May 6 in the Alley

The weather is supposed to be perfect this Thursday, May 6 -- so head on over to Arts in the Alley at South Campus Gateway from 6 to 9 pm for gallery openings and live music! The Ohio Art League presents SEEPS, works by Justin Cramer, curated by Molly Jo Burke. According to the OAL, Cramer's paintings resemble eruptions of organisms that tend to thrive in grime, exposing underground tensions. The Shoebox gallery presents a show of works by ARTillery members, including Jesse Mills, Kate Dowell, Lisa Belsky, Lance Thompson, Uriah Landfried, Lisa McLymont, Katie Kikta, Jen Kiko, Bobby Rosenstock, Heather Wirth, Whitney Moore and Eric Rausch. And Mathematic Abstractions, works by Carly Witmer, continues in the Arts Initiative space. Live music by local rock band the Jive Pilots -- including original music and cover tunes -- will liven up the alley itself. All events are free!

Notable News

Check out our latest radio guests! The Arts Initiative's radio show -- the Emerging Artist Studio on WOSU's Capital City Radio -- has four new interviews posted online. Check out the spots featuring Karen Bell interviewing Chris Roche, Emily Bach, Helma Groot and Joe Graziosi. Click here.

An Afternoon with the Royal Shakespeare Company! Michael Boyd, renowned artistic director of the UK’s Royal Shakespeare Company, will be at Ohio State on May 12 along with six actors from the RSC Acting Company. The actors will present a “vignette” of a Shakespeare work, while Boyd will take part in a panel discussion with the RSC’s Jacqui O’Hanlon, education director, and Karen Bell, OSU associate vice president for arts outreach. They will present the program at 4 pm in Drake Performance Center. More information is available here.

The Earth Day Art Market attracted crowds of shoppers to the Arts in the Alley event on Saturday, April 24. Most of the vendors set up their wares in the Gateway Film Center lobby because of threatening weather, though others braved the showers and sold their works in the alley. Vendors sold everything from jewelry and glass to fiber works, ceramics, paintings and silk-screened t-shirts. A children's book reading and live music added to the festivities.

Whistling in the Dark Theatre Company presents The Colony by Galen Roth: A Staged Reading on Sunday, May 9, at 7 pm in the Shoebox at South Campus Gateway, 1570 N High St. The event is part of the group's "Sundays @ 7" series, and is just $3, including refreshments. A new work, The Colony is a philosophical thriller that explores the darker sides of destiny and fate in an artists' colony where six artists eventually become dissatisfied with their lots in life.

Call for Artists. Courage Unmasked for Joan's Fund -- a campaign to support head and neck cancer research at the James Cancer Center -- is seeking 50 artists from a variety of mediums to transform 50 radiation masks into works of art. The masks will be auctioned off next spring to raise funds for the campaign. Interested artists will be asked to submit two images of their current work. The campaign kicks off May 21. For information or to submit art samples, contact Melinda Cogley at MelindaCogley@msn.com.