Celebration of heritage – in the traditional arts and crafts – is not one to be doubted, especially with increasing awareness in revival realisations happening to preserve our arts. Yet, while consciousness and loud calls prevail in saving the art of handmade crafts, the ground realities of actual conservation do not appear so rosy or conducive for taking forward on a significant scale. The question then arises: are we staring at a scenario of disappearing heritage?

Majestic and inviting. 
| Photo Credit:
Madhurya

Sensitive to this situation, the Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID), Bangalore Regional Chapter, along with Sri Sri Rural Development Program, recently hosted a conversation on heritage and its conservation through possible uses in contemporary built spaces.

The discussion began on the note of traditional crafts increasingly failing to be passed down generations as was done in the past, with the arts and crafts losing the core fabric of the intricate skills imparted and learnt over a lengthy period.

For a beautiful view 
| Photo Credit:
Madhurya

While this scenario was sought to be circumvented by starting of specific skill centres geared to impart this skilling and knowledge to those choosing to enter this segment, the challenges of incorporating the traditional arts and crafts on a large scale into contemporary interiors was brought to the fore, as “a significant market is the basis for any art or craft to survive and flourish.”

Commenting on this, Architect Prathima Seethur of Wright Inspires stated, “The chief issue here is the limited awareness, starting from children to adults, on the extent of skill-sets, traditional elements and heritage our country harbours. This is the case in also the eagerness to imbibe the same into the lifestyle.”

A stylish message on the wall. 
| Photo Credit:
Madhurya

She said, it is important to enable our future generation to appreciate as well as adapt these into their lifestyle. “Besides, skilling should go beyond the fabric of being passed down generations to keep the heritage alive.”

Finding the market

For any skill to thrive there needs to be a market, to ensure the artisan has enough to subsist if the traditional art or craft is chosen as the livelihood, opined Architect Shruti Vedavyas of Jaisim Fountainhead. “The contemporary scene throws up requirements that are totally different from the scene existing in the past. To be able to incorporate traditional arts into a contemporary interior, innovation is the key where the technique or craft can be used in varied applications as against its traditional use. This way the core skill-sets will be preserved, yet opening more avenues and larger market for these products.”

She pointed to the application of the handmade Athangudi tiles which were ubiquitous in the erstwhile mansions of Karaikudi. “These can still be used as a highlight on a wall, as an accent on the floor, possibly infused as a tile into a table instead of merely looking at its application as flooring material.

Such innovation would address the business component and possibility of a lucrative market for the craft to survive, she elaborated.

Quality and delivery challenges

Yet another challenge that looms large is the quality of the product delivered when the skilling is not complete and equally so the possibilities of continuous supply for a large scale usage as the products are essentially handmade.

Negating this was Architect Indrajit Kembhavi of Kembhavi Architecture Foundation. “Skilling will play a major role and also tilt the balance in terms of commercial benefits received as well as respect for these skilled professions, resulting in better supply. Skilful and appropriate marketing and promotion of these products again will go a long way in altering the scene. Strong control over quality, supply and delivery would again permit larger global exposure to scale up going forward,” he stated.

Addressing the mindset

Any change or even commitment to revive requires a specific mindset. Architect Senthil Kumar Doss of Play Architecture pointed to this mindset, stating that currently addressing heritage is only at the surface level. “The integrity practsced in the past needs to be revisited and learnt. In the traditional structures there was a continuous relationship through the entire process executed unlike the surface-level address that is done now. A shift to a deeper platform would broaden the influence and when work has depth, longer sustenance need not be doubted.”

Key plank of sustainability

Pointing out that the average age of a working and practising weaver of the famous Kanchipuram silk sarees is close to 60 and with younger generation reluctant to learn the skills or take up the profession due to lack of a lucrative market or steady income, Bharathy Harish, Director, Madhurya Creations, a heritage revival boutique, stated that unless the market is made sustainable, it is going to be a struggle going forward. “Social media has helped immensely to create awareness as well as bring in information on heritage crafts, arts and weaves which was lacking earlier. Yet, the knowledge of the diverse heritage and skills available in the country is still extensively small and inadequate.”

According to Bharathy, if it became a habit or strong inclination for public to study further on the information available on social media, this would help increase the awareness and desire to bring in the arts and crafts in a small measure into the household in varied forms. “This would make a significant difference,” she says. This calls for a change in the mindset, where heritage is not perceived as expensive but going back to the roots. It would help inculcate and appreciate the heritage forms to preserve them in whatever form, be it handmade wall and floor tiles, exquisite wooden furniture or craftwork, paintings on cushions, silk weaves as wall play or upholstery, carved furniture or pillars in interiors. “The awareness of handmade art, their availability, and marketability will all then fall in line,” she says.

