No terrible twos about it!
July 30, 3:22 Pm
Chuck Beard
Nashville Galleries Examiner
There won’t be any clowns in outrageous get-ups or fake candles that never seem to go out no matter what technique you try to make your dreams a reality, but during this week’s First Saturday Gallery Crawl, August 1st, from 6-9pm, Twist Art Gallery will informally be celebrating its 3rd birthday with art and entertainment galore! You don’t have to bring a gift, just yourself and possibly all of your friends, but there is a good chance that you won’t leave empty-handed.
It has already been three years since Twist began on August 6th, 2006. To celebrate the huge event, Twist is not opening one BUT two new shows: a Mail Art show in Twist #58 and paintings by Angela Burks! It certainly has been a rollercoaster ride to get where Twist is today from humble beginnings, but Twist doesn’t seem to see any end in sight just yet. In fact, Joe Nolan recently reported for Nashville Public Radio on the diverse ways of how Twist Art Gallery is proving particularly innovative in ways it is branching out through technology and attracting potential fans and buyers during a time where art business sales are down.
Alongside Angela’s show opening, Twist is also opening their Love Letters to the Post Office; a Mail Art show. Lately, the Arcade Post Office has had close-calls with possibly having to close from orders by the U.S. Postal Service. Heartfelt for the art of handwritten letters and postcards, Twist is trying to help the cause against a possible lost art form by having loving postcards that were sent in and postmarked before July 24th to be displayed and sold at the Gallery Crawl for $5 a piece to support future Twist exhibitions in the Arcade.
Also on tap for the festive event will be the availability of the pictured, limited-edition Twist commemorative posters created by local artist Laura Braisden in both full-color or black and white options. You’ll need to arrive early because there are only 100 of those posters made specifically for this birthday party. There will be other fun surprises and souvenirs in store and more!
Again, I was told there would be no clowns in outrageous get-ups. On the bright side, there will be stellar music by Nashville’s own sensation, Eastern Block, to accompany all of the visual art inside the Arcade starting at 7pm. Trust me; this will be one birthday party you won’t want to miss! Did I mention no clowns?!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
today is your birthday....
You're Not Helping and Twist's Birthday Bash
It's Your Birthday
Joe Nolan
Nashville Scene
Time flies when you are having fun, and Twist Gallery founders Caroline Carlisle and Beth Gilmore have been having a blast growing their presence in the Downtown Arcade and becoming one of the must-see spaces on the First Saturday Gallery Crawl. To celebrate their third birthday, Twist will feature two new shows in each of its Arcade spaces. 73 Arcade will feature paintings by Angela Burks whose latest paintings have introduced graphic elements into her realistic portraits. Twist's space at 58 Arcade will feature a mail art show called Love Letters to the Post Office that is dedicated to the Arcade's 106 year old post office which has recently been threatened with closing. Try to snag a copy of Laura Baisden's great birthday poster and get there early for cake!
Reception, also celebrating Twist's anniversary, 6-9 p.m., Aug. 1.
It's Your Birthday
Joe Nolan
Nashville Scene
Time flies when you are having fun, and Twist Gallery founders Caroline Carlisle and Beth Gilmore have been having a blast growing their presence in the Downtown Arcade and becoming one of the must-see spaces on the First Saturday Gallery Crawl. To celebrate their third birthday, Twist will feature two new shows in each of its Arcade spaces. 73 Arcade will feature paintings by Angela Burks whose latest paintings have introduced graphic elements into her realistic portraits. Twist's space at 58 Arcade will feature a mail art show called Love Letters to the Post Office that is dedicated to the Arcade's 106 year old post office which has recently been threatened with closing. Try to snag a copy of Laura Baisden's great birthday poster and get there early for cake!
Reception, also celebrating Twist's anniversary, 6-9 p.m., Aug. 1.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
IN THE tennessean...Twist, it's three years and counting
The Tennessean
July 26, 2009
For Twist, it's three years and counting
Twist Art Gallery is opening shows in both its Arcade spaces during next Saturday's Art Crawl: paintings by Angela Burks in 73 and Love Letters to the Post Office, a collection of postcards created and sent to the gallery in an effort to save the Arcade post office, in 58. Twist is also celebrating its third anniversary from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday.
"There will definitely be cake," says Twist co-owner Beth Gilmore, along with Eastern Block performing downstairs and a limited edition third anniversary poster.
Designed by Laura Baisden, the poster features the familiar pink and green color scheme and "elephant" from Twist's logo. Embracing the elephant is just one example of how Gilmore and partner in art Caroline Carlisle have gone with the flow when it comes to their gallery.
