Exhibits at the Library

A Year of Art at Tompkins County Public Library

The Tompkins County Public Library is pleased to announce its 2008 Series A Year of Art at the Library.

January through March features a very different exhibit – Unnamable Name – an installation within the book-stacks organized by Ithaca/NY City -based artist Todd Ayoung. Twenty artists, working locally and internationally and using a variety of different media, were asked to create work for underused non-art spaces inside the library which address the repetition, persistence and notion of the "unnamable", as a sighting between identity, or the naming of a category. The opening reception will take place from 3:30 to 6:30 pm on Friday January 18 in the book-stacks and the Borg Warner Community Meeting Room. You are invited to walk the stacks, meet the artists, and enjoy original interpretive music by Chris White in the Borg Warner Community Room at 5:30 pm.


Streetscapes – April and May 2008
Curator - British graffiti artist Jay Potter
Opening Reception – 5 - 7 PM, Thursday April 10th, 2008

Streetscapes will feature a collection of work that draws on creativity and inspiration from our urban surroundings. Using a mixture of diverse media, artists will explore the influence of the sincere, straight-from-the-gut expression. The exhibition will include paintings, working sketches, stencil art, sculpture, found objects, collage, installation, graffiti and other mixed media. Streetscapes is an inherent appreciation of urban culture in all its dangerous, poetic, authentic and sometimes rebellious glory.

Visual Culture at Ithaca High School – June 2008
Curated by Members of the Art Faculty at the High School
Opening Reception – 4 - 6 PM, Friday June 6th, 2008

The exhibit will feature the work of Ithaca High School students and will include two- and three-dimensional artwork as well as photography. This exhibit is sponsored by the High School Art Department, is the Annual Student Art Exhibit and returns to the library because of the success of the 2007 exhibit.

Manipulated Reality : Photography – July 7th to September 27th
Curator – David Watkins Jr.
Closing Reception - Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Ten photographers will be invited to participate in the exhibit. The emphasis will be on how photographic images can be changed/manipulated for good, ill or art. Each artist will be able to show a small body of their work. A panel discussion at the closing reception will explore the artistic value of this manipulation.

Quilted Masterpieces – October to December
Curators – Aafke Steenhuis and Maureen Jakubson
Opening Reception – to be announced

The exhibit will feature the work of some of the area’s most innovative quilters and include unique as well as traditional designs.

2008 – A Year of Art at Tompkins County Public Library is made possible in part by a grant from the Community Arts Partnership.