PLATTSBURGH — Nearly 900 SUNY Plattsburgh students are eligible to walk at spring commencement being held in three separate ceremonies at the Field House Saturday, May 20, beginning with the School of Education, Health and Human Service grads at 9 a.m.

Graduates from the School of Business and Economics will walk at noon, while students in the School of Arts and Sciences will walk at the ceremony starting at 3 p.m.

Student speakers Saran Kaba, communication sciences and disorders major from Guinea, West Africa, and the Bronx, Pilar Balader Herrero, a marketing and art dual major from Las Palmas, Spain, and Malika Saleem, a biomedical sciences major from Port Henry, N.Y., will address their classmates at the 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. ceremonies, respectively.

SARAN KABA

Kaba, who holds a minor in psychology, has lived a life of service at SUNY Plattsburgh and beyond, working as a summer tutor counselor with the Educational Opportunity Program and as an AmeriCorp Program counselor at Camp DREAM. In addition, she has served as vice president and senator with the Student Association and president of the Muslim Student Association and secretary of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association Plattsburgh Chapter.

The Honors Program student is the recipient of several awards, including the Lynne White Scheider Scholarship, James Augustus Wilson Scholarship, Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for EOP Student Excellence, and an Applied Learning Grant. She plans to attend SUNY Plattsburgh in the fall for her master’s degree in communication science and disorders.

PILAR BALADER HERRERO

Herrero, who was born in Gran Canaria, a small Spanish island off the coast of Morocco, has been active on campus with the SUNY Plattsburgh chapter of the American Marketing Association, serving first as its chief marketing officer and then its president. In addition, she is the coordinator of arts for the Student Association, serving as chair of the Arts Acquisition Board where she managed a $10,000 budget for SA art purchases, and served as marketing student representative of the School of Business and Economics.

Herrero plans to attend grad school and become a graphic designer following commencement.

MALIKA SALEEM

Saleem who minored in chemistry, has served as public relations officer for the Pre-Med/Pre-Health Association, is a founding member of LST, a peer mentor for the Honors Program, and has partnered with Dr. Nana Ankrah, assistant professor in biological sciences, for independent research.

She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Sudds and Munk Outstanding Senior Award, Philip Walker Undergraduate Research Award in Biology, the Dr. Robert A. Casero Jr. Scholarship, Redcay Honors Scholarship, the Applied Learning Grant for Research, and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, among other honors.

Saleem plans to attend optometry school after graduation.

BAGPIPE BAND

During commencement, in addition to a welcome from President Alexander Enyedi and conferring of degrees, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Bagpipe Band will be on hand to lead faculty and distinguished platform guests to and from the gymnasium, performing the traditional and regal “Scotland the Brave” and “The Rowan Tree.”

Carrying the ceremonial mace, an honor bestowed upon senior members of the faculty and staff, will be Jackie Vogl, director and associate vice president of global education, at the 9 a.m. and Dr. Mohamed Gaber, distinguished service professor of accounting, at both the noon and 3 p.m. ceremonies.

Speaking on behalf of the Plattsburgh Alumni Association will be Matthew Veitch ‘94, association first vice president, who will welcome the new graduates into the fold.

All three ceremonies will be accessible via livestream the day of commencement at: https://www.plattsburgh.edu/plattslife/commencement/livestream.html.

The Starr Family Home State historical site will once again host the HeART of Marshall art exhibit event this Saturday, featuring a wide range of art from local artists of all ages, including two featured artists.

Mileah Lorenz and Patty Lovelace will have a joint art display during the event in the Blake House, where the building will be broken into four sections with art representing the four seasons on display in each room.

Rachel Driskill with the Starr Home organized the event, stating that she was thrilled to bring Lorenz and Lovelace together for the show.

“They use multiple mediums to create their one-of-a-kind works of art, bringing their unique perspectives to life through stunning pieces that will mesmerize you with their use of color, texture and depth,” Driskill said.

Both Lorenz and Lovelace credited Driskill with bringing the two together, and creating and organizing the art work and the entire event.

“Rachel truly has an eye for it, she is so talented, she see’s all of the little details and really brings everything together,” Lovelace said.

Driskill said that along with Lovelace and Lorenz’s display in the Blake House, the exhibit will also feature a range of work from other artists in the area.

She said that historical art and photography by local artist Barbara Tyler will be displayed in the Maplecroft mansion itself, along with work from Trinity Episcopal School students, which will be displayed on the North Lawn.