After being introduced by mutual friend Lain York from Zeitgeist Gallery, Gilmore and Carlisle decided on their Arcade space a week or so later, becoming the second of two galleries there. Their name came from lists each compiled.
"I was just thinking it needs to be an action word and it needs to be short," Gilmore says. She also liked the symmetry of "twist." Andee Rudloff and Stacey Irwin designed the logo. "It's twist ties," Gilmore explains. "It does look like an elephant and we have come to love that."
They also love shows that completely transform their spaces. Lauren Kussro's 2007 installation of paper flowers suspended from the ceiling remains one of Carlisle's favorites. Gilmore remembers the Whole Milk show, also from 2007, featuring four Minneapolis-based artists who also created a 30-foot-by-80-foot mural on a wall between the Viridian condo high-rise and Downtown Presbyterian Church.
"This has really been a nice creative break," Carlisle says. She says low rent in the Arcade allows them to focus on more than being a commercial venture. "It's nice when we sell things and we hope to sell things, but it's not the whole reason we exist."
Love Letters to the Post Office in Twist 58 and Angela Burks' paintings at Twist 73 remain on view through Aug. 29 in the Arcade. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission fee. For information, call 888-535-5286 or go to http://www.twistartgallery.com">www.twistartgallery.com
— MICHELLE JONES, FOR THE TENNESSEAN.
July 26, 2009
For Twist, it's three years and counting
Twist Art Gallery is opening shows in both its Arcade spaces during next Saturday's Art Crawl: paintings by Angela Burks in 73 and Love Letters to the Post Office, a collection of postcards created and sent to the gallery in an effort to save the Arcade post office, in 58. Twist is also celebrating its third anniversary from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday.
"There will definitely be cake," says Twist co-owner Beth Gilmore, along with Eastern Block performing downstairs and a limited edition third anniversary poster.
Designed by Laura Baisden, the poster features the familiar pink and green color scheme and "elephant" from Twist's logo. Embracing the elephant is just one example of how Gilmore and partner in art Caroline Carlisle have gone with the flow when it comes to their gallery.
After being introduced by mutual friend Lain York from Zeitgeist Gallery, Gilmore and Carlisle decided on their Arcade space a week or so later, becoming the second of two galleries there. Their name came from lists each compiled.
"I was just thinking it needs to be an action word and it needs to be short," Gilmore says. She also liked the symmetry of "twist." Andee Rudloff and Stacey Irwin designed the logo. "It's twist ties," Gilmore explains. "It does look like an elephant and we have come to love that."
They also love shows that completely transform their spaces. Lauren Kussro's 2007 installation of paper flowers suspended from the ceiling remains one of Carlisle's favorites. Gilmore remembers the Whole Milk show, also from 2007, featuring four Minneapolis-based artists who also created a 30-foot-by-80-foot mural on a wall between the Viridian condo high-rise and Downtown Presbyterian Church.
"This has really been a nice creative break," Carlisle says. She says low rent in the Arcade allows them to focus on more than being a commercial venture. "It's nice when we sell things and we hope to sell things, but it's not the whole reason we exist."
Love Letters to the Post Office in Twist 58 and Angela Burks' paintings at Twist 73 remain on view through Aug. 29 in the Arcade. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission fee. For information, call 888-535-5286 or go to http://www.twistartgallery.com">www.twistartgallery.com
— MICHELLE JONES, FOR THE TENNESSEAN.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Nashville Public Radio: The Arts Economy – A Tale of Two Galleries (transcript)
http://wpln.org/?p=9697
http://wpln.org/news/mp3-2009/two-galleries_072309.mp3
The Arts Economy – A Tale of Two Galleries (transcript)
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
By Joe Nolan
As the economic recession continues, the always-risky art business has proved particularly vulnerable. In January, art sales were down by half at the Christies and Sotheby’s auction houses in New York. Here in Nashville, WPLN’s Joe Nolan reports on the fortunes of two local galleries trying to attract the difficult art dollar.
Audio for this feature is available here.
(SOUND: Twist Gallery)
In downtown Nashville, the 106 year old Arcade building has become the epicenter of the city’s latest art scene. The first Saturday of every month, art fans head downtown for a Gallery Crawl, visiting the fourteen art spaces that call the Arcade and Nashville’s 5th Avenue of the Arts home.
Twist Gallery was one of the first venues to help transform the mostly-vacant Arcade, and was one of a handful of galleries that participated in the inaugural Art Crawl.
