Month: January 2023

Not Your Average Paintings

A Place Remembered and Imagined is an immersive installation of watercolor paintings on large rolls of paper by Maja Godlewska. This breathtaking installation runs through March 4, 2023, in The Lincoln Center Art Gallery.

Maja has been researching the spectacle of global “Insta”-tourism, following and photo-documenting travelers in the most Instagram-able destinations such as Greenland, Iceland, Mauritius and Sicily—and in North America, the National Parks and Monuments of the West. In May 2019, she continued this work in Tasmania as an artist-in-residence at the University of Tasmania Cradle Coast. She started this project through a collaboration with the local community for whom (not unlike Fort Collins) a spectacular, sought-after, pristine nature is a part of everyday life.

While electronic devices serve as intermediaries in the travelers’ experience—allowing for curating of the experience for an online audience—her own studio practice in response to the phenomenon is painstakingly slow-paced. Thinking of the landscape as a space half-remembered, half-imagined, she paints large-scale paper scrolls to be displayed as free-standing, contemplative installations she calls “Islands.”

Recently she has also been exploring how the pandemic—disrupting global tourism and travel—has altered our perception of the outdoors, which has now become a safe space. Local state parks, city parks and greenways have become a refuge for those living in the cities, including many who have never considered themselves outdoorsmen.

Learn more at www.lctix.com/remembered-and-imagined

The Art Gallery in the Lincoln Center lobby features selected Pianos About Town Murals in an exhibition titled Painted Fragments. This exhibit is also on view through March 4.

Pianos About Town is a collaborative project between the City of Fort Collins Art in Public Places Program, Bohemian Foundation and the Downtown Development Authority. The 2023 season marks the 13th year for the program and begins in May. So far, 158 murals have been painted.

Pianos About Town combines art and music for the enjoyment of the community. Each summer, a new piano is painted every two weeks allowing the public to interact with artists as they work. The completed pianos rotate to locations throughout Fort Collins, inviting people to admire the artwork and play a tune.

When the pianos are no longer playable, they are disassembled and what isn’t recyclable is offered to artists to create new projects. When the pianos are prepared for painting, plywood panels are added to the back to give the artists a flat surface to paint. Painted plywood panels from past piano murals by Amanda Acheson, Jenna Allen, Elisa Gomez, Michael Ryan and Anne Thouthip are featured in this exhibit.

Learn more at www.lctix.com/painted-fragments

Daring to Dream

The word “dreamer” means something different for everyone. For some in America, it may evoke issues tied to immigration; for others, it simply represents the idea that anything is possible no matter how impractical or idealistic. Magos Herrera and Brooklyn Rider invite you to join them at Colorado State University’s Center for the Arts on January 25 as they challenge and explore these ideas through the music of their Grammy-nominated album Dreamers.

To Magos Herrera, “A dreamer is someone that is capable of imagining beyond our reality.” Her latest album with Brooklyn Rider focuses on how this ability to imagine can transform the way we view immigration. Herrera sings the narrative of Dreamers through contemporary jazz mixed with the melodies of Latin America, appealing to the emotions and the powerful message behind the music. Her sultry voice and compelling stage presence have made her a force in the Latin American jazz scene. Through this music, Magos Herrera strives to be the voice of marginalized people of Latin America, who dare to dream under oppressive regimes and the young dreamers that fled in pursuit of a better life.

Her songs are inspired by the political tension that stems from anti-immigrant sentiments and her own personal experiences as an immigrant with US citizenship. “This project was born during Trump’s America,” she states. “It was a perfect inspiration to speak up as a Mexican immigrant.” The album’s objective is to challenge the narrow definition of an immigrant and how immigrants are seen. “I wanted to share the beauty of Latino America and to show the greatness of Latino America.”

Herrera has cemented her place in the Latin American music scene for over 20 years and cites her album Dreamers as—without a doubt—a breakthrough. “I forced myself into an unknown place when we started this project,” she says.

As a part of braving the uncharted waters for Dreamers, she brought in the famed New York avant-garde string quartet Brooklyn Rider. “They embrace my sound, the way I sing and the way I create the live performance. They really embraced this collaboration.” In 2017, Brooklyn Rider’s potent sound grabbed her attention at a national music festival, and the rest is history. “Every single step has been incredible and profound—to learn from these incredible musicians.” 

The bond between her and the audience is what she lives for as a performer. Incredible is the word she would use to describe her connection with her audience. “It’s magical when you’re serving that music on stage and people connect with you on a very deep level. Through music, we are one. It’s so beyond.”

Come take a musical journey with Herrera and Brooklyn Rider as they celebrate the beauty of music as a political act. Feel the notes move through you, the words transport you and join the musical celebration that tells the story of Latin Americans and encourages everyone to dream. Herrera and Brooklyn Rider will perform their album Dreamers in its entirety on January 25 at the UCA’s Griffin Concert Hall. Tickets start at $29 and are available at LCtix.com.