to the goodness that is
January Third Friday Durham.  Enjoy an opening reception at each venue,
featuring traveled maps and video art at Branch Gallery; art and
puppetry at Manbites; dance, Marcha Forzada and bailout art at Golden
Belt; new games at Scrap Exchange; and photography and furniture at
BCAC. Questions, comments, directions, concerns? Check out
www.thirdfridaydurham.com or drop us a line. (And big big thanks to
Neural9 for making some adjustments to the website. They volunteer their
efforts and it is much appreciated.) Third Friday Durham. Culture
Happens Here. (I didn’t make that up either.)

Manbites Dog Theater
703 Foster St.
Nuclear Fishin Reception/Hungry Ghost by Paperhand Puppet Intervention
5:30-7:30 and 8:15-9:45
Opening night reception for "Nuclear Fishin and Other Curiousities", a
series of multimedia works by Dick Hill, in Manbites Dog's Tiny Gallery.
Reception from 5:30 to 7:30; stay afterwards for Paperhand Puppet
Intervention's HUNGRY GHOSTS at 8:15.
Paperhand Puppet Intervention and Theater of Performing Objects present
HUNGRY GHOST, a haunting winter tale featuring shadow puppetry, masks,
bon raku, and marionette puppet styles. HUNGRY GHOST tells stories of
the insatiable human condition. Intended for mature audiences. Presented
as part of Manbites Dog Theater's Other Voices Series.
Tickets online at www.manbitesdogtheater.org/ or by phone:
919.682.3343

Bull City Arts Collaborative
401-B1 Foster St.
“Home Work by Noah Rosenblatt-Farrell / Forged Tapers by Ben Galata /
open studios
6-9
HOME WORK
A Photography Installation by Noah Rosenblatt-Farrell and... FORGED
TAPERS Recent Work by Ben Galata
Noah Rosenblatt-Farrell has photographed residential properties
throughout the Triangle and Triad. Intimate, yet staged and always
intended for display, these works invite reflection: The photographs
record what is now recognized as the late stages of a burst mortgage
bubble, doing so with warmth and a welcoming quality toward their
audience. We are taking advantage of our empty front work space to
exhibit recent work by Ben Galata including a trio of recent sculptures
and a couple of coffee tables. This work is designed by Ben, and
produced by hand.

Scrap Exchange
548 Foster  St.
Spin: Gameboards
6-9
Nine Durham artists transform game boards and concepts of game boards
into art for this fun show happening at the Scrap Exchange, featuring
the awesome sounds of local band The Wigg Report. Come ready to play!

Golden Belt
807 E. Main
Opening Reception for BAILOUT BIENNIAL/ Marcha Forzada
exhibits/Multiple Exposure
6-9
Join us for light refreshments as we celebrate the opening of TWO new
exhibitions - the BAILOUT BIENNIAL (Building 2) and Marcha Forzada
Collective: 38 eyes x 57,436 steps (Building 3). The reception will be
held on the third floor of Building 2.  Before the night is over, take a
moment to enjoy a preview of upcoming showcase Multiple Exposure III, a
collection of contemporary ballet and modern dance pieces of NC-based
dancers. Several dancers will do short improvs during the course of the
evening. And as always, Golden Belt's artists invite you to experience
their artwork in Building 3's thirty-five open studios.

