These are dry times. Summer slips away faster than you can catch it – a dime down the drain. The sky hangs damp and icy today. Across the globe, powerful little men toy with the world’s future like it’s a game of chicken. Hurricanes have ravaged large parts of our earth. Families will suffer the effects for years to come. Terrorists won’t let London sleep.
This planet can get so ugly. So broken. So disordered. So many of our mirrors are shattered.
There is order in beauty. A divine order, I believe, but whatever your theology you can feel it. The affirmation of disparate parts falling into place.
Jennifer Berkenbosch’s Cultivar matters because the world needs beauty today. We need to be reminded that there is goodness. There is a solid bed beneath this wild river.
I mull this over in the wake of five shootings. Four of them just blocks from our Space. The fifth not much further. Alberta Avenue drags along a history of injustice. Prostitution. Drugs. Vandalism. At times, violence. I do not feel unsafe. But I do feel compelled to respond.
I wonder, sometimes, if art is the right response. There is poverty of the body and the spirit. There is hunger of every sort. I believe in a God who satisfies hunger and need. Is art, then, a waste of my energy? Is there not some more important business to be about?
Blog for Bleeding Heart!
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
This week we’ve got milestones and motion. Significant calendar dates and a flurry of online videos dominate this #ArtScene13 list. So get your day-timer out and turn your speakers up to discover what’s up this week in the spaces where #yegarts and faith collide.
ONE: Adobe Photoshop turns 25 this year.
Happy Birthday to the magic wand!
Show postcard from The Nina Haggerty website.
TWO: The Nina Haggerty Centre Turns 12 with Confusement.
The Nina Haggerty Centre is a unique gift to our city and the Alberta Avenue community. They provide opportunities for those with developmental disabilities to make art. Celebrate their 12 year anniversary with artist Scott Berry’s sculptural installation Confusement. Berry has been recognized as Stantec’s Artist of the Year. View Confusement at Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts until February 27.
THREE: On 118 Ave, the arts are bringing New Beginnings for everyone.
And they are bringing change. Just watch this new video and see for yourself.
OUR: The Women are here.
The Women is a collection of black and white photographs of Edmonton women organized by Julie Rohr (sister of Marcie Rohr whose work currently hangs at The Bleeding Heart). More than an art show, The Women is a movement in support of women who have been sexually exploited or trafficked, both here and internationally. Women have paid $50 for a potrait to stand in solidarity with exploited women we may not see. All funds raised through the project are split between CEASE (local) and IJM (international). The March 8 event at the AGA, held on International Women’s Day, is now sold out, but donations can still be made to support the project at thewomen.ca.
FIVE: Walk with me for the homeless this Saturday.
Sufjan Stevens has release his new single, No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross. It’s beautiful, but perhaps NSFW (f-bomb ahead).
TEN: NextFest Call for Sound
NextFest is looking for audio work (music and otherwise) for its NuMusic component. The Call for Submissions is up and you have until May 1. Sadly, I have realized that I am now too old to submit to NextFest. Ouch. Don’t be like me. Don’t miss your chance!
Remember to send me your art and arts happenings. Simply email dave@bleedingheartartspace.com or post on Twitter or Facebook with #ArtScene13 and I will do my best to get you on the list next week.
Or, just fill out this form right here.
Blog for Bleeding Heart!
You have something to say–why not say it here? Email your blog post idea to dave@bleedingheartart.space and let's chat.
