This is the end...

We've completed 7 shows in 7 great cities - Cincinnati, Atlanta, New Orleans, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. Our trailer has been perpetually weighed down by pounds of paint, putty, pedestals, gallery walls, and supports. So...what else to do but burn the whole thing down? We took it all to the beach and burnt it on a chilly summer evening in San Francisco (don't worry, the art of course is safe and being shipped back to the owners as we speak:). The burn was something to behold and a great relief from both our conscience and our truck! Enjoy the pics and if you have any questions about the show or the venues, feel free to contact Cal or Skip. Thank you for all who gave their work, time, and effort into making this show a success.

San Francisco!!!!

We finally made it to San Francisco, CA and celebrated by having an awesome show in what many believe is the best park in the city, Delores Park. It's a friendly park with lots of dogs and people, reading, playing music, laying out, right in the heart of the Mission District. We found a great place to set up at the west entrance to the park and chatted it up with the locals. We had about 200 people check out the exhibit that afternoon, Wednesday the 26th. Check out the pics! This was our final stop and I think we both can say that it's been a great show and an amazing adventure. We met a lot of great people interested in the work and what we were doing - always a rewarding conversation to have.

Las Vegas!

Though we weren't allowed to set up on the strip, for fear that we might detract attention away from the glitter and glam of the casinos - thereby affecting revenue (as if!), we did find a sweet spot to set up at the recently closed down Las Vegas Art Museum. A more suburban spot, the museum is connected to a thriving library. So although the museum was closed, there was still plenty of foot traffic and a packed lot on a Sunday afternoon. Here's some pics of our set up, which happened on Sunday, August 23rd.

SLC Greener Grass-

Salt Lake City was by far the most understanding and helpful city to host our show. The Salt Lake City Arts Commission went out of their way to find the perfect time and place for Greener Grass to set up. We were luckily able to set up right in front of City Hall downtown in a small park called Washington Square on the 19th. There was one other artist set up in the park, a photographer, who spoke very highly of the art scene in SLC and seemed to be trying to sway us away from our dream of the west coast! In Salt Lake City, as an artist you can buy a $30 a year permit and then have the right to set up anywhere in the city and sell your work, which is what the photographer had done.

At Washington Square on the 19th they had a "Brown Bag Lunch Concert", part of a series of music performances that go on downtown every weekday during the summer. The Debi Graham Band entertained us with their music, and we had about 100 people enjoy the Greener Grass Show during the concert. Thank you Salt Lake!

Our next show will be in Las Vegas today, outside of the Las Vegas Art Museum (or what used to be as it has been closed since February due to lack of funding).

It's been a while . . . Updates and Denver

We've had trouble finding wi-fi lately, and when it was found, we've been too tired to update this. But here's some news for you anyway, better late than never.

After New Orleans, we headed into Texas for our next show. Unfortunately however, the day we had set aside for the show was a wash out, and we had to cancel due to the weather.

For our show in Denver, we were graciously hosted by the Plus Gallery in downtown Denver. Check out their website - they are doing some great stuff! We set up directly in front of their gallery on Sunday, August 13th, and enjoyed the Sunday afternoon foot traffic through downtown.

Greener Grass hits the Big Easy!

Here's some images of our show in New Orleans. We set up in the median (aka the "Neutral Ground" in New Orleans lingo) in between two galleries on their opening night. We got a lot of visitors and had some wonderful conversations. Approximately 130 people came and checked out the show! Thanks again to The Front Gallery for being so gracious with their space and supporting our efforts.

Note: the Rodriguez dog graffiti was not intentionally part of the show, but by location and chance became part of the conversation. I thought it a nice add-on for the exhibit in New Orleans.

The Next Show!

Our next appearance (unless we see fit somewhere in-between), will be in the median outside of The Front Gallery in New Orleans on Saturday, August 8th, from 6-9pm. It should be a great show with lots of gallery goers out and about. Hope to see you there!