“In addition to showcasing the incredible talent of East artists, the HeART of Marshall art exhibit at Starr Family Home State Historic Site will also feature a unique and personal aspect — art of family history,” Driskill said, “Using multiple mediums, and stunning artifacts, the Starr Family Home paints narrative art that tell the stories of their own families and ancestors. These pieces are both visually stunning and emotionally powerful, offering a glimpse into the lives and histories of the people who have shaped our community.”

Featured Artists

One of the motivations for bringing the two artists Lovelace and Lorenz together for the featured art showcase this weekend was how their art and experience compare and contract with each other, according to Driskill.

Lorenz is a self taught artist who began sketching for her job in marketing about a year ago. She said that a request to draw a portrait for a client lead her to trying more and more complicated sketches until she reached her hyper realistic style of art on display this weekend.

“I just wanted to try to do different types of drawings, and I really feel satisfied when I am able to get a sketch to look so realistic people are unsure if it’s a photo or not,” Lorenz said.

Lovelace began her artistic journey six years ago, taking every opportunity in that time to learn more about different artistic mediums and honing her skills.

“When I first got back into painting I went all in, I attended every art class I could, every work shop, and I joined every group I could,” Lovelace said.

This is Lorenz’s first time having her artwork on display in a showcase, with Lovelace working in a number of arts organizations across the Marshall and Harrison County areas for the last few years and participating in a number of shows.

“She is almost exactly where I was just a few years ago, so it’s great to see her grow and to get to see all of the things that she (Lorenz) is going to accomplish,” Lovelace said.

The two also work in very different mediums, with Lovelace’s work focused on pastels and oil paint, with some work also done in water colors and mixed medium combining the three. In contrast, Lorenz does a lot of work with pencil and colored pencil sketching, while also working in embroidery and graphite.

The event is planned for Saturday, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Starr Family Home state historical site. The event is free and open to the public to attend.

“This is a can’t-miss event for anyone who appreciates creativity, culture, and the rich history of our community,” Driskill said, “Come experience the HeART of Marshall and the artists who have brought their unique perspectives to life through their work, both as a celebration of their talent and a tribute to the enduring legacy of East Texas.”

On May 11th, people from around the state convened in Orlando for the 25th annual conference of the Florida Association of Public Art Professionals. Formed in 1998, this organization, which goes by the acronym FAPAP, has been working to elevate the character and quality of public art in cities, towns and communities across Florida. FAPAP President Oaklianna Caraballo explains.

“The FAPAP organization is a wonderful resource for public art administrators, for public artists, for periphery fields – our conservators, our fabricators, our elected officials. In part, our mission is education. So we come together in our annual conference. We share ideas. We help each other. We have the same concerns, the same values, we’re doing the same jobs, but our colleagues happen to be a city over, a town over, a county over. So coming together to really elevate the quality of art and administration is really important.”

In 2001, host city Orlando did not even have a public art program. Today it’s a model that other cities aspire to emulate. According to Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs Administrator Terry Olson, FAPAP played an instrumental role in giving him the tools he needed to build his program from scratch.

“When I started my position in 2001 with Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs – I was hired to create that office – I didn’t know that much about public art,” Terry recounts. “So the first thing I wanted to do was go to the statewide association conference, where I met other people. I could ask questions. I learned a lot. And that helped me shape our program, which was just being developed, since it hadn’t existed before, into one that used best practices as opposed to whatever process we could figure out.”

While many locals take the sculptures and murals they see for granted, public artworks are typically the first thing that travelers, notice when they arrive in airports or at downtown destinations. It is no coincidence that the biggest and most impressive public art collections in Florida are maintained by tourist meccas like Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa-St. Pete and Orlando. That realization motivates Executive Director of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts Elizabeth Young in her tenacious effort to build her program into a statewide leader.

“Now that I’ve been coming to conferences for 15 years and working with my other colleagues from around the state, I look at public art differently no matter where I am in the United States or out of the country,” says Liz. “In Florida I think about our public art projects that are seen by people from all over the world because so many people visit Florida.”

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Special to WGCU

Just as “The Bean” has become synonymous with Chicago, many tourists associate Tampa with the 21-foot flamingo sculpture at Tampa International Airport and Miami with Michele Oka Doner’s mile-and-a-quarter long bronze and terrazzo concourse, A Walk on the Beach, at Miami International Airport.

But residents have also come to adopt the artwork in their communities as their brand, such as John Henry’s sculptural installation, Alachua, on the campus of the University of Florida. When it was installed, that piece was actually ridiculed by students and faculty alike. Today it is revered, as FAPAP President Oaklianna Caraballo notes.

