THE ART of a VIRTUAL HAPPENING

Wherever you are in the world, come to our Oct. 15, 2020, Emerging Artists Show

Oct 09, 2020

Artwork by the 2020 Emerging Artists of Tamarack Foundation for the Arts will be showcased at Taylor Books in West Virginia’s capital city Oct. 15, 2020. But the opening will be virtual.

How do you throw an art happening in a time of quarantine and pandemic? Here’s how:

Install art by five up-and-coming West Virginia artists at Taylor Books art gallery in Charleston, WV.

Invite beloved performer/actress and West Virginia native Ann Magnuson to introduce the event.

Throw open the doors—virtually—on a most unconventional ZOOM gathering from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., on Thursday, Oct. 15.

In other words, ‘Prepare for a Party, Not a Meeting,’ as Tamarack Foundation for the Arts (TFA) celebrates and showcases the work of its five 2020 Emerging Artist Fellows: Jessie McClanahan; Psychoflauge, Jes Reger Davis, Jaci Rice, and Nevada Tribble.

RSVP/register for the event at this weblink: TamarackFoundation.org/EAFShow

Video by TFA Design Team member Bobby Lee Messer of Messer Media.

Zooming In

“We’ll be playing with the whole notion of a ZOOM gathering,” says TFA executive director Renee Margocee. “Some ‘rooms’ will include the artists, live, and available for chatting. Others will feature video visits with the art itself. Others will include background about this year’s group of some of West Virginia’s finest emerging artists.”

Each year, TFA looks out across the hills and valleys, the towns and hollers, of West Virginia, and chooses five artists to showcase in that year, while also helping them to build sustainable businesses around their creative passions, says Margocee.

“We put no limits on the definition of an ‘emerging artist’ in West Virginia. They may be of any age and do any style of work. They just must be exceptional at what they do, whether with a brush, scissors, video screen, or whichever way they create art.”

Ann Magnuson, a native of Charleston WV, will introduce the Oct. 15, 2020, Emerging Artists show. | photo by Steven Love Menendez; hair & make up: Virna Smiraldi

TFA ‘Master Artist’ of 2021 Announcement

Below are profiles of this year’s class of Emerging Artists. In the weeks ahead, TFA will announce how to apply to become a 2021 Emerging Artist Fellow. And watch for a special announcement of the quite remarkable artist chosen as the 2021 West Virginia Master Artist, another TFA program, which celebrates lifelong achievement in the arts. Stay in touch with those announcements through our website: tamarackfoundation.org and by subscribing to this free newsletter at: tamarackforthearts.substack.com.

Media interested in doing stories about the artists or interviews with them or Renee Margocee, should e-mail: info@tamarackforthearts.com or phone TFA Design Team member Douglas John Imbrogno at 304.638.9784.

Help Grow Creativity in WV

Help us to empower more artists and creatives in the Mountain State of West Virginia through programs like the Emerging Artist Fellowship. If you are able, donate at: bit.ly/DonateTFA

2020 Emerging Artist Profiles

JESSIE McCLANAHAN

Jessie McClanahan at work in the basement studio of Taylor Books in Charleston WV | TFA Design Team photo

This accomplished ceramic artist earned her bachelor's degree from West Virginia State University. Prior to the pandemic, the Charleston, WV, native worked as a potter’s assistant outside Asheville, North Carolina, while pursuing a masters degree in ceramics. She has shown in galleries throughout West Virginia and has worked for Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Apartment Earth Art Gallery, and The Contemporary American Theater Festival. Her work is heavily influenced by her upbringing in the rolling hills of Appalachia.