Space One Eleven celebrates 35th anniversary

Space One Eleven Arts Center 35th Anniversary

WHAT: The Happening on 2nd

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 15 at 1-7 p.m.

WHERE: Space One Eleven Arts Center, 2409 Second Ave. N., Birmingham, AL 35203

TICKETS: $20 each - https://spaceoneeleven.org/the-happening-on-2nd/

Space One Eleven is celebrating its 35th anniversary of artmaking and promoting social justice through visual arts and music festival on Oct. 15, from 1-7 p.m. at The Happening on 2nd.

Founded in 1986, Space One Eleven Arts Center is a non-profit visual arts organization that offers contemporary art exhibitions and art classes to the community while promoting social justice through the visual arts.

The event will provide the whole family with an unforgettable experience promoting art and entertainment while celebrating 35 years of artmaking, innovation, education, and exploration.

Attendees can view the 35th Anniversary Art Exhibition, enjoy live music and performance, participate in art activities, including taking a spin at the pottery wheels, a public printmaking activity with Paperworkers Local, live portraits by Andy Jordan, children's face painting with Painted Personalities, and a Kids’ Art Zone; in addition to performances and interactions with Hoop for Fitness, Dala Tribal Bellydancers, Tragic City Rollers, Magic City Disco, and roving characters.

Food trucks will be onsite and include Cantina on Wheels, Krazy Good BBQ, and Street Cafe food trucks. Drink options will be available as well with a selection of refreshing beverages from Coca-Cola Bottling Company United and local craft beer and signature cocktails from Ghost Train Brewery.

Guests can bring their lawn chairs and watch football while experiencing some of the city’s best local musical talent with performances by Teenage Daddy, Alabama School of Fine Arts Youth Jazz Band, and solo artist Dominique Posey, as seen on American Idol; in addition to a sci-fi Latino noir solo performance by special guest José Torres-Tama.

Elias Hendricks, Birmingham native and international entertainer, will emcee this event.

“As we celebrate 35 years as an organization, we look back at over 100 exhibitions of work by artists of regional, national and international significance,” said Space One Eleven CEO and Co-Founder Peter Prinz.

“Everyone was so hungry for an exhibition space in the Deep South, a geographic area often overlooked and never considered a cultural destination, and so we began, and what an adventure it’s been! We are looking forward to many more years of supporting our community.”

The Happening on 2nd attendees can view Space One Eleven’s 35th Anniversary Exhibition IV, the final exhibition of the 35th-anniversary exhibition series, which showcases work by artists throughout Space One Eleven’s history. Space One Eleven has a tradition of being a space where artists can create and exhibit their work, comment on social issues and challenge misconceptions without the fear of censorship.

The first 35th Anniversary Exhibit entitled “Drawn Together” premiered Sept. 17, followed by the “Relevance” and “Continuity” exhibits.

“Celebration” will close out the series and will be on display from Oct. 15, 2022 until Jan. 6, 2023 and features work from artists Larry Anderson, SOE Co-Founder Anne Arrasmith, Doug Barrett, Pinky Bass, Jon Coffelt, Mary Ann Culotta, Peggy Dobbins, Laura Elkins, Karen Graffeo, Lonnie Holley, Janice Kluge, Cam Langley, Charlie Lucas, Mary Ann Sampson, David Sandlin, Bob Shelton, Scott Stephens, Larry Thompson, Toni Tully, Joseph Wheeler, and Lela Marie Williamson.

Schedule:

1:30-1:40 p.m.- Welcome By SOE & Emcee Elias Hendricks, a Birmingham native and a singer of multiple genres: performing opera, musical theater, and soul music. Most notably, Hendricks is the founder of Vox Fortura, a classical crossover quartet specializing in the combination of opera and soul. Hendricks has performed on stages in Hong Kong, London and more, and most recently has been working to build a Birmingham-based minority Coalition of Classically Trained Professionals and a nonprofit for under-served youth of Birmingham, both of which create more opportunities for minorities in the classical arena.

1:40-2 p.m. - Dala Tribal Bellydance

2-2:45 p.m. - Alabama School of Fine Arts Jazz Band

2:45-4:15 p.m. - Teenage Daddy, a product of Gant Productions, features Billy Gant. The band is a collaboration of Southeastern musicians who play a wide variety of 80s, 90s, Classic Rock, Top 40, Hip Hop, Motown, Funk, Jazz, and R&B.

4:25-4:45 p.m. - Magic City Disco

4:45-5 p.m. - Aliens, Immigrants & Other Evildoers performance by José Torres-Tama is a published poet, playwright, journalist, photographer, and performer. As the Artistic Director of ArteFuturo Productions in New Orleans, Torres-Tama explores the impacts of mass media on race relations and anti-immigrant hysteria gripping the country. His solo show, Aliens, Immigrants & Other Evildoers, is a sci-fi Latino noir performance that exposes the hypocrisies of a system that dehumanizes immigrants while readily exploiting their labor.

5-6:30 p.m. - Dominique Posey made a name for himself when he shined bright as a contestant on Season 16 of American Idol. Since then, Posey has performed all over the country, including numerous performances at venues right here in the Magic City.

Space One Eleven founders believe it is essential that artists are central to the discourse on issues of race, gender, and economic disparity in a Southern community where such conversations are traditionally not had around the dinner table.

For more information about The Happening on 2nd and how to buy tickets, visithttps://spaceoneeleven.org/the-happening-on-2nd/. Tickets are $20 per person, which provides admission into the event and all event activities.

Submitted by Cheryl Lewis, Space One Eleven Arts Center