“It really is iconic. It’s a symbol of our university. It shows up on websites, in fliers, and it really is beloved by the community now despite its rocky beginnings.”

Going forward, expect to see larger and more whimsical pieces. According to a survey taken by FAPAP, that’s what the general public tends to favor most.

Second, expect to find more art in local neighborhoods and communities. Here’s Liz Young with the rationale:

“I think the trend is accessibility and I think the trend is diversity in our art world, and that we are moving more into communities than we ever have. That art is, like we heard actually today, one of our speakers talked about museums without walls. Art is not just for someone who can pay the entrance fee and go into a museum and view art. Our art is on our streets and in our squares and in our parks and in our government buildings more and more.”

Finally, expect to see much more technology built into public art in the future. Oaklianna Caraballo makes this observation:

“It’s an exciting moment when we see technologies really delving into the digital world. It’s a way to connect with our younger generation. We learned about Web3 and NFTs and most importantly ways that institutions are incorporating these new technologies into art.”

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Whatever its size, color, shape or location, public art is most about improving our overall enjoyment of, and connection, to our lived-in environment. On this topic, Terry Olson gets the last word:

“Public art adds quality to our lives. It gives variety, brings beauty. These are things that are necessary for the human soul.

MORE INFORMATION:

• In addition to serving as President of the Florida Association of Public Art Professionals, Oaklianna Caraballo is the Art in State Buildings Specialist for the University of Florida in Gainesville. House in the College of Arts, the administration of the Art in State Buildings Program at UF focuses on the mission of being part of a transformative community, responding to and generating paradigmatic shifts in the arts and beyond. 
• The public art program at the University of Florida seeks to participate in the ever-evolving field of contemporary public art discourse with a focus on advancing the field for both artists and institutions. 
• Oaklianna Caraballo received her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and her masters degree in Museology from the University of Florida. She has been a member of the Florida Association of Public Art Professionals since 2006 and has been a FAPAP Board member since 2009. 
• With a background in theatre and the visual arts, Terry Olson has headed the Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs office since 2001 and has overseen the development of its public art program. In that capacity, he has developed several audience awareness campaigns such as the “Public Art Treasure Cache” program. He created and is known as the “Chief Instigator” for FusionFest, an annual celebration of Central Florida’s many diverse global cultures. Terry brought the National Arts Program to Orange County and several venues in Florida, is one of the founders of the Orlando Theatre Project, the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, the Orlando International Fringe Festival, the Creative Gift Foundation and the Central Florida Performing Arts Alliance. 
• Elizabeth S. Young is the Executive Director of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts and Past President of the Florida Association of Public Art Professionals. Liz has an extensive background in both the performing and visual arts. Her experience working with non-profit organizations spans program development, board relations, fund development and marketing. She earned her B.A. in Art History and Theater from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts.  
• After spending nearly a decade in New York City as a casting director for film, television and theater, Ms. Young moved to the Florida Keys in 1987. Her professional life in the Keys includes being the business manager of Island Wellness and working in all aspects of the business of the fine art and photography gallery of Alan S. Maltz. 
• As Executive Director of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts since 2008, Liz serves all the arts, all the Keys, all the time. Recently, she was a grant panelist for the State’s Division of Cultural Affairs and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, presented at the City of Key West’s Ambassador and Leadership Monroe programs and for the Board of the Tourist Development Council. She has served as the Public Art Administrator of the City of Key West’s 1%-for-public-art program since 2017, and the County’s program since 2008.  
• Liz also co-curated the Florida Keys Sculpture Trail with Susann D’Antonio on behalf of benefactors John Padget and the late Jacob Dekker. 
• The actual name for “The Bean” in Chicago is Cloud Gate. The 100-ton sculpture’s seamless aluminum body reflects and distorts the skyline and lake in unimaginable ways.  
• Tampa International Airport’s 21-foot floor-to-ceiling flamingo was created by public artist Matthew Mazzotta as a meeting point and photo destination for tourists and locals alike. His design was chosen from more than 700 proposals. Until just a few months ago, she had no actual name. But after 37,000 votes cast in Tampa International’s “Name the Flamingo” contest, she was named Phoebe, a contraction of the flamingo’s scientific name of Phoenicopterus Roseus.    
• Michele Oka Doner’s A Walk on the Beach (1995, 1999) and its extension, A Walk on the Beach: Tropical Gardens (1996-2010) is composed of more than 9,000 bronzes embedded in terrazzo with mother-of-pearl. Oka Doner told attendees at the FAPAP annual conference that workers in the Philippines stripped the one ton of the mother-of-pearl she needed for the artwork from old buttons. 
• You can view a 7-minute film about Michele Oka Donner’s 1.25 mile-long concourse at Miami International here.  
• During the first day of the 3-day FAPAP conference, attendees viewed a survey of the most popular and best known public artworks in Florida. While no pieces from Southwest Florida were included, some of this area’s best artworks include the Jim Sanborn light sculpture known as Caloosahatchee Manuscripts that sits on the sidewalk outside the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center, David Black’s Fire Dance in Fort Myers’ Centennial Park West, two sculptures by Rochester, New York monumental artist Albert Paley (one at the Riviera-St. Tropez Condominiums in Fort Myers and the other on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University) and Mark Fuller’s Cambier Quilt in downtown Naples. 
• While Orange County Arts & Cultural Affairs Director Terry Olson finds cityscapes to be all-too-often “dehumanizing,” especially when they are huge and out-of-scale, even the smallest artworks can transform such places into creative oases. That’s precisely what happened when Orange County added a sculpture garden outside the Administration Center building. “I’ll see somebody looking at a sculpture, taking a picture of it, pointing it out to their child, reading the sign, in some way stopping and engaging. Before we put sculptures on the lawn there, it was a blank space and people just walked to get to the building like zombies. The art has caused people to stop and go ‘Oh, look at that’ or ‘Hey, did you see that’ or ‘I didn’t know that’ or ‘Look there.’” 
• Even if you’re not an art lover, public artworks engage a community, make public spaces seem more welcoming, create a deeper interaction with a place and improve the overall quality of life of both residents and workers. These are important factors to companies, talented young workers, professionals and retirees when they are looking for a place to relocate or settle. This was the conclusion of a survey conducted between 2008 and 2011 by the Knight Foundation and Gallup of 43,000 people in 26 cities about what they wanted most from their communities. To the surveyors’ surprise, the respondents stated that “the aesthetics of a place – its art, parks and green spaces” ranked higher than education, safety and the local economy as “drivers of attachment.” 