Atlanta Show

The show in Atlanta took place at George Pierce Park, just outside of the city, on August 3rd. We had good attendance and enjoyed the city and people of Atlanta, GA!

Cincinnati Opening Show!

We had our opening at the Final Friday Gallery Walk in Cincinnati, Ohio on July 31st. A few under 200 people attended and checked out the show. Here's a pic of the show, just off Main Street:

The Artists:

We have narrowed down our entries and officially have a list of participating artists. Click on names to link to their sites.

Joshua Bindewald
Peoria, IL

John Cessna
Elkhart, IN

Angela Dieffenbach
Iowa City, IA

Elizabeth Gerdeman
Columbus, OH

Mark Hanavan
Mason, OH

Jake Isenhour
Lexington, KY

Sam Kay Kronkow
Chicago, IL

Roy Lamphere
Chicago, IL

Jim Mays
Cincinnati, OH

Anastasia Samoylova
Peoria, IL

Philip Spangler
Cincinnati, OH

Stacy Searcy
Chicago, IL

Paige Williams
Cincinnati, OH

Mike Willett
Cincinnati, OH

Matt Wiseman
Florence, KY

Press Release!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Greener Grass debuts in Cincinnati: a traveling exhibition of risk and reward

Attend the opening of a cross-country exhibition of contemporary art from the mid-west as it prepares for a month on a portable gallery wall.


CINCINNATI (July 31, 2009) – Visitors of the Final Friday Gallery Walk in Over the Rhine this month will be greeted by the addition of a new gallery. Scanning this article for an address will not do any good, however, as there isn’t one. This gallery is a solitary wall, intended for visitors to find in unexpected places. Greener Grass, a show co-curated by artists Calcagno and Skip Cullen, will be traveling across the US during the month of August. The show has stops in Cincinnati, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Oklahoma City, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.

The concept for Greener Grass was prompted by Calcagno and Skip’s relocation to San Francisco. Being artists living and working in Cincinnati, they have dealt with many of the challenges of making art in the heartland. Upon planning their move, they decided to expand the reach of their relocation by curating this show to promote and proliferate mid-west artists.

Marketing art from the mid-west is not the only thing Greener Grass intends to do. The show is the realization of a dream: moving to the west coast. It both conceptually and figuratively evokes the concept of growing, moving, and adapting to make aspirations realities. The show also deals with the pros and cons of being a mid-west artist, and dreaming of alternate lives in new places, hence the title, Greener Grass.

The opening will take place on Main Street in Over the Rhine between 13th and 14th Streets on July 31st from 6-10pm. More information on the show and continuing coverage of the exhibition can be found at www.greenergrass09show.blogspot.com.

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EXHIBIT MAP!

Here is the basic layout for our trip. Dates are yet to be determined but the grand opening will be on Main Street of Cincinnati during the Final Friday Gallery Walk on July 31st from 5-9pm. Free popsicles will be served!

The Show:

The difficulties of living in the mid-west and being a contemporary artist are many, but so are the rewards. This cross-country exhibit is intended to both address these challenges and rejoice in the merits of making art in the heartland. We are traveling cross-country with this show, and will have many stops in cities including New Orleans, Houston, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. The show will only last one full day in each stop, and the exact dates, locations, and times are yet to be determined but the entire show will be between the dates of August 1st and 31st. The show will be on one large transportable gallery wall, surveying the country as an outdoor traveling exhibit. The goal of this show is to engage people from across the country in the art of the Heartland, and to create discourse and art experiences in unexpected places.

The inspiration for this show is our impending move to the west coast. We have lived in, endured, and participated in the art scene of the mid-west for many years and feel that as we travel, we should pay homage to our identity. This is an adventure intended to both make friends and connections for ourselves and for the mid-western artists we will be representing. We hope to impact the scenery and the people we will be encountering, if only temporarily.