Crosstown Arts

Impossible Language
2017-04-08 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | story booth, 438 N. Cleveland St., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Ongoing contemporary poetry series organized by Ashley Roach-Freiman.
Curated In collaboration with Memphis/Fayetteville-based poet Bailey Hutchinson, this special Impossible Language will feature poetry readings by writers shaping the literary scene in Fayetteville, Arkansas: Julia Paganelli Marín, Vicente Yépez, Molly Bess Rector, and MD Myers.
Facebook invite

Everything Is Terrible
2017-04-07 13:00 - 16:00 | TN
New art by Alex Paulus

The Moonpie Project presents Kevin Bongang
2017-04-07 12:00 - 15:00 | Crosstown Alley, 430 N. Cleveland
A new mural by Kevin Bongang
Location: Crosstown Arts alley between 430 & 438 N. Cleveland
Free food + drinks
The Moonpie Project is an ongoing, rotating mural series curated by Michael Roy in memory of muralist Brad Wells.
Organized in collaboration with Crosstown Arts

Artist Kevin Bongang is a man of many talents and few words. There’s something to be said for letting art speak for itself, after all. The current Nashville dweller majored in illustration at The Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was able to hone his signature style awash in bold colors, swirling lines, and out-there imagery with a result that’s cohesive and truly unique. He’s collaborated with the likes of Bucketfeet footwear, Hodgepodge Coffee House & Gallery, Mailchimp, Comcast, and others.

MicroCinema Club
2017-04-05 13:30 - 16:00 | TN
Monthly short film screening series, presented by Indie Memphis & Crosstown Arts.
This month: Ottawa Animated Shorts
Best of the 2016 Ottawa International short films, from cutting-edge to quirky, the largest animation event in North America.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m./Screening begins at 7 p.m. Admission is pay-what-you-can.

Shoot & Splice: Stage to Screen with Katori Hall
2017-04-04 13:30 - 16:00 | TN
Monthly filmmaking forum presented by Indie Memphis & Crosstown Arts
April Program: Stage to Screen with Katori Hall
Award-winning playwright and filmmaker Katori Hall will discuss her work in theatre, including penning The Mountaintop (2010 Olivier Award for Best New Play), which ran on Broadway and starred Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson. She’ll discuss how she made the transition into filmmaking with her debut short film Arkabutla, and she will examine the differences and similarities in creating original work for the stage and screen, as well as how working in each discipline can greatly assist the continuing growth of an artist.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m./panel discussion at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. Complimentary beverages will be available.

Connecting Crosstown: Naturally Crosstown!
2017-04-03 13:00 - 14:30 | Mama Gaia, 1350 Concourse Ave, Suite 137, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
We invite residents and business owners in Crosstown to join us and meet your neighbors as we learn about organic foods, long-term sustainability, and ways to improve mind, body, and spirit at Crosstown Concourse, our very own vertical “organic” village.
This month’s speakers will include Mama Gaia co-owner Philipp von Holtzendorff-Fehling, Church Health YMCA executive director Shauna Bateman, and Crosstown Arts co-leader Todd Richardson.
Connecting Crosstown is a monthly event series organized to connect neighbors and share news and information.
Please RSVP to this meeting by emailing Porsche Stevens at porsche@crosstownarts.org or 258-4855.
Facebook invite

Cazateatro Youth Bilingual Theater Workshops
2017-04-01 06:00 - 08:00 | story booth, 438 N. Cleveland St., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
From the Three Little Pigs to the Day of the Dead, theater has its own styles and flavors based upon culture. As we delve deeper, we find that it is more than just entertainment. Join us as we unlock the Latin magic and wonder of traditional and non-traditional theatrical performance. We will explore the similarities and differences that make each cultural style unique. Your child will enjoy fun, creative, hands-on activities that will leave them yearning to experience more from this bilingual, multicultural setting lead by the cast of Cazateatro.

The Saturday workshops are open to kids ages 10 to 12. Workshops dates are April 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.
Special workshops:
Plaster Mask (2 hours) – April 1
Ages 16 and up
Learn how to create a plaster mask. An easy way to create and transform a face!

Face-painting 101 – April 22 & 29, 2 to 4 p.m.
Ages 13-15
This course is designed to introduce those who have never painted a face before to this intriguing art. It also goes one step further and provides detailed instructions for getting started, application techniques, and outlines of patterns.

For sign up or for more information, contact Jazmin Miller at jazmin@crosstownart.org.