Interrelated benefits

Urban planners, economists and public art professionals have identified thirty-eight (38) interrelated benefits that are derived by the people who live, work in and visit a community from a vibrant public art program. According to these and other sources, public art: 

• boosts/strengthens civic pride; 
• enhances and defines a city’s identity; 
• reflects the unique character and history of the city; 
• burnishes the city’s image to the outside world; 
• creates an important positive impression for visitors; 
• encourages/increases tourism; 
•  enables the community to attain recognition as a regional and national leader in the visual arts; 
• symbolizes a community’s maturity; 
• expresses the vision of community leaders; 
• makes a statement about the community’s values and culture; 
• elevates the image of proximately-located corporate enterprises; 
• spurs economic development in the community; 
• creates visual and aesthetic landmarks; 
• creates positive mental images; 
• imparts a more aesthetic, cohesive visual and physical appearance; 
• enriches the public environment visually; 
•  makes the beautification of the city a matter of the highest priority; 
• enhances the climate for artistic creativity in the community; 
• brings art and art education to the entire community; 
• creates public art community partnerships linking individuals of all  races, ethnicities, age, genders, professions, and economic levels; 
• stimulates our imagination; 
• promotes excellence and diversity through a variety of artists and media; 
•  provides tangible outlets for creative ingenuity; 
• increases property values; 
• enriches the cultural climate of the city; 
• reflects and enhances the city’s  diversity, character and heritage through the integration of artworks and designs  in the architecture, infrastructure and landscape on public and private property; 
• makes a space seem more welcoming; 
• creates a deeper interaction with the place one is visiting or working in; 
• increases awareness of how surroundings impact experience; 
•  expresses shared ideals and concepts; 
• enhances the quality of life for residents and property owners; 
• adds to the visual quality of life; 
• engages the community; 
• draws people together and induces strangers to talk to each other; 
• raises the level of citizen awareness to the importance of aesthetic and intellectual experiences in everyday life; 
• promotes understanding and awareness of visual arts in the public realm; 
•  makes a commitment to future generations; and creates “human scaling” of open areas by framing the space with various forms of public art structures. 

To read more stories about the arts in Southwest Florida visit Tom Hall’s website: SWFL Art in the News.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.

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About the author

Michael Brenner is a top Content Marketing influencer, an experienced CMO and Digital Marketer with stints at brands like SAP and Nielsen and multiple high-growth startups. Today, Michael runs a fast-growing content marketing agency, Marketing Insider Group. He is also the author of The Content Formula, and Mean People Suck. When he’s not running after his 4 kids, or building effective content marketing programs. Michael enjoys sharing his experiences and client stories to inspire leaders like you to create growth and impact.

