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Arts Connection for February 23-24, 2007 Meet some of the women of Gee's Bend, Alabama, whose quilts are on display at the Orlando Museum of Art; also Playfest 2007, concerts by the Orlando Philharmonic, and other highlights from the cultural calendar.
Gee's Bend: The Archtecture of the Quilt is currently on display at the Orlando Museum of Art, with over 70 quilts by women in the isolated all-black community of Gee's Bend, Alabama. Their work gained national prominence in 2002 when an art historian discovered their work, and the first national exhibit opened in Houston. This is the 2nd exhibit and it will be at OMA through May 13. There is also a companion exhibit of quilts by Eatonville women at the Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts.
Finally, click here to listen to a 2004 interview with the curators of the original exhibit that aired on NPR's Talk of the Nation.
PlayFest 2007 - the Harriet Lake Festival of New Plays - opens this weekend at the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival in Loch Haven Park. Nationally-known playwrights will be featured in 3 workshops and 11 readings. There's also a Playwrights Panel, and Play in a Day, where writers and actors have 24 hours to create and stage a 10-minute play. For information, call 407-447-1700.
The Orlando Philharmonic will give 2 concerts in the coming days....this Satuday, 2/24, guest conductor Daniel Hege performs classics by Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, and next Saturday, 3/3, the OPO will be joined by actors Roy Allen and Laura Hodos for a staged version of The Music Man, along with The Orlando Chorale and dozens of high school musicians.
The Museum of Florida Art (formerly the Deland Museum of Art) has an annual exhibit themed to Daytona's Bike Week - it's The Art of Chrome and Leather 4, with biker art by airbrush artist Chris Cruz and bike designers. It opens this week, and the museum Chrome & Leather Bash is next Friday, March 2nd. For information, call 386-734-4371.
Central Florida Folk has a monthly concert at Leu Gardens - this Sunday at 3, they welcome Acoustic Eidolon, whose music has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and John Diliberto's Echoes. For information, call 407-246-2620.
Defending the Caveman will play in Orlando this weekend, with performances Saturday, 2/24 at the Plaza Theatre, at 5pm and 8:30pm. It was the longest running 1-man play in broadway history, and even though writer and comedian Rob Becker no longer tours, several other actors continue to bring this play on the differences between men & women, to theatres around the world.
The town of Green Cove Springs, south of Jacksonville, is working to preserve the legacy of Augusta Savage, a leading Black visual artist. Bill Dudley of the Florida Humanities Council has this report.
The Steinway Piano Gallery started a Piano Bank last fall, to give refurbished pianos to underpriviledged students. This Sunday at 2:30, there will be a ceremony at the Altamonte Springs store to award the next round of pianos, and for the students (and public) to hear 14-year old piano prodigy, Maria Verbeite.
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The story of these women has inspired plays, articles and a book - John Beardsley wrote