Talleres
Convertir las Tradiciones en Teatro-Teatro Bilingüe
Desde los 3 cerditos hasta el Día de los Muertos, el Teatro tiene sus propios estilos y sabores basados en su cultura. A medida que profundizamos, nos damos cuenta de que es más que entretenimiento. Únase a nosotros mientras desbloqueamos la magia latina y nos maravillamos de la representación teatral tradicional y no tradicional.
Vamos a explorar las similitudes y diferencias que hace que cada estilo cultural único, su hijo disfrutará de la diversión creativa actividades prácticas que le dejará niño anhelo de experimentar más de este entorno bilingüe, multicultural, dirigido por el elenco de Cazateatro.
Fecha: Sabados
Febrero, 25
Marzo: 4, 25
No hay clases en Marzo7 & 14 (Spring Break)
Abril: 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Tiempo: 1 houra antes para preparar cada taller.
11:00am – 1:00pm
Edades: 10-12
Taller de un día
A. Máscara de yeso – 2 horas
Edad: 16 años en adelante
Aprende a crear una máscara de yeso. ¡Una manera fácil de crear y transformar una cara!
B. PINTURA DE CARA 1o1 – 2 DÍAS –
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Edades: 13-15
Pintura de cara, simplemente definida, es el acto de aplicar pintura a la cara de una persona para transformalarla por razones de entretenimiento, presentacion teatrales, o incluso simbólicas.
Este curso está diseñado para introducir a alguien que nunca ha pintado una cara antes este arte intrigante. También va un paso más allá y proporciona instrucciones detalladas para empezar, las técnicas de aplicación que puede utilizar y esquemas de patrones para que pueda empezar a pintar caras.
C. Taller de títeres de sombras
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Edad: 10-13
Usando los títeres de la Sombra los niños crearán una pequeña historia basada en un cuento popular de América Latina.
Una sola sesión de 1 hora y media (puede ser 2 si tenemos más de 10 estudiantes)
Trabajando con cartulina negra, tijeras y su imaginación, los participantes crearan sus propios títeres y escenarios. Después de ensayar, veran como se produce una transformación mágica de su trabajo; La narración, el movimiento y los efectos especiales se unen a, los recortes de cartón los cuales toman personalidades distintas y la historia cobra vida.
Los montajes están diseñados para permitir a los participantes que acaban de realizar talleres de títeres de sombras compartir lo que han aprendido con la comunidad en general.
Podemos ayudar a los estudiantes a participar en el estudio de Historias de Latino America.

1000 Pardons: Art as Social Grace Closing Reception
2017-03-30 11:00 - 16:00 | TN
This exhibition and art sale will feature 1,000 handmade crosses created by artist Chris Nadaskay. All the proceeds from each purchase will go to Advance Memphis and the 38126 community.
Christopher resides in Jackson, Tennessee, where he serves as Professor of Art at Union University.
On view: March 28-29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Closing reception: March 30, 4-9 p.m.
Pieces are available for purchase throughout the exhibition but cannot be removed until the evening of the closing reception.

1000 Pardons: Art as Social Grace
2017-03-29 05:00 - 11:00, 2017-03-28 05:00 - 11:00 | TN

Visions
2017-03-25 15:30 - 17:30 | TN
Concert with performances by Giest, Crocket Hall, and Jareef Greene.

Pinch Journal Release Party
2017-03-24 14:00 - 16:00 | story booth, 438 N. Cleveland St., Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Join the staff of the Pinch Literary Journal in celebration of the official release of our Spring 2017 issue!
Featured contributors for the reading will be Brenna Wormer and Michael Alessi.
There will also be Pinch Punch!
Facebook invite

Hello My Name Is ...
2017-03-24 13:30 - 16:30 | TN
A collaborative art show in which artists from several states — South Carolina, Georgia, New York, Tennessee, and Florida, to name a few — come together to share stories of who they are and what they’re trying to get out of life. The pieces will range in genre from illustration to painting to site-specific installation.
Featured artists include Joshua Jackson, Morgan Adams, Zaki Brown, Rahn Marion, Naima Peace, and Rudy King.

Indie Wednesday Film Series: Trivia Night
2017-03-22 13:00 - 16:00 | TN
Weekly film screenings hosted by Indie Memphis. Films will screen at Crosstown Arts, Malco’s Studio on the Square, and Ridgeway Theatre on a rotating basis.
This week: Trivia Night — an underground trivia legend in New York City faces an unbeaten game show from his past to reclaim the greatness he once had.
Commercial Appeal film critic John Beifuss will lead a speed movie trivia contest at 6 p.m.; Q&A will follow the film.

