Exhibit to finish with concert and live, on-stage painting
Amiri Geuka Farris, a multi-disciplinary contemporary artist known for dynamic, powerful artwork that combines an alluring blend of vivid colors and layered textures, will debut his unique Summer touring exhibit at the Palmetto Theater in Hampton County on Juneteenth (June 19th). The exhibition will culminate its Hampton run with a spectacular send-off concert event featuring Farris painting live on stage during a concert headlined by the Grammy Award-Winning drummer Quentin Baxter (of Ranky Tanky fame) and his Quentin Baxter Quintet, offering a unique evening of art and entertainment.
The exhibition will open at the Palmetto Theater on Sunday, June 19th and be open daily throughout the following week during the famous Hampton County Watermelon Festival from June 20th through June 25th. On June 25th, Amiri will be on site in Hampton, behind Studio 111 (111 Lee Avenue) with award-winning printmaker Ian Welch, creating signed, limited edition prints of his work. That evening at 8:30 PM he will host an interactive party for the whole community in Hampton’s Art Alley. The evening event, “Artscape After Dark”, will feature pop-up street performers, glow-in-the-dark art, and original music created for the exhibit. After June 25th, the remainder of the collection’s time in Hampton will be open by appointment for school and community groups and individual collectors.
The closing send-off Concert/Live Action Painting Event will take place on Friday, July 8th starting at 7 p.m., with tickets to this special concert event priced at $25.
The exhibition is a collection of new works by Farris, who is known as “Amiri de Artist” – and will highlight 92 pieces of artwork inspired by this season of summer in the year 2022. Original artwork for the tour will include everything from smaller postcard sized works to large mural sized artworks, and will be comprised of paintings, assemblages and multimedia works to take people on an introspective journey, deep into the artist’s view of this season of active conscience summer. Each piece is an unfiltered look into the artist’s reality, as seen through the prism of hues, culture, memory and perceptions on the artist’s view of Summer. From Hampton, the pieces will travel throughout the Lowcountry for the rest of the summer.
“One of my goals is to make artwork more accessible to art lovers in out-of-the-way places and new viewers of contemporary art,“ said Farris, whose work has been featured in more than 50 solo exhibitions and juried museum exhibitions across the United States, including the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. and the Smithsonian. “Other unique aspects of this exhibit include Action Painting and artist talks at local venues in the South throughout the Gullah Geechee Corridor.”
Amiri de Artist will be collaborating with museums, art centers, collectors, and unexpected partners including libraries and doctors’ offices to bring art out into smaller, underserved communities without a formal arts presence. The pieces will be available for purchase but prices will be set by the public, who can offer a donation, similar to a private auction. The exhibition will also be available to view online and on various social media outlets.
For more details about Amiri Farris’ Summer exhibition at the Palmetto Theater, or to purchase tickets for the July 8th Concert featuring Grammy-winner Quentin Baxter along with Farris’ live on-stage Action Painting, visit www.palmettotheater.org. In addition, for more information about how to get your community included in this tour, Contact Heather Bruemmer at Hampton Friends of the Arts at Hamptoncountyarts@gmail.com.
