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CONVERGE: AAWR
August 26, 2021 @ 6:30 pm - October 16, 2021 @ 4:00 pm
Ray Caspio, I Am Just so Scared to Touch You (But If I Do), Mixed media, 45 x 33”
CONVERGE Venue Name: Artists Archives of the Western Reserve
Venue Location: 1834 East 123rd Street, Cleveland OH 44106
Venue Exhibition Dates: August 26 – October 16th
Gallery Hours: W-F 10am – 4pm, Sat 12pm – 4pm
Venue Website: CONVERGE – Artists Archives of the Western Reserve
Venue Contact: 216-721-9020
Venue Exhibiting Artists: Ray Caspio, Trey Gehring, Jim George, Nancy Halbrooks, Michael W. High, Rodney Hines, Rowan Leek, Max Markwald, Charles Mayer, Kelly Pontoni, Laurie Reydman, Dan Rothenfeld, Ron Shelton, Kevenn Smith, Aaron Swank, Shawny Walthaw, Tony Williams
Special Venue Events:
- Artist Archives Opening Reception | Thursday, August 26
- Featured appearance by Veranda L’Ni Cleveland’s Tallest Drag Entertainer
- Private VIP Reception | 5:30 – 6:30pm
- Public Reception | 6:30 – 8:30pm
- Virtual Program: Un(masc)ing Drag History with Dr. Lady J | Tuesday, September 14 | 7:00 – 8:15pm | Register here
- Virtual Program: ART + AIDS Panel Discussion | Wednesday, October 6 | 7:00 – 8:15pm
- Workshop: Cleveland MetroHealth AIDS Quilt Making
- Saturday, September 25 | 11:00am – 1:00pm or 1:00 – 3:00pm
- Wednesday, September 29 | 12:00 – 2:00pm or 2:00 – 4:00pm
- Thursday, October 7 | 4:00 – 6:00pm or 6:00 – 8:00pm
- Workshop: moCa + AAWR AIDS Story Sharing
- Part I| Saturday, September 25 | 10:00 – 12:00pm | Artists Archives
- Part II | Wednesday, December 1 | 5:00 – 7:00pm | moCa
- Workshop: Joyce Morrow Jones Doll Making | Artists Archives
- Saturday, October 16 | 10:00am – 3:00pm
- Sunday, October 17 | 10:00am – 3:00pm
CONVERGE Venue Statement:
CONVERGE is a broad-based exhibition encompassing the many facets of the Western Reserves’ LGBTQAI + visual arts community. The purpose of the exhibition is to celebrate and document the Legacy and the contributions of these artists to the cultural fabric of the Western Reserve. It purposefully encompasses a wide breadth of styles and disciplines produced by seventy-one diverse artists ranging in age from young adults to octogenarians. The stories these artists chose to communicate through their work span a wide range from protest, pride, and transformation to simple joy in the aesthetics of beauty and act of creation
The mission of the Artists Archives is to uphold and preserve the histories and legacies of our Ohio artists, with a focus on the Western Reserve. The documentation of the work of the LGBTQAI + community of artists to the overall history of the Western Reserve has not previously been compiled to any great extent. It is our hope that holding this exhibition, producing a catalog, recording the artists oral histories, and supporting their stories in a series of virtual programs, will begin the process of historical documentation for future generations.
Their stories, their lives and their art CONVERGE here into one grand exhibition revealing who they are, what they do, why they do it, and how important their viewpoints are to all of us. Mindy Tousley, Executive Director AAWR 2021