Hustle: Successful Studio Visits
2017-03-21 13:00 - 15:00 | TN
Studio visits are great networking opportunities, and they can be fun. But they can also be stress-inducing. What exactly is a studio visit and who do we invite? Should we provide snacks? What if my studio is in my home? Are sales my goal? Or is there a better way to judge success?
Memphis artist Maysey Craddock shows with David Lusk Gallery and in places as far flung as New York, Dallas, New Orleans, and Germany. She will share her broad range of experiences hosting folks in her space at the Medicine Factory.

Presentation with Q&A to follow.

Program begins at 6 pm
Complimentary food and drinks

Hustle: professional development for artists is a free program organized by ArtsMemphis, UrbanArt Commission, and Crosstown Arts. The series will provide visual artists with information, resources, and opportunities to support them in the development of their professional careers. Workshop topics will range from positive studio practices to pricing work and navigating gallery representation. Questions? Contact Mary Jo Karimnia at maryjo@crosstownarts.org.

An Evening With Parlor Walls, Nonconnah, and Ihcilon
2017-03-20 16:00 - 18:45 | TN
Spend the evening with an earful of innovative music with free jazz/no wave group Parlor Walls, guitar drone/sound sculptors Nonconnah, and the work of improvisational ambient noise artist Ihcilon.
Admission is $5 at the door
Doors open at 9 p.m./show begins at 9:30 p.m.

Memphis Fine Craft Rendezvous
2017-03-18 06:00 - 12:00 | TN
A maker’s market brought to you by Tennessee Craft Southwest

Memphis Fine Craft Rendezvous Opening Reception
2017-03-17 12:00 - 15:00 | TN
A maker’s market brought to you by Tennessee Craft Southwest
Opening reception: Friday, March 17, 5-8 p.m.
Show on view: Saturday, March 18, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

New Works
2017-03-16 13:30 - 16:00 | TN
Art exhibition with works by Michael D. McCown, Courtney Whitlow, Leanna Hicks, Taylor Loftin, Alexander Swilley, Franklin Wallace, and Adele Winn. Live music by Indian Sunburn.

Ida B. Wells: "A Blues Woman"
2017-03-16 13:00 - 15:00 | University of Memphis, Arts & Communication Building (Room 310), 3715 Central, Memphis, TN, United States
This panel, commemorating the 1892 Peoples Grocery lynching of Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Will Stewart and Ida B. Wells’ response, will focus on intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
Panelists:
Earnestine Jenkins, University of Memphis
George Lipsitz, University of Santa Barbara
Celeste Bernier, University of Edinburgh, UK
Moderator: Dr. Beverly E. Cross, Moss Chair of Excellence in Urban Education, University of Memphis
Organized by Earnestine Jenkins and Richard Lou in collaboration with Crosstown Arts

Intersections
2017-03-15 13:00 - 17:00 | TN
Screening of Viceland’s Memphis: PAYDAY, a documentary on income inequality. A talkback session will follow the film, and attendees are invited to share their thoughts on the current state of the local economy.
Light refreshments will be served.

Open Crit
2017-03-14 13:00 - 15:00 | TN
Artist installation 5:30-6 p.m.
Discussion 6-8 p.m.

Facilitator: Susan Maakestad
Presenting Artists:
Eszter Sziksz
Ann Klicka
Ethan Taylor
Kristin Petersen

Crosstown Arts’ Open Crit series, organized in partnership with ArtsMemphis, is a monthly critique event where visual artists are invited to bring new and/or in-progress studio work for critical feedback and group discussion particular to each artist’s practice.
A dedicated facilitator with experience in a group critique setting will guide discussion for each critique event, which will include up to 4 artists’ work, with 15-25 minutes devoted to the work of each.
All visual artists and anyone interested in joining the discussion are welcome to participate regardless of their level of expertise, prior professional art experience or background/education in fine art. Participation is free and open to the public. Input during the critiques from everyone in attendance is welcomed and encouraged.
No formal preparation is necessary for participating artists, who will have an opportunity to introduce and contextualize their work on view at the beginning of each critique. Participating artists are only asked to be open to (and interested in) considering reactions to their work by the group, which will always be done in a supportive, constructive and casual environment, but could at the same time be challenging.

To participate, artists can sign up here:
Open Crit Request form

Contact Mary Jo at maryjo@crosstownarts.org with any questions!
Artists are asked to bring no more than 8 individual pieces (in any medium). Maximum run time for time-based work(s) is 10 minutes.
Participating artists are encouraged to invite friends, peers and colleagues to the open crits, both to see their work in progress and to give constructive feedback.
Special thanks to Art Center for donating a $25 gift certificate for each participating artist.
Organized by Crosstown Arts in partnership with ArtsMemphis ArtsAccelerator.

