What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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from the female perspective. On display at Perrodin Supply Co. 126 N. Shiloh St. "I think the program's focus on letting artists curate and showcase other artists helped facilitate a collaborative community," Whalen says, noting the educational, geographic, monetary and philosophic barriers that can often limit the masses' accessibility to art. "Also, focusing only on local artists was a really important part of this program. As amazing as all of the art experiences can be, the focus in formal institutions can be more on bringing in touring pieces or really well-known artists on a national or global scale. This program's mission to look inward to the community and stay locally focused gives artists a platform that would feel impossible in most other contexts." That accessibility seems to have extended to the curators themselves, as well. Seeing the breadth of diversity that surfaced in the artist open call showed Whalen that no matter how artists might struggle with feeling that the community is too full, this is a place for anyone and everyone willing to show up for themselves, she says. Kellie Lehr is one of the artists featured in "Her." Through an energizingly collaborative process, Lehr worked with Whalen and another artist in the exhibition to actualize a bold and multilayered performative piece for the space. "I also began making round paintings that come off the wall and hang from the ceiling," Lehr says of another of her contributions. "I like the movement and the way the viewer is encouraged to move around the paintings to see them. There is an element of time and activation involved as they can't be fully seen simultaneously." The flexibility of the exhibition and synergistic effort between artists and curator was a refreshing experience, Lehr shares. "Collaboration creates community," she offers. "Our region is rich with multi-talented, diverse artists. Interform provides a platform for interaction, community building and growth through the arts, and I'm very grateful to be included in the mix." Whalen echoes the sentiment, adding: "The fact that I've been able to meet so many new artists and that my creative video pieces are being shown alongside people I would consider more 'legitimate' than me helps me overcome those imposter syndrome feelings that can sneak in to the minds of artists/creatives. I'm going to carry the simple but impactful growth of confidence and empowerment with me as I continue to pursue opportunities and community in the art field." 12 WHAT'S UP! MAY 23-29, 2021 PRESIDENT Brent A. Powers EDITOR Becca Martin-Brown 479-872-5054 bmartin@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAbecca ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jocelyn Murphy 479-872-5176 jmurphy@nwadg.com Twitter: NWAJocelyn REPORTER Lara Hightower 479-365-2913 lhightower@nwadg.com DESIGNER Deb Harvell ! UP WHAT'S ON THE COVER Designer Brandy Lee's work through Interform's EMERGE fashion designer residency program responds to "Nick Cave: Until" at the Momentary last year. Lee is the program's second design- er-in-residence. Designers from season one will be highlighted in a May 29 Runway event kicking off the monthlong arts experience, Assembly, in downtown Springdale during the month of June. (COURTESY PHOTO/KATIE DRISCOLL) What's Up! is a publication of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. COVER STORY Assembly Continued From Page 11 Lehr (Courtesy Photo/Kat Wilson) Jonathan Perrodin is another of the 24 artists showcased in Atkinson's exhibition, "Yes. And…." It is an exhibition that allows art to be only art, she explains, but perhaps also more. Often, the curator's statement says, we have asked art to perform too much, "put too much weight on the back of art to say the things we won't say." In "Yes. And….", artists across genres ask the viewer to consider holding two contradictory thoughts as true simultaneously: "Allow things to be as complicated as they are, find the poetry in that. Allow for both joy and rage. Allow the answer to be, at least when you are in this space: 'Yes. And….'" (Courtesy Photo/Robin Atkinson) FYI Art in June • (A)TYPICAL SANCTUARY — curated by Omar Bravo. 214 by CACHE, 214 S. Main St. • FLOW — curated by Marcela Rojas-Perez. 214 by CACHE, 214 S. Main St. • FRAGMENTED — curated by Coco Lashar. Interform Head- quarters, 117 W. Emma Ave. • HER — curated by Jess Whalen. Perrodin Supply Co., 126 N. Shiloh St. • ARKANSAS & MISSOURI RAILROAD — partner exhibition organized by Robin Wallis Atkin- son, featuring Junli Song. 306 E. Emma Ave. • SHILOH SQUARE — partner exhibition organized by The Little Craft Show, featuring Cory Perry. 106 W. Emma Ave. • OPTICAL SYNERGY — curated by Evelyn Sosa. 214 by CACHE, 214 S. Main St. • GARDEN OF HEATHENS — curated by Preston Poindexter. Black Apple, 321 E. Emma Ave. • YES. AND…. — curated by Robin Wallis Atkinson. First Security Bank, second floor, 100 W. Emma Ave. • R. MCCLINTOCK — partner exhibition organized by Rachel McClintock, featuring Heather Younger Morton. 105 Spring St. • SHILOH MUSEUM OF OZARK HISTORY — partner exhibition organized by Preston Poindex- ter, featuring Wild Ozark - Madi- son Woods. 118 W. Johnson Ave. • INTERFORM HQ — partner exhibition organized by Basana Chhetri and Fei Debrum, featur- ing Marshallese Fashion Display and pop-up shop. 117 W. Emma Ave. • SKRIBBLES @ THE STATION — partner exhibition organized by Evelyn Sosa and Marcela Rojas-Perez, featuring Teen Action Support Center young artists, and more. 610 E. Emma Ave.