The Marion Art Center joins more than two dozen local cultural organizations to launch a celebration of the arts across the SouthCoast region May 6-15. SouthCoast Spring Arts is a 10-day festival celebrating the arts in our communities by connecting innovative, creative and affordable art and cultural events in communities across the region, from Fall River to Wareham. The MAC joins this effort with twelve new cultural events in theater, live music, art history, film, movement and visual arts. All Spring Arts events at the MAC are hands-on or interactive and are offered at low cost or free.
The MAC will kick off their Spring Arts events on Thursday, May 5 from 6-7 pm with a conversation with artist Paula Stebbins Becker (free to attend) whose work, along with painter Tracey J. Maroni, can be viewed in the MAC’s current show Emergence. Paula will share her inspiration and discuss her various processes of unraveling and weaving threads, natural dyeing, and using thread in her printed works on paper. During the event, guests can also view an image slideshow in the MAC Theater featuring additional works by artist Tracey J. Maroni.
On Friday, May 6 from 7-8 pm, attend a concert and hands-on learning experience with Latin Percussionist Jesús Andujar at the MAC. Dive into the wonderful world of congas, timbales, guiros, cabasas, djembes, claves, bongos and shakers. Jesús will perform his own rhythmic improvisations and guests can learn some basic patterns and join in the fun. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 15.
The MAC partners with the Mattapoisett Wellness Center to host workshops to Enhance your Creativity with Yoga and Reiki ($18 per class) on Saturday, May 7 and Saturday, May 14, 10:30-11:45 am. In these two one-hour workshops, led by long-time yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner Jennifer Risio, you will learn first-hand the benefits both practices provide: stress reduction, quieting the mind, strengthening the body. The Mattapoisett Wellness Center is located at 76 County Road, Mattapoisett.
Join a Learning to See Photo Workshop and Walk on Saturday, May 6 from 5-7 pm at the MAC (cost $25.) Master Photographer Cathy Broderick will lead this workshop exploring different approaches to making imagery that stands out. Participants will meet at the MAC and then take a walking tour of Marion village to implement different approaches to a scene to create images of value. Suitable to all cameras and all skills levels.
Take a Pin Loom Weaving Workshop on Monday, May 9 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the MAC ($30 fee includes materials.) Weaver Lisa Elliott will teach you how to warp and weave squares, and you will go home with one or a few coasters or mug mats. Finished woven squares provide endless possibilities and can be sewn together to create scarves, blankets, toys, and clothing.
The MAC partners with the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center to offer Dinner and Improv on Wednesday, May 11 from 5-7 pm (cost is $15.) Tabor faculty members John Heavey and Steffon Gales will lead an exciting night of improvisation (or improve,) a spontaneous, entertaining and fun form of live theatre in which the plot, characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment. Audience participation is encouraged but not required. Dinner including lasagna, salad, bread, and dessert will be served at 5pm, followed by a one-hour improve workshop/show. The community center is located at 465 Mill Street, Marion.
On Thursday, May 12 from 7-8 pm, attend a screening of the short film Kittacuck Speaks in the MAC Theater, hosted by Friends of the Blackstone, a nonprofit environmental organization. Instead of the dominant, industrially focused narrative about the Blackstone River, the Native American-named Kittacuck, the film presents a story told by the river itself. Kittacuck Speaks was written and narrated by Nipmuc tribe member Bruce Curliss. Meet film creators Gian Mancini, Vincent Mancini, and John Marsland, and learn what it means to maintain a Blue Mind, a concept developed by Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, in which we become stewards of our planet and live in harmony with the natural world. Tickets, just $5, will benefit Friends of the Blackstone.
Don’t miss the opening reception for the MAC’s exhibit on Friday, May 13 from 5-7 pm, featuring abstract works by artists Alyn Carlson, Pat Coomey Thornton, and Pat Warwick (free to attend.) Learn how each artist approaches her individual creative process, creating stunning visual compositions which are often full of vibrant color and poetic rhythms. Through mark making, layering of various media and editing, these artists create works that ignite one’s senses and capture the essence of emotion. Guests will have the opportunity to meet the artists and ask questions.
Artist Barbara Healy returns to teach an outdoor Paint & Sip Workshop on Saturday, May 14 from 1-3 pm at the MAC (cost $30, all materials provided.) Participants will paint their own versions of a gorgeous sunflower in this fun workshop using water-based acrylics on canvas. Barbara and her assistant will guide you through each step of the process as you get in touch with your inner artist and enjoy sipping wine along the way. You must be 21 or older to register. A rain date is scheduled for Sunday, May 15.
Jazz Jam @ the MAC returns to the MAC Theater on Saturday, May 14 from 7-9:30 pm (tickets $12, participating musicians attend for free.) Be part of the long tradition of the jazz jam session complete with participation from community musicians. The house band will support the improvisers as they interpret many “jazz standards” in various style formats. Learn from trombonist Phil Sanborn as he leads a question-and-answer session and explains how the songs are structured and how the “road map” for each selection helps the improvisers. Join to listen in, or if you’re a musician, sign up to join the performers on stage.
The MAC closes out Spring Arts in collaboration with Sippican Historical Society to present The Arts in Marion’s Gilded Age on Sunday, May 15 from 4-5 pm at the Music Hall in Marion, located at 164 Front Street (tickets $5.) In the late 1800’s, Marion became a summer gathering place for artists, writers, actors, musicians, architects, and intellectual luminaries. Four local experts, Wendy Bidstrup, Nancy Mitton, Judith Rosbe and Meg Steinberg, bring to light some of the characters that made up this lively scene, including Cecil Clark Davis, Charles Dana Gibson, Henry James, Mark Twain, Century Magazine editor Richard Watson Gilder, and architects H.H. Richardson and Stanford White. UMass Dartmouth professor and art historian Catherine Moran sets the stage with an overview of the Gilded Age in America. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.
Art lovers of all ages are invited to ignite their creative spirit and celebrate SouthCoast Spring Arts. To register for Marion Art Center events, head to the MAC’s website at marionartcenter.org/scspringarts. Find out more by emailing info@marionartcenter.org. Discover events throughout the local region at southcoastspringarts.org (regional SCSA events will be added to the SCSA website through early April.)