Skin: Art Exhibition
2017-03-11 12:30 - 16:30 | TN
Photography exhibit
$10 admission

Workshop: Video for Print Journalists
2017-03-09 11:00 - 14:00 | Crosstown Arts Digital Lab, 430 N. Cleveland, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Print journalists are increasingly being asked to do more than write and take still photographs. Specifically, they’re often asked to make use of the video capabilities of their phones and cameras to supplement online written content. In this workshop, you will learn best practices for video using whatever tools you have available to you (iPhone, DSLR, etc.), as well as how to transfer that footage into Adobe Premiere and edit your footage into a usable piece.

Teaching Artist Phoebe Driscoll is a writer, videographer, and graduate of Rhodes College. Originally from Los Angeles, she moved to Memphis to pursue undergraduate degrees in Creative Writing and Film. Phoebe currently works as the Creative Director for The Audubon Sessions, a live concert series filmed at Elvis Presley’s first Memphis home. She is also co-editing a historical documentary about the Memphis Massacre of 1866.
The class is free. But there are only six slots available, and RSVP is required. To sign up, email info@crosstownarts.org.

MicroCinema Club
2017-03-08 12:30 - 15:00 | TN
Monthly short film screening series, presented by Indie Memphis & Crosstown Arts.
This month: The Ann Arbor Film Festival Tour
The longest running avant-garde and experimental film festival in North America (est. 1963) presents nine new short films that will expand your imagination.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m./Screening begins at 7 p.m. Admission is pay-what-you-can.

More information:
NEITHER GOD NOR SANTA MARIA | Samuel M. Delgado and Helena Girón
Madrid, Spain | 2015 | 12 min
In the daily life of a woman, the magic of her tales begin to materialize as night falls. Night is the time when travel is possible.
BISONHEAD | Elizabeth Lo
Los Angeles, CA | 2015 | 10 min
A family of Ponderai Native Americans embark on a controversial journey from northern Montana to Yellowstone to take part in the federal culling of 900 wild bison.
THE MESS | Peter Burr
Brooklyn, NY | 2015 | 14 min
In this game-like computer animation we take a journey to the threshold of a utopian labyrinth. Following the perspective of a solitary female figure whose job is to clean up the mess it inadvertently spawned, we end up in a seemingly endless hall of mirrors.
THE PERPETUAL MOTION OF MY LOVE FOR YOU | Karen Yasinsky
Baltimore, MD | 2016 | 8 min
A collage film slipping between narrative starts of images and sounds: May Sarton’s snapshots, a resplendent Liz Taylor, internal and external awkwardnesses, a short respite of peace and a dogged, deeply sad positivism. If this movie was a person, it would be the awkward girl, but she will never gain grace and confidence in her intelligence when older. She will forever remain in 8th grade with her frustrations and ambiguities.
LOVE UNDER WILL OF THE HAGS LONG TOOTH | Mica O’Herlihy
Westby, WI | 2015 | 4 min
A psychotronic gender-fucked pagan meditation on the animal in us all.
FUNDIR | Allison Cekala
Boston, MA | 2015 | 23 min
A biography of a material — the processing and importation of Boston’s road salt from one of its main sources in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile to the ice-covered streets of Boston.
THE RESONANCE | Mateusz Sadowski
6 min | 2013 | Poznan, Poland
The Resonance was made using stop-motion animation. The artist split the recorded footage into separate frames which were printed and re-photographed. The process underlined the characteristics of two contrary realities – photography and video. Providing the viewer with an insight into its own making, Sadowski’s video is both a reflection on scientific theories about the structure of the world and an attempt to create an alternative reality. Winner, Best Animated Film
BABA DANA TALKS TO THE WOLVES | Ralitsa Doncheva
Bulgaria/Canada | 2015 | 11 min
An impressionistic portrait of Baba Dana and her solitary existence in one of the oldest monasteries in Bulgaria, Zelenikovsky Monastery. Winner, The Eileen Maitland Award for Women’s Voice
not even nothing can be free of ghosts | Rainer Kohlberger
Vienna, Austria | 2016 | 11 min
An Algorithmic work generated entirely from computer-generated code; where “the intentional overload of the human perception apparatus leads to visual impressions that appear exclusively in the literal “eye of the beholder.” These “ghosts” appear from “nothing” and are “nothing”; they are mere hallucinations evoked by the imperfect human-biological data processing system” – Norbert Pfaffenbichler.

