Ekphrasis XII 2023 Online Exhibition
Afterword
Afterword
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Ekphrasis is a Greek word meaning "Art Describing Other Art." Ekphrasis XII continues the tradition of an annual collaboration between the Artists' Co-op of Mendocino and the Writers of the Mendocino Coast.
Special Ekphrasis Events This year’s public events Ekphrasis XII 2023 will include a one month gallery exhibition, an online exhibition, a near traditional Second Saturday reception, and a public reading by the authors with slide show of the related art. What you want to know: 1. This Ekphrasis XII 2023 Online Exhibition features all participants and, beginning Oct 4, is accessible indefinitely on the Co-op website. Submit corrections and comments to add through November 30, 2023 using the contact form at the bottom of any page. Bookmark this link or go to the Co-op website and click on the "Exhibitions" pull down menu. Look for Ekphrasis XII. You will notice that previous years' Ekphrasis exhibits are still available in case you want to revisit yesteryear. 2. An October Gallery Exhibition, just like the old days, is installed to enjoy first hand Oct 4th through 30th, at the Artists’ Co-op Gallery. Writings are framed and paired with their respective art. QR codes provide quick connections to online pages. The gallery is located at the corner of Kasten and Albion Streets in Mendocino. Participants will be able to discover and contact their "partners" prior to Second Saturday to plan best time to meet each other. 3. Readings by the Ekphrasis authors with a slideshow projection of the respective art. This is scheduled for Sunday October 15th at 3PM in person at the Mendocino Community Center on School St. or by Zoom. For details go to the Writers' Club website: www.WritersMendocinoCoast.org Important Links
ARTISTS' CO-OP OF MENDOCINO home page www.artcoopmendocino.com On the home page, view a slide show, connect to a monthly gallery sampler, and link to other features, including other exhibits, calendar of events, newsletter, social media and Artists' individual pages with artist contact capability. WRITERS OF THE MENDOCINO COAST home page WritersMendocinoCoast.org Find out about the many activities sponsored by the club and how to become a member. Meetings on ZOOM are open to the public: the third Sunday each month at 3PM (see below of this year's Ekphrasis readings). Benefits of membership, include fellowship with other coast writers, leadership opportunities, monthly meetings with featured presentations, participation through public readings, member updates, classes and workshops, access to writer resources, the annual anthology, archived documents, publishing opportunities, and special events, such as the SmatchUp and, of course, Ekphrasis! Three Ways to Enjoy Ekphrasis: the October gallery exhibition, an online exhibition indefinitely, and live readings by the authors on Zoom (with a slide show) seems to be a winning combo!
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Brief History
In Spring 2012 Karen Reynolds (Artists' Co-op member) had an idea about a collaboration between artists and writers. Through a conversation with Doug Fortier (then President, Writers of the Mendocino Coast) a proposal emerged. Enthusiastic approval by the respective Boards, and we had a plan for action. Writer Susan Bono's suggestion of "Ekphrasis" gave it a name. Ekphrasis I, Art Describing Other Art, involved 16 pairs of artists and writers, and culminated in October with an exhibition, grand reception, and readings with an accompanying slide show. The annual event soon grew to 20 participant pairs, and format details have evolved over time. In 2020 we CoViD19-adapted to avoid large groups by introducing a Virtual (online) Exhibition on the Co-op website and presenting readings with the slide show in the Writers' Club Zoom meeting. In 2021 the gallery exhibition in October was reinstated but without a large crowd reception and QRcodes were posted throughout the gallery to provide access to additional artists' work that you can take with you on your smart phone. This year, by popular demand, "Art Describing Other Art" continues with a new online exhibition and a special presentation of Readings with hybrid Zoom. Ekphrasis Participants
Participating writers (20 this year) are members of the Writers of the Mendocino Coast. Participating visual artists (20 this year) are members of the Artists' Co-op of Mendocino with an additional four guest artists invited from the local community. Logistics Calendar March: The coordinators call for participants within their organizations and gather signups for initiators and responders. Artist initiators and writer initiators are tasked with preparing and submitting works for responders by July. July: Writers and artists are paired randomly and anonymously so that writer responders receive art from artist initiators and art responders receive writings from writer initiators. Identifications are not disclosed in order to prevent interactions between members of a pair. September: All work by responding writers and responding artists is due and submitted to the respective coordinators. October: Culminating events are organized and carried out. The online exhibition can be accessed on the Co-op website from Oct. 54onward. The gallery exhibition is installed and ready for visitors Thursday Oct. 5 through Monday Oct. 30. Public readings with an associated slide show are presented at the Writers' Club meeting on Sunday Oct. 15, 3PM. Get information on the Writers' website. In addition a small display of previous years' Ekphrasis art is mounted on the wall behind the gallery desk. 
Partner meet-ups: To avoid the "timing separation" syndrome, each artist/writer collaborating pair is provided email addresses ahead of Second Saturday in order to plan best times for face to face connections and the opportunity to share their individual experiences. 
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Appreciation and Acknowledgements
Ekphrasis XII involved commitments by many individuals over the course of eight months, from March through October 2020. The primary set of “Thank You’s,” of course, goes to all the participating writers and visual artists for their inspired works, both initiating and responding. The entirety of your talents is awesome and lives on in this online exhibition. In addition, we acknowledge specific contributions made by key individuals who were critical to the success of this year’s Ekphrasis: Nona Smith, coordinator for writer signups and submissions (March, July, September). Susan Lundgren WMC President and Christine Anderson assistant to the WMC Ekphrasis coordinator: contributing to record keeping, Second Saturday arrangements and assistance in facilitating the Writers' public readings in October. Notty Bumbo produced the slide show to support the Oct. 15th Readings by the Authors. Lynne Zickerman Olson, curator of the ACM Gallery display of representative art (October) and coordinator for Ekphrasis PR in the public media (September, October). Distribution of posters in Mendocino and vicinity.. Maralee Greene: distribution of posters in Ft. Bragg. Debra Lennox: ArtNotes editor, social media coordinator. Laura Corben and Sharon Garner: Press release and poster design, respectively. Karen E. Reynolds: coordinator for artist signups and submissions, curator of this Ekphrasis Online Exhibition, which is posted here on the Artists’ Co-op of Mendocino website and accessible 24/7 indefinitely beginning October 4, 2022. Members of both organizations, return visitors and friends: ongoing reviews, critiques, formal and informal recommendations. Boards of the respective organizations, Artists’ Co-op of Mendocino and Writers of the Mendocino Coast: appreciated for active ongoing input and support. |