CARLISLE: “I’m Caroline Carlisle with Twist Art Gallery and we’re standing in the front room of Twist…”
The storefront gallery at Twist is displaying a show of drawings by two artists from Atlanta’s Beep Beep Gallery. Jason R. Butcher’s odd-ball narratives feature characters like a man whose his inner-child’s arms and legs are growing out of his chest. The exhibit spills into the gallery’s back room where an inventory of small retail items helps to pay the rent for Twist’s more challenging shows.
CARLISLE: “….handmade items, artist created things, t-shirts, vinyl record bowls, note cards, handmade bags and whatnot, all priced below $250. It could go from $3 on up, but we try to keep things affordable for people.”
By executing this one-two punch of challenging programming and savvy retail, Carlisle says Twist is effectively weathering a current dip in sales.
CARLISLE: “I would say we’ve seen a little bit of a slow down this year. The funny thing is we’ve seen more people in the gallery – less sales.”
Despite lean times, Twist has added an additional gallery on the Arcade’s upper level, adding to its space in the real world while it simultaneously increase their reach online.
CARLISLE: “We just recently added several features that we’re excited about. One is our shop button that takes you to our Etsy shop. I’ll click on that now.”
Etsy.com is an Internet bazaar where the gallery can sell their artist’s work online. Twist also employs a blog, social networking profiles and Twitter to carry their exhibits beyond the gallery’s walls extending the Twist brand well beyond the Arcade.
CARLISLE: “That’s just how you do it now. You can’t just have a website or just have a blog or you can’t just have a physical bricks and mortar space. We haven’t quite figured out what it is, but I think we’re trying to and I think that’s the next step.”
Another gallery contemplating its next step is only 6 blocks from the Arcade. Although the two galleries are within walking distance from one another, Ruby Green has a different, longer story to tell, one that can sometimes feel a world away from the Avenue of the Arts that Ruby Green also calls home.
CAMPBELL: “I am Chris Campbell and I’m the founding director of Ruby Green, and this is what we call the main gallery. We have divided our entire gallery space into 5 working artist studios. We’re just trying to survive and pay our bills right now.”
The studios recall the venue’s roots as a collection of ramshackle artist spaces that Campbell transformed into a non-profit art gallery in 1998. Ruby Green quickly became known as one of the largest, most engaging art gallery spaces in Nashville. The gallery’s art-for-art’s-sake programming offered challenging installations, video art and experimental live music.
(SOUND OF EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC)
The interest generated by bands like German Castro as well as the gallery’s well-attended exhibits paid off in 2005 when the Andy Warhol Foundation recognized the gallery’s achievements.
CAMPBELL: “It was one of the best things that’s ever happened to I think Nashville’s contemporary art scene personally, because we’re in the books. We’re in the history.”
The Foundation provided Ruby Green with $135,000 dollars, allowing the gallery to hire some of its loyal volunteers.
CAMPBELL: “So for a few years we had paid employees and we were able to reach out and do a lot more and serve a lot more artists. But like all non-profits you still always have to cover all of your operating costs. It’s very rare to get money that’s going to go just for rent and electricity.”
Today at Ruby Green, the main gallery has come full circle. The newly-erected walls fill the formerly spacious room, and the artist studios are linked by a common hallway. Although this latest effort is creating income for the space, the gallery is facing greater challenges.
Campbell worries that possible downtown development plans for green spaces and new Convention Center parking may mean the end of the building that is the gallery’s ten-year old home, forcing Ruby Green to find a new venue even further removed from 5th Avenue and a Gallery Crawl that they already feel a world away from.
CAMPBELL: “I was told that 5th Avenue of the arts is a big elephant and that they can only eat a bite at a time and they’re starting up at TPAC so, you know, we’re at the end of the elephant. The other end (laughs).”
As of the airing of this report, the doors were locked at Ruby Green. The gallery has put in a 30 days notice with their landlord and will be leaving their space to search for a new home in the coming weeks.
For Nashville public radio, I’m Joe Nolan.
http://wpln.org/news/mp3-2009/two-galleries_072309.mp3
The Arts Economy – A Tale of Two Galleries (transcript)
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
By Joe Nolan
As the economic recession continues, the always-risky art business has proved particularly vulnerable. In January, art sales were down by half at the Christies and Sotheby’s auction houses in New York. Here in Nashville, WPLN’s Joe Nolan reports on the fortunes of two local galleries trying to attract the difficult art dollar.
