Vista Guild Hosts 22nd Annual Artista Vista April 25-27
April 23, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – April 25, 2013 – Artista Vista, The Midlands’ longest running gallery crawl, returns from Thursday, April 25 – Saturday, April 27, 2013. Vista artists and galleries will open their doors from 5 -9 p.m. Thursday, April 25 and for regular gallery hours April 26- 27 for this free, signature Vista event. For the first time, the Vista is also honoring Vista artist Susan Lenz as its Artista Vista Artist of the Year, sponsored by Jasper magazine.
In its 22nd year, Artista Vista will feature regionally and nationally recognized artists, as well as artists from the Midlands. Artists and gallery owners will be on hand to chat with visitors, giving attendees insight into their work and shows. Many galleries will also offer complimentary beverages and hors d’oeuvres as a part of Artista Vista.
“We’re always excited to highlight our galleries and the artists they bring to the Vista,” said Sarah Lewis, executive director of the Vista Guild. “And especially happy that we’re honoring Gallery 80808/Vista Studios artist Susan Lenz. She’s been a fixture in the Vista for years and part of the growth we’ve seen in our neighborhood.”
Participating Vista Galleries and Businesses:
City Art Gallery
Carol Saunders Gallery
Ellen Taylor Interiors
The Gallery at DuPre
Vista Studios/Gallery 80808
Lewis + Clark
The Gallery at Nonnah’s
if ART Gallery
One Eared Cow Glass
Trustus Theatre
River Runner Outdoor Center
Coal Powered Filmworks
Paul D. Sloan Interiors
Susan Lenz, a fiber artist using needle and thread who’s been working in the Vista at Gallery80808/Vista Studios for a decade, will be honored as the Artista Vista Artist of the Year. Lenz will exhibit five new three-dimensional assemblages at Gallery80808/Vista Studios. Additionally, Ellen Taylor Interiors (807 Gervais Street) will show and sell Lenz’s stained glass fiber work during Artista Vista. Lenz’s fiber artwork has been widely shown in international and national juried exhibitions and solo installations all over the country. Artista Vista attendees who visit the most galleries during Artista Vista will be entered for a chance to win a piece of Lenz’s art.
The Vista Guild will also sponsor Install It 3, several installation artists and their works, curated by Jeffrey Day. The 2013 exhibition taps into the history of the Vista’s Washington Street area, which was once a major business avenue and socially-important street for the African-American community. Most of the artworks will be installed in and around the former train tunnel running directly under Washington Street, now known as the Vista Greenway.
Install It 3 Artists:
Wendell George Brown
Amanda Ladymon
Kara Gunter
Bri Kinard
Michaela Pilar Brown
Kimberly Bookman
NEW THIS YEAR: Artista Vista attendees will have the opportunity to visit galleries and view installations around the Vista for three days: Thursday evening and during the day Friday and Saturday.
Friday, April 26:
8 p.m.: Art Bar “Shark’s Parlor” Party. Poetry readings and short stories by creative writing students in the USC Master of Fine Arts Program. Over five creative writers will share their work focusing on the subjects of Artista Vista and the Vista, followed by live music (free concert) from The Sea Wolf Mutiny.
Saturday April 27:
9:30 a.m.: One Columbia: Mayor’s Famously Hot Bike Ride through the Vista Greenway. Join Mayor Benjamin for this Famously Hot Bike Ride. Registration starts at 9:30am at the Seibels House; ride starts at 10:30 a.m. The tour will take you on an almost 3-mile, family-friendly ride through downtown Columbia and the Vista Greenway, and showcase some of the city’s most historic sites. For more information visit www.onecolumbiasc.com .
12 p.m.: City Art High Noon. – Gallery Talks with the artists
12-4 p.m.: Historic Columbia Foundation presents Mini Vista History Tours. Meet outside the Vista Room (corner of Lincoln & Lady Streets) under the Lincoln Street canopy.
1:30 p.m.: In
stall It 3: Above and Below tour. The participating artists and curator will give a tour of the installation artworks located in the Vista Greenway tunnel at Lincoln and Lady streets.
2:45 p.m.: The Gallery at DuPre. – Artist Talks
4 p.m.: Lewis + Clark Kaiserslautern Installation – 1221 Lincoln Street
6-8 p.m.: One Columbia Art Finale The Last Hurrah at Art Bar. Join OneColumbia and the Art Bar for this theatrical event. Columbia theaters will present their fall season’s plans to the public.
ONE COLUMBIA ONE MONTH CLOSING PARTY: After celebrating Columbia’s arts events and scene in April Artista Vista attendees are invited to finish off the weekend of gallery crawling at One Columbia’s Last Hurrah, where local theater companies will be pitching their upcoming seasons.
Artista Vista is free for attendees, and free parking is available in the Vista’s parking decks located on Lincoln Street near Lady, Park Street near Pendleton, and Lady Street near Wayne.
The Vista, Columbia’s premier art neighborhood, has been a force in keeping the Midlands’ art scene thriving through the past three decades. The modern Vista has its roots in the 1980s when artists began to move their studios to the area’s affordable warehouse space. Today’s restaurants, shopping and nightlife in historic buildings in the Vista are still driven by the Vista’s art-filled history.
Stay tuned to www.ArtistaVista.com for event maps and complete gallery and installation exhibition information. For more information about the Vista, please visit www.VistaColumbia.com or call Sarah Luadzers at (803) 269.5946. Follow the Vista Guild on Twitter at twitter.com/VistaGuild and on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/VistaGuild.