Shoot & Splice: The Art of Audio
2017-03-07 12:30 - 15:00 | TN
Monthly filmmaking forum presented by Indie Memphis and Crosstown Arts
March topic: The Art of Audio

The recording and mixing of production sound are easily the most under-appreciated and misunderstood disciplines in filmmaking. All too frequently, quality movies and videos are ruined because the proper respect is not given to the craft of audio engineering.
Please join us as Running Pony sound technician Nathan Reisman and Music + Arts Studio post-production audio engineer Kevin Houston lead a hands-on workshop and discussion to help you improve the sound quality of your next project. They will walk us through the audio pre-production, production, and post-production processes, best on-set and in-studio practices, as well as a breakdown of essential gear for both low- and high-budget projects.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m./panel discussion at 7 p.m. Free and open to the public. Complimentary beverages will be available.

Digital Illustration Workshop
2017-03-06 12:00 - 14:30 | Crosstown Arts Digital Lab, 430 N. Cleveland, Memphis, TN, 38104, United States
Artist Eric Clausen leads this six-week workshop on creating vivid illustrations and images primarily using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for print and digital applications. The workshop will center around a main project (short comic, poster, portrait series, etc.) that the students will define and work toward throughout the six weeks of class. Great for beginner and intermediate artists.
Classes will be held on Monday evenings from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on March 6, 13, 20 and 27 and April 3 and 10. To sign up, click here. The class is free, but there are only six slots available. The sign-up form will go offline when the class is full.
Students will learn:
Adobe keyboard shortcuts
Workspace and workflow organization
Print and digital imaging basics
How to clean up scanned images
How to draw/paint digitally
How to create and use brushes
How to create and use patterns and swatches
Exporting, saving, and printing basics
Alternative hardware/software

Connecting Crosstown: Experience the Lifestyle
2017-03-06 12:00 - 13:30 | Midtown Crossing Grill, 394 N Watkins, Memphis, TN, United States
We invite residents and business owners in Crosstown to join us and meet your neighbors as we learn about current and future opportunities to live, work, and play in Crosstown. We’ll hear from Mardi Gras Memphis owner Penny Henderson, Crosstown Brewing Co. co-founder Clark Ortkiese, Co-Motion Studio co-owner Chloe Evans, Midtown Crossing Grill owner Octavia Young, Hi-Tone owner Brian “Skinny” McCabe, Ashley Childress of Parcels, and Denise Richardson of Crye Leike, among others.
Connecting Crosstown is a monthly event series organized to connect neighbors and share news and information.
Please RSVP to this meeting by emailing Porsche Stevens at porsche@crosstownarts.org or 258-4855.

Up in Arms Collective presents: RESPONSE
2017-03-05 13:00 - 16:00, 2017-03-04 13:00 - 16:00 | TN
What if dissent is a dance? What if revolution begins with a pas de deux or an artful kick in the pants?
Twenty-one artists gather strength through coming together and creating works that explore the myth of superwoman, experiences of femininity, shoes, burning bridges, first world privilege, and untarnished hope.
Up in Arms Collective is a community of diverse Memphis dance artists who have come together to collaborate and create three evenings of original works and performances.
Each evening’s performance will be one-of-a kind and feature different dances. Participating dance artists include Bethany Bak, Sheri Bancroft, Travis Bradley, Rebecca Rose Cochran, Josh Colfer, Marie Dennan, Lauren Hales, Emily Hefley, Stephanie Hom, Jill Guyton-Nee, Orixa Bowers, Jenn King, Louisa Koeppel, Sarah Ledbetter, Kristen Lucas, Tamara Prince-Parrish, Lauren Stallings, Wayne Smith, and Erin D.H. Williams along with filmmaker N’Seeka MacPherson and photographer Yasmine Omari.
Up in Arms Collective was born out of the need for the dance community to respond to what is happening in America in an open and affirming environment. The process leading up to the performances has allowed artists time, space, and energy as well as support to build and create, as they bring their responses to life through movement and dance.
A response is a reaction to something and an impulse caused by a change or event. The responses are candid, personal, and as diverse as the dance artists themselves and explore power, fear, truth, boldness, self-determination, activism, love, support, protection, humor,and revolution.
World-renowned dance icon Pina Bausch once said: “Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost.”
While we are all unique, Up in Arms believes we are stronger when we come together–united. We find one another and connect and share and discover we are not lost but when we respond through dance, we are empowered and through RESPONSE, we hope to leave others empowered. Art has the power to change us all and transform the world.
Dance artist and collaborator Sarah Ledbetter says, “I’m basically using this platform to
bush whack some breathing room for the sacred/secular feminine. To call up friends in big
places that we desperately need now. I’m not trying to show off. I’m trying to show up.”
Tickets are $10 cash only and available at the door. To find out more about RESPONSE and/or make reservations, like Up in Arms Collective on Facebook.