Audio for this feature is available here.
(SOUND: Twist Gallery)
In downtown Nashville, the 106 year old Arcade building has become the epicenter of the city’s latest art scene. The first Saturday of every month, art fans head downtown for a Gallery Crawl, visiting the fourteen art spaces that call the Arcade and Nashville’s 5th Avenue of the Arts home.
Twist Gallery was one of the first venues to help transform the mostly-vacant Arcade, and was one of a handful of galleries that participated in the inaugural Art Crawl.
CARLISLE: “I’m Caroline Carlisle with Twist Art Gallery and we’re standing in the front room of Twist…”
The storefront gallery at Twist is displaying a show of drawings by two artists from Atlanta’s Beep Beep Gallery. Jason R. Butcher’s odd-ball narratives feature characters like a man whose his inner-child’s arms and legs are growing out of his chest. The exhibit spills into the gallery’s back room where an inventory of small retail items helps to pay the rent for Twist’s more challenging shows.
CARLISLE: “….handmade items, artist created things, t-shirts, vinyl record bowls, note cards, handmade bags and whatnot, all priced below $250. It could go from $3 on up, but we try to keep things affordable for people.”
By executing this one-two punch of challenging programming and savvy retail, Carlisle says Twist is effectively weathering a current dip in sales.
CARLISLE: “I would say we’ve seen a little bit of a slow down this year. The funny thing is we’ve seen more people in the gallery – less sales.”
Despite lean times, Twist has added an additional gallery on the Arcade’s upper level, adding to its space in the real world while it simultaneously increase their reach online.
CARLISLE: “We just recently added several features that we’re excited about. One is our shop button that takes you to our Etsy shop. I’ll click on that now.”
Etsy.com is an Internet bazaar where the gallery can sell their artist’s work online. Twist also employs a blog, social networking profiles and Twitter to carry their exhibits beyond the gallery’s walls extending the Twist brand well beyond the Arcade.
CARLISLE: “That’s just how you do it now. You can’t just have a website or just have a blog or you can’t just have a physical bricks and mortar space. We haven’t quite figured out what it is, but I think we’re trying to and I think that’s the next step.”
Another gallery contemplating its next step is only 6 blocks from the Arcade. Although the two galleries are within walking distance from one another, Ruby Green has a different, longer story to tell, one that can sometimes feel a world away from the Avenue of the Arts that Ruby Green also calls home.
CAMPBELL: “I am Chris Campbell and I’m the founding director of Ruby Green, and this is what we call the main gallery. We have divided our entire gallery space into 5 working artist studios. We’re just trying to survive and pay our bills right now.”
The studios recall the venue’s roots as a collection of ramshackle artist spaces that Campbell transformed into a non-profit art gallery in 1998. Ruby Green quickly became known as one of the largest, most engaging art gallery spaces in Nashville. The gallery’s art-for-art’s-sake programming offered challenging installations, video art and experimental live music.
(SOUND OF EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC)
The interest generated by bands like German Castro as well as the gallery’s well-attended exhibits paid off in 2005 when the Andy Warhol Foundation recognized the gallery’s achievements.
CAMPBELL: “It was one of the best things that’s ever happened to I think Nashville’s contemporary art scene personally, because we’re in the books. We’re in the history.”
The Foundation provided Ruby Green with $135,000 dollars, allowing the gallery to hire some of its loyal volunteers.
CAMPBELL: “So for a few years we had paid employees and we were able to reach out and do a lot more and serve a lot more artists. But like all non-profits you still always have to cover all of your operating costs. It’s very rare to get money that’s going to go just for rent and electricity.”
Today at Ruby Green, the main gallery has come full circle. The newly-erected walls fill the formerly spacious room, and the artist studios are linked by a common hallway. Although this latest effort is creating income for the space, the gallery is facing greater challenges.
Campbell worries that possible downtown development plans for green spaces and new Convention Center parking may mean the end of the building that is the gallery’s ten-year old home, forcing Ruby Green to find a new venue even further removed from 5th Avenue and a Gallery Crawl that they already feel a world away from.
CAMPBELL: “I was told that 5th Avenue of the arts is a big elephant and that they can only eat a bite at a time and they’re starting up at TPAC so, you know, we’re at the end of the elephant. The other end (laughs).”
As of the airing of this report, the doors were locked at Ruby Green. The gallery has put in a 30 days notice with their landlord and will be leaving their space to search for a new home in the coming weeks.
For Nashville public radio, I’m Joe Nolan.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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