Redux to hold panel discussion adressing need for creative space in Charleston

Provided/The Edward Dare Gallery

The Edward Dare Gallery will present new works in oil by Roberta Remy starting May 2.

The Redux Contemporary Art Center will host a panel discussion about the increasing lack of available arts space in downtown Charleston. The discussion will take place tonight starting at 7.

"An unintended consequence of the boom in real estate values on the peninsula has been the loss of studio spaces for artists, the removal of arts organizations from downtown Charleston, and a lack of affordable space for new growth and creative expansion for existing organizations," says Seth Curcio, Redux's executive director.

"It is not so much a question of a lack of space — Charleston has vacant space throughout downtown. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for artists and arts organizations to secure creative work and presentation space in the city. This is leading to a loss of working artists and organizations in our area, as they now have to move to other cities to find the resources that they need," says Curcio.

The focus of the panel discussion will be solutions to this problem, with a focus on the resources and opportunities needed to maintain a healthy presence for the arts and artists in Charleston. This event will give the public the opportunity to hear arts representatives discuss the future of the arts in the city. The panel participants include representatives from the S.C. Arts Commission, the American College of the Building Arts, the Gibbes Museum, Pure Theatre, Halsey Institute for Contemporary Art, the Office of Cultural Affairs, Redux and a local artist.

The public also will be able to address the members of the panel. Artists and the public will have a chance to voice their concerns.

The panel discussion is free. For more information, contact Redux at 722-0697, or show up tonight at 136 St. Philip St. Visit www.reduxstudios.org.

ArtFest at Rosebank

Saturday, check out the ArtFest taking place at Rosebank Farms, near Kiawah and Seabrook islands. ArtFest features the farms' artists and their works in a setting that encourages guests and artists to mingle, chat and enjoy the natural setting of the galleries located at beautiful Rosebank Farms. A wide range of art styles, from modern to traditional, are featured in the galleries. Sweetgrass baskets, paintings, mosaics, hand-turned wooden bowls and pottery will be highlighted. The artists will be onsite to discuss their works, all of which will be for sale.

The festival will take place from 5 to 7 p.m., and wine and appetizers will be served.

Rosebank Farms is located at 4455 Betsy Kerrison Parkway, a half-mile on the left before the Kiawah-Seabrook traffic circle.

For more information, call 768-0508, e-mail@rosebankfarms.com, or log onto www.rosebankfarms.com for directions.

Call for entries

The city of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department has several opportunities for artists in association with the upcoming North Charleston Arts Festival, which takes place May 2-10.

Fine art artists, ages 18 and over, are invited to participate in the North Charleston Arts Festival's annual Judged Art Exhibition. It's an opportunity for artistic competition, with cash awards in five categories totaling $3,100. The categories include acrylic, oil, drawings/pastels, watercolor and 2-D mixed-media. The juror for this exhibition is artist Leo Twiggs. All entries must be original, 2-D works completed within the last two years that are either framed or have finished edges, wired and ready for exhibition. Maximum width of entries is 48 inches, including frame. Maximum number of entries is three. All entries must be delivered to the North Charleston Performing Arts and Charleston Area Convention Center Complex, 5001 Coliseum Drive, North Charleton, during the designated times: April 30 and May 1 from 1 to 8 p.m., or May 2 from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost of $10 per entry is due at the time of drop-off.

Photography exhibition

Professional and amateur South Carolina photographers, ages 18 and up, can compete for awards of up to $1,500 in the North Charleston Arts Festival's annual Photography Exhibition. Divisions are professional/advanced and amateur, and categories include color and monochrome images. The entries will be judged using the Photographic Society of America Print Guidelines. All entries must be original analog or digital prints photographed within the last two years. Minimum photo print size is 8-by-10 inches mounted on foam core or gator board. Matting is optional, but the maximum mat size is 16-by-20 inches by 1/4 inch. There is a maximum of six entries, and all of them must be ready for exhibition and be delivered to the complex either April 30 and/or May 1 between 1-8 p.m. The $5 entry fee is due when artwork is dropped off.

A reception to honor all participants and sponsors will be held at the complex on May 2 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. All entries will be exhibited in the complex, 5001 Coliseum Drive, during the North Charleston Arts Festival Week, May 2-10. Visit www.northcharleston.org, e-mail culturalarts@northcharleston.org, or call the city of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 745-1087 for more information.

Roberta Remy

The Edward Dare Gallery will be presenting new works in oil by Roberta Remy. "Paintings from Life" will be featured next week during the French Quarter Gallery Association Artwalk on May 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. However, Remy will be teaching a workshop on painting the figure at Sandpiper Gallery on Sullivan's Island this week, starting Monday.

"When planning this show, I wanted to include images with a Lowcountry flavor. Although I was nowhere near South Carolina, the local models that I selected to portray fishermen and flower ladies had the universal human qualities of being hard workers and creative spirits — the same qualities that I imagined for the portraits of the South that I wanted to paint. The model for the fisherman series, a retired sailor, explained to me a lot about working on and around the sea. So the props that arrived from the S.C. coast — shrimp nets and oyster shells — were helpful in creating these compositions, but the true source of inspiration was the common chord of the human spirit," says Remy.

"All my life I have found the study of people, their faces and hands fascinating. ... When choosing my models, finding just the right person for the right life situation being portrayed is part of my creative process," says Remy.

A contemporary painter working in the realist tradition, Remy specializes in still-lifes, interiors, figure and portrait oil painting. "When I fell in love with painting, it was the Old Masters and the American Impressionists who inspired my artistic search. Their traditions and techniques are the standards that I have set for myself," she says.

The public is invited to meet the artist at the opening reception May 2, 5-8 p.m. at the Edward Dare Gallery, 31 Broad St.

For more information about this week's workshop, call 843-5002.