Local groups look to keep you from going stir crazy
Riverside Arts Center
Though closed, the Riverside Arts Center remains dedicated to serving as a pillar for creative expression — and hope — in the community.
"We are focused on offering support to this community which has supported us so much for 27 years," says Liz Chilsen, director of the center's FlexSpace Gallery. "It's a time of challenge and also intensive, creative problem solving -- something artists are particularly good at."
The center is offering two virtual gallery talks featuring artists with work currently on display. Artist Deirdre Fox's installation, using recycled materials and inventive lighting, will be featured in a conversation with her curator, Yoonshin Park, and exhibit curator and Gallery Director Stephanie Brooks will join sculptor and printmaker Oli Watt for a showcase of humorous pieces that create awareness of and interrupt our assumptions.
The center is also working on a virtual exhibit of work from Riverside-Brookfield High School's Advanced Placement Art students. Students will be submitting images of their work to their teacher, who will then work with the center to create a slideshow to project on the gallery's window. The slideshow will also be shared on the center's website.
Finally, the center is working to set up interactions with artists on their social media channels, inviting people to share the work they are making and tag the center with the hashtag #artduringcorona.
"The arts are an important way that people navigate the unknown," Chilsen said. "Right now, many of us are anxious and afraid. Art can offer ways to deal with the stresses we are facing in this climate and an uncertain future."