Adams Morgan PorchFest. Photograph by Albert Ting.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Take a moment to delight in the beautiful weekend weather at a PorchFest concert performance, or view a cultural parade and sample tasty bites at the Fiesta Asia Street Fair.

Best Things to Do This Weekend

1. Adams Morgan PorchFest. Don’t miss the first-ever spring edition of the Adams Morgan PorchFest. The neighborhood-wide concert lineup will host more than 70 local bands across 17 porches, patios, and stoops showing off DC’s diverse musical talent. Concertgoers can expect to jam to classic rock, funk, go-go, rap, reggae, bluegrass, classical, pop, and more during this day of nonstop music (Sat, free, Adams Morgan).
2. Fiesta Asia Street Fair. Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a cultural parade, street dancing, Pan-Asian cuisine, live music, martial arts demonstrations, and kid-friendly activities at the Fiesta Asia Street Fair representing more than 20 cultures. The event will take place on Pennsylvania Avenue between 3rd and 6th streets, Northwest (Sat, free, Capitol Hill).
3. Old Town Festival of Speed and Style. Dozens of rare and exotic cars, and vintage motorcycles will line the streets of Alexandria at the Fourth Annual Old Town Festival of Speed and Style. Car enthusiasts can see more than 100 supercars from the mid-1900s while experiencing live opera, a fashion discussion with celebrity stylist Monte Durham, and shopping  (Sun, free entry, Alexandria).
4. Preakness 148. Preakness weekend is here: Cheer on your favorite racer, and enjoy a weekend full of entertainment including indoor dining in the grandstand, guided tours of the Pimlico Race Course, and a live concert featuring headliner Bruno Mars, electronic duo Sofi Tukker, and local DJ star Quicksilva (Fri-Sat, prices vary, Baltimore).

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Want More Things to Do?

Budget-friendly. Adults only are invited to this fun library gaming night (every third Thursday, free, Woodbridge). Tune in to a 24-hour reading marathon of Edgar Allan Poe’s works (Sat-Sun, donations welcome, virtual).

Arts and culture. Cartoonist Dana Maier discusses her creative process and her new book Skip to the Fun Parts at Politics and Prose (Thurs, free, Northeast DC). World traveler Marianne Tshihamba takes you on a British tea tour at this interactive cooking class (Sat, $58, Capitol Hill). Join a discussion about Black literary arts with the Hurston/Wright Foundation (Fri, free, virtual). Bring a chair and watch Till at the National Harbor plaza (Thurs, free, National Harbor). Or, watch the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon indoors at a neighborhood library (Thurs, free, Rosedale). Author Michael Gardner and DC illustrator Nadia Fisher discuss the children’s book Daddy Dressed Me (Sat, free, MLK Library). Browse locally made candles, home decor, and art while sipping craft beer at the pet-friendly Port City Brewing Spring Makers’ Market; there’s free coloring books for the first 50 children (Sat, free, Alexandria). Meet authors and browse an array of titles at the Gaithersburg Book Festival (Sat, free, Gaithersburg). Read antiquarian books from 30 sellers at the Georgetown Rare Book Fair (Fri-Sun, free for fair, $50 for preview night, Georgetown).

Community and history. Experience Greek culture, traditional dance, and bites at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church Festival (Sat, free, Bethesda).

Theater and shows. Here There Are Blueberries is showing at Shakespeare Theatre Company (through May 28, $35+, Penn Quarter). It’s the last call to see The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield at Atlas Performing Arts Center (Thurs-Sun, $40, H Street Corridor). Scena Theatre performs a trio of Irish plays in Three by Yeats at DC Arts Center (Thurs through June 4, $40, Adams Morgan). The Washington Improv Theater demonstrates a marketing satire in their new show Not a Pyramid Scheme (Thurs through June 20, $15, Northwest DC). Attend Arena Stage’s Voices of Now Festival to see autobiographical theater works created by grade-school students and adult artists (through Sat, free, Southwest DC).

Music and concerts. There’s a SZA and Doja Cat dance party at Howard Theatre (Sat, $20+, Howard Theatre). Groove to three DJs at the Mayflower Club day party (Sun, free, Northwest DC). Country singer Hunter Hayes performs his new album The Red Sky Tour at Sixth and I (Thurs, $35+, Northwest DC). Get tickets to the Rock Creek Kings’ EP release party (Fri, $15, Wharf).