Branch Gallery
401-C Foster St.
Opening Reception
5-8
Branch Gallery is pleased to present its inaugural 2009 exhibitions,
Pedro Lasch: LATINO/A AMERICA: The New York and North Carolina Suites
and If Only To Wake My Neighbors Up-a video program curated by Jerstin
Crosby of Acid Rain Production, featuring the work of David
Colagiovanni, Lydia Moyer, and Michael Robinson.
Begun in 2003, Pedro Lasch’s ongoing series LATINO/A AMERICA consists
of the presentation and distribution of a new map of the American
continent. Included here are works from Route Guides #1: Arrival New
York (2003/2006) and Route Guides #2: Arrival North Carolina Triangle
Region (2006/2008). The work operates on the premise of the following
events: Lasch gave forty identical maps measuring 30x40 inches to twenty
individuals he knew would cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Each person
received two maps that were folded to fit in a purse or pocket-one for
them to keep, and one for them to mail back to the artist upon arrival
at their final destination. The resulting maps show various degrees of
wear and tear as a result of exposure to weather and being handled,
examined, and transported. The maps appear with corresponding texts that
cite selections of conversations between the artist and each migrant,
immigrant, or traveler. As the participants’ experience is visualized
through creased, torn paper and text, the words “Latino/a” and
“America” acquire different contextual meanings-reflecting on the
deep impact of popular and political shifts in our culture. The
resulting works serve as documentary evidence of a new “Latinidad”
that extends globally, and is redefining the English-speaking world. As
Lasch states, “we are changing what ‘America’ means, and what it
means to be ‘American.’”
In addition to the LATINO/A AMERICA Route Guides #1 and #2, the
exhibition will include three large-scale wall murals of
“Latinadad.” One of these site-specific works will be produced
at Branch Gallery, while two others will be executed on outdoor walls
during the course of the exhibition. The locations will be chosen in
collaboration with specific communities in the Triangle, to collectively
engage with a site’s immediate and symbolic significance.

If Only To Wake My Neighbors Up is a collection of three short
experimental films curated by artist Jerstin Crosby of the televised
video-art series Acid Rain Production. These works speak figuratively or
literally to a connection of shared histories, marked geographies, and
current events. Michael Robinson’s Victory of the Sun, for example, is
a loosely grafted voyage through dormant sites from past World’s Fairs
that breeds an eruptive struggle between spirit and matter, ego and
industry, futurism and failure. David Colagiovanni’s P.S. and
yellowish with sunglasses that are nylon neon investigates man’s
desire for freedom and escape though the legacy of Larry Walters, who in
1982 attached forty-three weather balloons to a lawn-chair and was
raised 16,000 feet above Los Angeles, violating federal air space.
Walters, who was later arrested for flying an unapproved craft, went on
an inspirational lecture tour about achieving one’s dreams, eventually
taking his own life in 1992.
Lydia Moyer’s short film, 1979, comes from her investigative journey
to the site of the Jonestown massacre in the Cooperative Republic of
Guyana. This piece acts as a monument to an infamously scarred and
tainted ground where 918 members of Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple
committed mass suicide. In the process of making the film, Moyer herself
flew to the same remote airstrip where Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered
by Jones’ followers. As a testament to Acid Rain Production’s
mission of employing contemporary artistic practice to bring political
and social concerns to the attention of a viewing public, these three
works speak eloquently about the location of human experience within
landscape.

Comments

[third friday fan]

Wow, Golden Belt is a real player in the cultural arts scene! The Bailout exhibit sounds awesome--very different for Durham. I am really impressed with all of the cool stuff they're doing, especially since its so new. Just listened to the Bailout curators on the NPR--I'm pumped about seeing the show tonight. If you want to listen, you can go to this link http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/sot0116b09.mp3/view.

[Jonn]

I had no clue any of this was going on! too bad i saw this post late..i think those people involved could do a better job promoting this.

I did however go to Phantasmagora at Carolina Theatre and that was great.

[Bull City Rising]

@Jonn: Actually, a person to point the finger at on that would be me. I got the press release for this well in advance of the event, but between work and personal commitments outside of the office, only found time on Friday morning to post this as a mid-day update.

I'm working on (and am open to others' ideas on) strategies for increasing the comprehensiveness of coverage at BCR; it's a matter of finding more cycles on my part, and possibly finding some more creative methods to get content on the site to boot.

Of course, folks in the community are always welcome to take out one of our highly-effective FlyerBoards or BlogAds to help get the word out on events, too. :)

[Boyer27GRACIE]

All people deserve good life time and loan or just consolidation loan can make it much better. Because freedom is grounded on money state.