August's First Thursday

"Exhibiting Excellence," Cornerstone Center for the Arts "Labyrinth," AfterHours Art Reels at The Fickle Peach Gunther Cartwright, "Palm Springs," at Gordy Fine Art and Framing "Be Our Guest," open-door rehearsals at Muncie Civic Theater Spencer Davis, "Figure Study," at Muncie Makes Lab

Cornerstone Center for The Arts

520 E. Main

“Exhibiting Excellence”

In celebration of another successful class session at Cornerstone Center for the Arts, the organization will feature artwork from its youth and adult students in the Cornerstone Art Gallery throughout the month of August. This mixed media collection of art will showcase the best visual arts pieces of the session chosen by Cornerstone’s instructors. With selections from both youth and adults with various artistic backgrounds, this show will truly highlight all that Cornerstone’s arts program has to offer.

An opening reception will be held in conjunction with First Thursday on August 4th from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Cornerstone Art Gallery. The reception is free and open to the public and many of the student-artists will be onsite to speak about their artwork.

The show will continue to be on display throughout the month of August to help promote upcoming fall twelve-week classes beginning in September. Information and registration for upcoming classes, workshops, and camps will be available on the evening of the opening reception as well as throughout the month of August.

For more information about the show call Cornerstone’s Department of Education and Communication at 765-281-9503, ext. 23.

The Fickle Peach (21+)

117 E. Charles

“Afterhours Art Reels: Labyrinth”

Muncie Downtown Development Partnership, in collaboration with The Fickle Peach, presents After Hours Art Reels following the First Thursday Gallery Walks in May through September. Come enjoy the gallery exhibits from 5-8pm, and join us afterwards at dusk for Jim Henson’s 1986 film Labyrinth, featuring David Bowie.

Films will be projected onto the Mutual Bank wall on Charles Street at dusk. Seating will be available on the Fickle Peach patio area located at 117 E. Charles St. for guests who are 21 and up. Viewers who are not yet 21 can watch the films from the sidewalk surrounding the patio area. 

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E. Main

“Industrial Blues: An Exhibit of Photography by Gunther Cartwright”

Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company will celebrate First Thursday, August 4th from 5-8 pm with an opening reception for Industrial Blues, an exhibit of landscape photography by Gunther Cartwright. The artist will be on hand to engage with viewers throughout the evening and will speak briefly to the audience about his work at 6:15pm. Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend.

Cartwright’s landscapes exquisitely capture the details of industry that form the backdrop of life in today’s modern world. About his interest in this subject matter, Cartwright explains, “The power lines, telephone poles, fences and industrial structures are a part of my daily visual experience. They are not in my way. I see them as elements of the landscape. They are there and they make their visual ‘sound.’ I am not interested in the picturesque but rather the formal arrangements of elements and color within the landscape.” His eye for vivid color and graphic compositions often draw unexpected connections among things seen in the everyday landscape, transforming banal and rarely celebrated visual moments into striking works of art.

Cartwright holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the renowned Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Applied Photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. An active lecturer and exhibitor, Cartwright has presented throughout Europe and the United States. He is a recipient of a Polaroid Corporation Photographer’s Grant and a New York State Council on the Arts Public Service Grant (CAPS). He has exhibited internationally in many one-man and group shows, including at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., the George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY, the National Museum of Photography, Bradford, England, The Photographer’s Gallery, London, England, and at Photokina, Köln, Germany.

Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company promotes talented artists and offers expert design and craftsmanship for framing and displaying treasured family possessions and works of art. Industrial Blues may also be viewed through the end of August during regular business hours: Monday through Friday, 9am-5:30pm, Saturday, 9am-3 pm. Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company is located at 224 East Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre. For more information, visit www.gordyframing.com or call (765) 284-8422.

Muncie Civic Theatre
216 E. Main

“Be Our Guest: Open-Door Rehearsals”

During August’s First Thursday events on August 4th, Muncie Civic Theatre will have wine in the lobby and open door rehearsals for Be Our Guest on stage (which opens August 6th). In a First Thursday “first,” they will also have a Pokemon Go Lure turned on throughout the evening.

Muncie Makes Lab

628 S. Walnut

“CritChat Exhibit: ART via CRAFT”

Muncie Makes Lab will host its third CritChat exhibit of the year for First Thursday, August 4 from 5-9 PM. “CritChat: ART via CRAFT” is a one night only pop-up exhibit that explores craft as an impetus for art making.

The line between art and craft is a blurry one that often looks to intention and function for clarification. Historically, practices such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and printmaking have been classified as “arts,” while ceramics, textiles, metalwork, and woodwork have been considered “crafts.” The primary distinction between the two has relied on whether the work was made with the intention of being expressive or solely utilitarian. “CritChat: ART via CRAFT” exhibits work that questions this distinction and further blurs the line between them.

Exhibiting artists will be present and guests are encouraged to ask questions throughout the evening. Beginning at 8 PM, the artists will introduce themselves and engage attendees in a sample CritChat experience, leading the audience through the process of providing informed, critical feedback on select pieces featured in the exhibit. DJ JANNELL will provide music, and light refreshments will be served.

CritChat is a free, community meet-up developed and facilitated by artists Holly Lay and Braydee Euliss. This monthly gathering invites local artists of all kinds to participate in conversation about their own work and the work of others. Painters, photographers, sculptors, and makers alike are encouraged to bring completed work, work-in-progress, and even unrealized ideas with the sole intention of sharing. By enabling dialogue, promoting collaboration, and providing critical feedback, the group hopes to build community and support for emerging area artists.

Find out more about CritChat & join the conversation every 3rd Thursday of the month from 7-9 PM at Muncie Makes Lab, 628 S. Walnut St. Muncie, IN 47605. No RSVP necessary. Muncie Makes Lab is a design/build, make, discuss, display, and workshop lab for students, faculty, and staff from Ball State University, as well as the Muncie community.