Boneyard Arts Festival 2021 is almost here. And as you plan for this long-awaited event, consider events that are interactive. After 18+ months of virtual art experiences, make time for opportunities to do and do good during your BYAF weekend.
Here are five suggestions:
Check out demos and maybe even get your hands dirty
Photo from the BYAF website.
Several BYAF spots are offering pottery demos. Check out C-U Potters Club, The Ceramic Studio of Ingrid Melief, Howie Schein Pottery, and the Springer Culture Center (which will also be demoing ballet).
Chat up a Great ARTdoors artist in the park
Image from the Urbana Arts & Culture Program Facebook page.
Meet installation artist, and selected artist of The Great ARTdoors, Nathan Westerman and discuss his latest work. Stop by the corner of Illinois and Vine Streets in Urbana on Saturday, June 19th from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Take the road (or stairs) less taken
Image from the Urbana Museum of Photography’s Facebook page.
Make your way up to the hidden gem that is the Urbana Museum of Photography for a group photo show (plus a chance to check out the UMOP’s collection of cameras and equipment). A walk through the world of black and white silver gelatin prints is like a walk back in time.
Explore community art and artivism
Photo from the Urbana Arts & Culture Program Facebook page.
From 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 20th, Cunningham Township invites young people to “work with painter Saba Manetti-Tesfaye to use collaborative painting to celebrate Solidarity Gardens, a community collaborative to grow and share fresh produce with our neighbors in need.”
The folks at Unity in Action magazine will be hosting their first ever Art, Science, and Democracy Festival throughout BYAF weekend. As this SPlo’gs top banner image teases, this festival within a festival promises a wide range of virtual and in-person exhibits and interactive experiences throughout the weekend, including music production, graphic design, journalism, photography, filmmaking, and advocacy.
Celebrate Juneteenth with STARGAZERS
Image from the Urbana Free Library’s Facebook page.
STARGAZERS, an exhibition of poetry and graphic illustration by Shaya Robinson and Stacey Robinson, will be on display at the Urbana Free Library from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, June 18th and Saturday, June 19th, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. But if you’re ready for a live art experience, join the artists on from 1 to 3 p.m. for a “Juneteenth celebration with art and poetry. ” Stop by and join in the poetry writing and learn how to draw on an iPad with the artists.
Top image from the Unity in Action magazine Facebook page