Bites and beverages. Shop gourmet treats at the DMV Chocolate and Coffee Spring Pop-Up (Sat-Sun, $12+, Chantilly). Check out the city views at Hedy’s Rooftop opening featuring a DJ, cocktails, and food (Fri, free entry, $10 bar, Northwest DC). Weekend brunch is back at Ciel Social Club; celebrate the occasion at their disco dance party or drag brunch (Sat-Sun, reservations recommended, prices vary, Downtown). Join the Black-owned Fine Wine Series of tastings (Fri-Sun, $20, various participating locations).

Things to do with kids. Watch Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on a giant outdoor screen (Sun, free, National Harbor). Or, see a screening of Moana at The Collection (Sat, free, Chevy Chase). Teens can craft jewelry, art, and vision boards at the library (Thurs, free, MLK Library). The Washington Ballet will read children’s story When Langston Dances, and teach a classic ballet lesson (Thurs, free, Cleveland Park).

Get involved. Sample cocktails and bites at The Roost in support of the National Memorial to the Women Who Worked on the Home Front Foundation (Thurs, $50, Capitol Hill).

If you enjoyed these events, please don’t forget to share this post with a friend on social media, and sign up for our newsletter for more things to do.

Briana A. Thomas is a local journalist, historian, and tour guide who specializes in the research of D.C. history and culture. She is the author of the Black history book, Black Broadway in Washington, D.C., a story that was first published in Washingtonian in 2016.

“There is a tree on my road that has been cut very strangely to accommodate a power line, and I think about that tree a lot,” says Megan Bogonovich, who envisions the otherworldly potential of human touch on the environment through playful, botanical sculptures.

Based in Norwich, Vermont, Bogonovich recognizes nature’s immense capability for adaptation and strength in seemingly inhospitable spaces. “The whole dandelion growing out of a pavement crack thing,” she says. Her works embody transformation and abundant growth, and unusual colors, shapes, and textures arise in surreal combinations. With bulbous bases, spiked protrusions, and interlocked petals, the works imagine “the batty possibilities of what could be growing in the universe or what might be the first thing to sprout up after an environmental disaster.”

Rooted in play and the “ceaseless goofiness” of reproduction, the sculptures evolve throughout a lengthy process. Bogonovich begins by hand-building small geometric and organic forms like cones, tubes, ovoids, and textured patches made with drilled holes, cuts, and everyday objects like buttons, which she then casts in plaster to make a mold. “If I cast 30 molds one day, by the next day I have a set of slip-cast tinkertoy-type parts that I can alter and bend or duplicate. It’s a lot of labored build-up to get to a point where I can work spontaneously and impulsively with a material that would otherwise want planning,” she says. 

These malleable forms are then fired and readied for glazing, a slow, meticulous process that involves several layers and bouts in the kiln at varying temperatures. “The sculptures are matte white when they first come out of the kiln. I let a lot of pieces build up before I start glazing,” Bogonovich says. “I get used to being surrounded by ghost flowers, so when the tide changes to color it feels like a big shift in the studio.” Like nature, glazing is unpredictable, and the pastel pinks, bold oranges, and mottled hues add a whimsical, playful element to the works. “I live in the woods in Vermont, and at this time of year, there is so much green. It’s nice to imagine bright yellow tree trunks or hot pink maple leaves,” she says. 

Bogonovich works with Kishka Gallery & Library, where she recently held a solo show, and has sculptures on view through May 20 at SPRING/BREAK Art Show in New York. Find more of her pieces on her site and Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Spikes, Interlocked Rings, and Bold Bulges Sprout from Megan Bogonovich’s Otherworldly Ceramic Botanicals appeared first on Colossal.

WASHINGTON (CN) — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Andy Warhol’s Prince silkscreen series violated copyright laws. 

The 7-2 ruling said the famous artist violated a photographer’s copyright when he used her photo in a work for a commemorative magazine honoring Prince. 

“Lynn Goldsmith’s original works, like those of other photographers, are entitled to copyright protection, even against famous artists,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority. 

Justice Elena Kagan — with whom Chief Justice John Roberts joined — dissented from the ruling, claiming the court found marketing decisions should outweigh those of artistic expression. 

“For in the majority’s view, copyright law’s first fair-use factor — addressing ‘the purpose and character’ of ‘the use made of a work’ — is uninterested in the distinctiveness and newness of Warhol’s portrait,” the Obama appointee wrote. “What matters under that factor, the majority says, is instead a marketing decision: In the majority’s view, Warhol’s licensing of the silkscreen to a magazine precludes fair use.” 

