Building the future of the Arts in Carrboro public meeting tonight!

Building the future of the Arts in Carrboro: Public meeting this Thursday, Jan. 16th
6:00pm at The Century Center

Join us this Thursday, January 16th at 6:00pm at The Century Center to discuss the development of the Arts in Carrboro and the planning of our future Arts District. This meeting is free and open to the public. Come with feedback, questions, ideas, or simply to listen and learn. Public involvement is what drives this process. Come out and get involved in the future of Carrboro!

Letterman Top 10 Reasons I Haven't Posted in 6 Months

10) I am dead
9) Cat got my tongue
8) Left my heart in San Francisco
7) The NSA took over my computer
6) Incarcerated for smuggling drugs into Mexico
5) On a tour with Pussy Riot
4) Lost my pencil
3) Captured by Klingons
2) Took a vow of silence

and the 1) Reason I Haven't Posted in 6 Months

1) Joined a nunnery

Big news about the 2013 Carrboro Film Fest Nov 23-24, 2013

From Nic Berry, co-creator, along with Jackie Helvey, of the Carrboro Film Festval:

I want to let you know that this year we have some pretty major changes to the festival and to let you know that because you have submitted in the past, this year, every film you submit will be free!  That's right, no submission fee for you.  Just write the magic word in the waiver section of the submission form, which is…INCREDIBLE.

Go here to submit - https://secure.jotformpro.com/form/31832888047968 and go here for submission rules - http://carrborofilmfestival.com/submit13.shtml

Now, about those big changes our festival has made:

1. The Carrboro Film Festival now accepts films of any length, from one second to three hours.
2. The Carrboro Film Festival is now a two day fest, with more films, more parties and free workshops
3. The Carrboro Film Festival only accepts online submissions now.  No more mailing us a VHS or DVD. (We accept online screeners with or without passwords on youtube or vimeo)
4. The Carrboro Film Festival will now be held at our original location, The Century Center AND The Artscenter a few blocks down the road.
5. If your film is accepted, we will request a h.264 Quicktime, highest resolution you have.
6. And oh yes, The Carrboro Film Festival now accepts film from ANYWHERE.  We are now international. We will still be North Carolina-centric,  but we want to share films that are Independent, Edgy and Incredible from the world over.
7. Submissions of any length are only ten bucks. (But again, if you submitted in the past, you are free)
8. This year, we have teamed up with Our State Magazine for a special short Documentary competition. If you have a doc about NC, visit http://www.ourstate.com/documentary-film-contest/ for full details. 

We hope to see your film(s) and look forward to seeing you November 23-24, 2013 in Carrboro, NC!

Cheers, Nic

The Raleigh-NCSU Q-Art Code Project

Here's how Raleigh and NCSU Design describe their interesting public art project: 

The City of Raleigh Arts Commission has partnered with the students and staff of the NC State College of Design Advanced Media Lab to create a mobile media showcase of 12 public artworks in the City’s public art collection. The Q-Art Code project will allow the City to raise the public’s awareness about the impact of public art and its cultural contributions to the City of Raleigh.

It only includes 12 public art pieces but perhaps they'll add more to the map even if they are unable to include videos of the pieces. Still, it's an interesting introduction to Raleigh's public art and some of our best public artists within the state.

Garden Sculpture Invitational, today Sunday May 5 and Saturday May 11

Karen and I rode out to the 19th annual garden exhibit of the Garden Art Gallery west of Chapel Hill at 1902 Borland Rd, Hillsborough, NC. (Note: Arthur Minnis Road is closed so check ahead at the website or follow the signs to find the garden.) It was a beautiful cool day, the garden is wonderful and we saw some really terrific art. Highly recommended!

I'm posting some of Karen and my favorites here but all the 12 artists are very talented and the quality is high across the board. Still I'll say without reservation that William Moore blew me away with a range of pieces. Here's one.

William Moore (I forgot to write down the title)

I also was quite taken with Edwin White's work.

Edwin White, Look Closer

Edwin White, Perfect for Each Other

Tinka Jordy had a wide range of pieces including a number of totems.

Tinka Jordy, Blue Figure Totem 

Here's a Susan Moffat piece.

Susan Moffat, A Million Years a Foot

Finally a couple of pieces by that famous artist known as I Didn't Write Down the Info.