This month's Marotta Hour is a meeting of three of Columbus's better known improvisers and collaborators: Ryan Jewell (percussion), Mike Shiflet (electronics), and series curator Larry Marotta (guitar). 

Marotta Hour is an electro-acoustic music series featuring unexpected sounds from free jazz to electronic to free-form improvisation. Come hear some of the most cutting-edge musicians and composers from Columbus and beyond. Free and open to all. Donations accepted. 

This month's Urban Monthly Mix Exchange is all about the songs you listen to when you are too hot and sweaty to move or are relaxing in the refreshing air conditioning.  Bring your Air Conditioning Coma/Electric Fan Orchestra themed mix to the Space to exchange with your fellow music enthusiasts. We will be discussing, listening to, and watching the music videos for selected music on the mixes.  The participant with the best title to this month's theme, suggestion for next month's theme, or the best CD cover design will win a gift certificate to a local shop or eatery.  

Urban Monthly Mix Exchange is a program for the community to mingle and become exposed to new musical artists. Contests and gift certificates to local shops and eateries are also awarded. Due to copyright issues, the music on the CD must be legally obtained; illegally downloaded music is not permitted. The exchange is open to people of all ages. Free and open to all. Join our mix tape community and tell a friend!    

Image courtesy of Wendy Qi

 
Join us each Saturday to learn about digital video recording.  Watch Short Films, learn how to create short video projects, and examine different types of digital equipment.  Participants will also meet representatives from Columbus' film making community, who will demonstrate how to select and operate video tools for home use.  

Please RSVP for this free workshop series by phone at (614) 292-8861, or by email at uas@osu.edu. Space and equipment is limited.  It is encouraged, but not required, to attend all of the workshops sessions.

Ron Luce, Executive Director of the Athens County Historical Society, will provide a brief history of the coal mining industry in Southeastern Ohio and discuss the role the area played in the development of the United Mine Workers of America.  Though it is largely gone as an industry in the area, coal mining helped shape the culture of the region.

Image: Robert E. Peppers, Scenic View: A Stripscape (Above and Under), 2011

______________________________________________________________________  

 
In Nothing is Very Complicated, artist Dina Sherman utilizes the perspective of puns as a point of entry in considering the inadequacies of language. Text is moved into the visual field, revealing the lyricism and poetics of both the form and content of words.  

Enlisting the help of writer Ryan Williams and artist Sarah Blyth-Stephens, Nothing is Very Complicated contains humorous and endearing pieces centered on wordplay.   

 
Image: Dina Sherman, Nothing is Very Complicated 

 
The Accessible Expressions Ohio visual art exhibit and tour began in 1996. This program provides professional development opportunities for artists to create, exhibit and sell their art. Additionally the exhibition raises awareness of all abilities by presenting art by people with disabilities in inclusive settings. The OSU Urban Arts Space is proud to be one stop on the statewide tour in 2011.   

VSA Ohio is a statewide service organization dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities, creatively and inclusively, through the arts. VSAO is an affiliate of the international network, VSA, and presents programming in education, professional development, access, and outreach.

 
Leni D. Anderson exhibits his installation War and Peace to the OSU Urban Arts Space as an exploration of medieval and renaissance-inspired art in a post-9/11 world.

 "My goal as an artist is to use my artwork to challenge thoughts and opinions (subjective and objective) about how we as individuals & as members of society-at-large interpret, form, and/or base our understanding and beliefs about information (visual, text and media based) we have grown up with and are confronted with on a daily basis."

Image: Leni Anderson, War and Peace 

 
The unique spirit of southeastern Ohio - as shaped by its geography, history and people - will emanate from this exhibition, juried and brought to the OSU Urban Arts Space by Majestic Galleries. With an open call for entries from artists of southeastern Ohio, this exhibition will bring to Columbus works from a region that is rich with character and artistry.

Majestic Galleries is an artist cooperative based in Nelsonville, Ohio. 

Image: Aaron Smith, Untitled #2, Nelsonville Series, oil on canvas, 2010    

For the first time in its history, the OSU Urban Arts Space is thrilled to present Internal Affairs, an exhibition consisting entirely of original art from its current staff members. Work will stem from the diverse collection of artists who compose the Space team; including fine artists, designers, writers and scholars. Join us as we create a new dialogue between our staff and the community.  

Image courtesy of Connie Hill.  

Wednesday, June 1st through Wednesday, August 31st

We are excited to work in partnership with the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation for the Urban Arts Outdoors - an open air gallery on the grounds of the new Columbus Commons park every Wednesday through August 31st. We'll have student and alumni artwork on display and for sale at our booths. 

Urban Arts Outdoors will be a part of the weekly Lunch on the Lawn at the park which will include a farmers market, live music coordinated by CAPA, and a plethora of food trucks.   

Friday, Jul 29th through Friday, August 26th

Reception: TBD 

 
City Center Gallery becomes a battleground; lines are drawn, and the work is incrementally embedded into the space. In Control, Penrose/Bontrager design and play a game that explores the relationships between automated process, user and interface. The turn-based game takes place throughout the exhibition's run as each artist develops his individual system in response to the sequential developments of the other.  This adversarial collaboration drives the evolution of the total work.

 Penrose/Bontrager are attracted to the stylized control panels that exist within the video-scape of film and television. Littered with flashing lights, switches, buttons and sliders, these control panels suggest a world of possibilities between the user and the automated process. Through engaging these materials, the work poses such questions as: What does a button do?  How does it do it? And what is done to the one who pushes it?

Tuesday, September 20th through Saturday, October 8th

Reception: TBD 

 
What happens when you fuse innovative education and practical experience?  You get the unique opportunity to discover the immense creativity displayed by this year's Idea Lab recipients.  Idea Lab is a student-run grant program that promotes the transformation of OSU student ideas into reality.  By providing useful guidance and up to $2,000 in project support, the OSU Urban Arts Space ensures that students' proposed ideas will reach the general public. Selected from a pool of competitive proposals, the 2011 Idea Lab grant recipients epitomize the mission and vision of the OSU Urban Arts Space. 

The exhibition showcases everything from putting art in unusual places to a walk that raised over $7,000 for eating disorder awareness.  Idea lab is proud to present the ways that its participants have diversely impacted the Columbus community. 

Call for Entries

We are excited to offer three new opportunities for students and the public alike to exhibit their artwork through the Space! For more information and to apply, visit our Call for Entries page.