Believe in Bristol announced two new arts ventures for the Arts & Entertainment District of historic downtown Bristol.
Mimi Kind, chair of the A&E District Committee, put out a call for artists to join in a new art fundraiser to help support the district and its many free events, including Art D'Vine, State of the Arts Weekend and the Student Art Gallery, along with helping to provide scholarships to the Who Art You? Camp and promotion of the downtown arts businesses and events.
"We have purchased 35 8 x 8 canvases, and we are asking artists to create works of art on these blank slates, which can then be displayed and sold at our September Art D'Vine event," said René Rodgers, associate director of Believe in Bristol. "The canvases will be hung in Pretty Girl Station, creating a wonderful, vibrant display of the many talented artists in our community. With this event, we hope to raise money to help the district grow."
The A&E Committee settled on a general theme for the canvas creations – "Play On," taken from Shakespeare's quote in "Twelfth Night:" "If music be the food of love, play on..." Artists are invited to interpret this theme creatively. The canvases, along with guidelines for participation in the fundraiser, will be available to pick up from Believe in Bristol, beginning Tuesday, July 1; the finished artworks must be returned to Believe in Bristol by Friday, Aug. 22. They will then go on display at Pretty Girl Station for the two weeks before Art D'Vine is held Sept. 12, and will also be displayed in a rotating gallery on Believe in Bristol's Facebook page. The canvases will sell for $30 each with the proceeds going towards the A&E District.
This art fundraiser is not the only new venture to come out of the A&E District – Believe in Bristol also announced plans to host a film festival in downtown Bristol in 2015 to coincide with the fifth annual State of the Arts Weekend. While the event is only in the early planning stages, newly appointed Associate Director Brad White said, "We want our event to provide two cinematic experiences to our community: "brought-in' already-made films and a local / regional filmmaker competition, with the winning films being screened at the festival. We want this event to be fun for the filmmakers and audience alike."
A Film Festival Committee is hard at work planning the logistics and parameters of the 2015 event, and Believe in Bristol is looking for sponsors and partners to help make this festival a reality. Further details about the film festival will be shared as the planning continues, including information for local filmmakers about entering the festival.
For further information about the fundraiser and the film festival, contact Brad White at 276-644-9700 or brad@believeinbristol.org.