In the 1980s, Warhol was commissioned by Vanity Fair to create art of Prince for an article titled “Purple Fame” using of the late musician taken by celebrity photographer Lynn Goldsmith. While Goldsmith had agreed to allow the magazine to use her work, Warhol took it a step further with his 12 silkscreen paintings that became known as the Prince series. The image featured in Vanity Fair’s 1984 issue was just the tip of the iceberg for the Prince series. In the years to come, Warhol’s collection would be displayed in museums, galleries, books, and other magazines. 

The real conflict in this case came after Prince’s death in 2016. Vanity Fair reposted the 1984 “Purple Fame” article online, and Conde Nast created a commemorative magazine using the Prince series. Goldsmith claimed the Prince Series infringed on her copyright and contacted the Andy Warhol Foundation for compensation. In return, the foundation filed a declaratory judgment that the Prince series is protected as fair use. 

Photographs like Goldsmith’s are protected by the Copyright Act. Creators get exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and display their own art, however, these rights are not without exceptions. Other creators can claim fair use, and use copyrighted art without infringing on an artist’s copyright. To do this, the follow-on works are evaluated for their purpose and the character of their use.                   

The question before the justices in this case centers around the qualifications for the fair use defense. According to Warhol, the Prince series was “transformative” from Goldsmith’s original work, changing its meaning and message, and, therefore, qualifies under fair use. 

A federal judge agreed with Warhol, but the Second Circuit reversed setting up a high court battle. 

While many of the justice shared their creative preferences during arguments in October, it wasn’t clear how they might rule on the case. 

Sotomayor said the court’s only role in the dispute was to answer if the purpose and character of Warhol’s art should be considered “fair use” of Goldsmith’s photograph. 

“The first fair use factor considers whether the use of a copyrighted work has a further purpose or different character, which is a matter of degree, and the degree of difference must be balanced against the commercial nature of the use,” Sotomayor wrote. 

Sotomayor said Warhol’s Prince art in the commemorative magazine held substantially the same purpose as Goldsmith’s photo. 

“Both are portraits of Prince used in magazines to illustrate stories about Prince,” Sotomayor wrote. “Such ‘environment[s]’ are not ‘distinct and different.’” 

The majority also weighed the commercial use of Warhol’s Prince art, finding it was similar to Goldsmith’s because both were licensed to magazines. 

“Taken together, these two elements — that Goldsmith’s photograph and AWF’s 2016 licensing of Orange Prince share substantially the same purpose, and that AWF’s use of Goldsmith’s photo was of a commercial nature — counsel against fair use, absent some other justification for copying,” Sotomayor wrote. “That is, although a use’s transformativeness may outweigh its commercial character, here, both elements point in the same direction.” 

If the court had ruled against Goldsmith, Sotomayor contends, it would greenlight the commercial copying of photos. 

“As long as the user somehow portrays the subject of the photograph differently, he could make modest alterations to the original, sell it to an outlet to accompany a story about the subject, and claim transformative use,” Sotomayor wrote. 

Kagan claims the court took a novel posture in the case — a characteristic in law she finds less appealing than in art. She says the majority’s holding upends the evaluation required by the court’s precedents for copyright cases. Instead of looking at Warhol’s work, Kagan claims, the majority looked at the licensing agreement he entered into with the magazine. 

“Because the artist had such a commercial purpose, all the creativity in the world could not save him,” Kagan wrote. 

Goldsmith praised the court’s ruling, saying it favored photographers and other artists.

“I am thrilled by today’s decision and thankful to the Supreme Court for hearing our side of the story,” Goldsmith said in a statement provided by her attorney. “This is a great day for photographers and other artists who make a living by licensing their art. I want to thank the team at Williams & Connolly for sticking with me from the lows to this incredible high.”

The Warhol Foundation said it disagreed with the ruling but was grateful for its narrowness.

“We respectfully disagree with the Court’s ruling that the 2016 licensing of Orange Prince was not protected by the fair use doctrine,” Joel Wachs, president of The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, said in a statement. “At the same time, we welcome the Court’s clarification that its decision is limited to that single licensing and does not question the legality of Andy Warhol’s creation of the Prince Series in 1984.”

The court’s ruling was seen as both narrow and broad by court watchers. The majority made clear it was only addressing the first fair use factor, however, changing the law in that area could still have major impacts. 

“By focusing the first fair use factor on the purposes of the works at issue, and emphasizing the importance of whether a challenged use is commercial or non-commercial, the Court has rewritten an entire body of case law that had previously treated the focus of the first fair use factor as whether or not a challenged work was ‘transformative,’” Bruce Ewing, co-chair of Dorsey & Whitney’s intellectual property litigation practice group, said in a statement.