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Truly amazing news, folks! First off, if you haven’t been keeping up with our coverage of the Fort Houston saga, start here and here. The Nashville Scene has a great piece covering the essentials here.
Fort Houston went before the Board of Appeals yesterday over the prospect of getting a parking variance. This would basically allow them to host classes at their NoHo facility, even though they lack the required number of parking spaces as dictacted by city codes. Because their landlord originally resisted the variance, Fort Houston’s prospects were looking dire.
I’m happy to learn that the city granted Fort Houston the parking variance! This means that Fort Houston will soon resume classes like Greg Pond’s much-heralded 3D Printing and Arduino workshops.
Sean Maloney over at the Nashville Scene blog Country Life has the scoop. Check out his full article here.
One of the many rooms in community creative space Fort Houston
Back in April, I wrote a blog titled “Fort Houston and the Nashville Art Scene Need Your Help!” The piece talked about the vitality of the Wedgewood-Houston arts community and vaguely discussed Fort Houston‘s difficulties in passing the city’s complex coding process. I entreated everyone to write letters to the mayor and city council reps. But I could only tell you part of the story — partially out of deference to Fort Houston while they attempted to resolve matters privately, partially because I didn’t know the whole story.
This morning the Tennessean published an article called “New artists warehouse Fort Houston runs into codes issues.” (In the print edition, it’s titled “Arts Space Seeks Zoning Variance.”) In the article, reporter Joey Garrison uncovers further layers of Fort Houston’s difficulties and reveals disputes with the Houston Street property landlord. The landlord’s arguments in the piece don’t make any sense whatsoever, and I’m convinced he’s not being honest about his motivation. Fort Houston’s lease runs out in November, and I don’t think it is likely that the landlord will renew it (especially after the Tennessean article). The only solution seems to be buying the property outright, but that would require a wealthy benefactor.
There are further layers of intrigue as yet unpublished … other players, other factors; but it would be irresponsible for me to discuss the rest until Fort Houston opens the dialogue. For now, Fort Houston needs your support like never before. Tour the facility. Talk with the staff. Ask what you can do to help.
Many a cadre of talented young people in Nashville have attempted to put together creative spaces like Fort Houston. It’s an incredibly-difficult enterprise. Most fail after less than a few years. But this one is special. Over the past three years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the Fort Houston founders’ high levels of professionalism, work-ethic, future-planning, business savvy and innovation. They are the best and brightest of Nashville’s creative up and comers. If this can happen to them, it can happen to any new arts organization. The question we really need to be asking our city leaders is this: “You have shown you are willing to support large commercial enterprises with questionable ties to the arts community. But are you willing to support young artists, new organizations, bottom-up development, the true future of Nashville’s art scene? Think hard on that before you reply. Your answer determines our future support of YOU.”
And before you read the Tennessean article, read Fort Houston Co-Founder Ryan Schemmel’s introductory remarks to the article here.
The Chestnut/Houston/4th-Avenue art triangle I like to call “NoHo” is the place to be this Friday. In my last blog post, I told you about Robbie Hunsinger’s reactive sound sculpture opening at Seed Space. That exhibit is open from 6pm to 8, but you should plan to arrive right at 6.
That will give you enough time to head over to Zeitgeist Gallery at 7pm to catch NYC avant jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson‘s new band Secret Keeper (with double-bassist Stephan Crump). I’ve been to nearly all of the Indeterminacies programs, and this one has me the most excited. Rodger Coleman writes on his blog NuVoid,
I was recently asked to curate the May 2013 “Indeterminacies” event at Zeitgeist Gallery. At first, I wasn’t sure what to do but after some thought, I decided to really go for it: Why not bring Mary Halvorson to Nashville? Well, as it turns out her new band, Secret Keeper, a duo with bassist, Stephan Crump, will be touring the states in support of their upcoming CD on Intakt, Super Eight. Fortuitously enough, we have them confirmed for Friday May 10! … The New Yorker has labeled Mary Halvorson “the current it girl of avant jazz guitar” while The New York Times just decreed Nashville “the nation’s ‘it’ city.” I suppose this is just a confluence of events. Whatever, it is going to be awesome!
Friday night at Zeitgeist also marks the opening of Greg Pond‘s new art exhibition. Greg is an installation artist, hacker, 3D printing pioneer, filmmaker, musician and Associate Professor of Art at University of the South in Sewanee. He most recently created, along with Benton Bainbridge, the interactive installations at the Ballet Mécanique show at Blair School of Music. I’ve certainly gushed about him in the past.
Greg writes,
I have a solo show of sculpture, images generated from software, and sound for the first exhibition at the new home of the Zeitgeist Gallery. It will be on view from May 10 to June 8. The reception for the exhibition will be June 1. On the evening of May 10 there will be an Indeterminacies performance in the gallery. I will be on hand during this event.
Greg also recently completed a multi-year documentary project about contemporary life in Kingston 12, Jamaica called Born in Trench Town. Greg will screen the documentary at some point during the exhibition’s run. I’ll let you know the screening date as soon as it’s announced. Based on the trailer below, it looks like a must-see!
Oh, by the way, all of these Friday events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
Nashville musician and multi-media artist Robbie Lynn Hunsinger has a new exhibit opening up at Seed Space on Friday, May 10th from 6pm to 8pm. The reactive sound sculpture is a collaboration with Middle Tennessee Robotic Art Society members Patrick Becker and Steve Ghertner. Skitter Flutter sounds absolutely fascinating, and I can’t wait to check it out on Friday.
Skitter Flutter is also heavily influenced by Hunsinger’s years of pre-dawn bird rescue in the Chicago area as Founder of The Chicago Bird Collision Monitors program, a very successful conservation effort in which volunteers save injured and stunned migratory birds that have struck buildings.
She became fascinated with the idea of creating an invisible array of reactive sounds similar to small mammals, insects or birds but created entirely by motors. Sounds pull the viewer in but dissipate upon investigation, much as crickets grow quiet as we approach.
The mirror neuron creates a reaction in an observer which reflects the chemical changes in the person actually experiencing an event firsthand, which seems to manifest the neurological existence of empathy.
“You get hit, I flinch.” These interactive sound sculptures encourage this type of response. They are as much felt as seen or heard.
