NORWICH – Colorscape Chenango will be introducing at least two new faces for its 15th annual festival in September – one on the stage, the other behind.
Hearkening back to the juried arts and musical festival’s roots, this year’s Colorscape, taking place Sept. 12 and 13 in downtown Norwich, will again feature a performing artist as a major draw.
When Colorscape began in 1994, its attention-grabbing headliner was the late performance artist Denny Dent, who wowed audiences with his “Two-Fisted Art Attack,” creating massive on-the-spot portraits of celebrities set to vibrant music. Dent appeared at the festival twice, and later organizers opted for different fare on the main stage – an impressive array of musicians recruited by Ken Millett of Night Eagle Cafe.
Millett will once again be bringing music to the Colorscape, but in honor of the festival’s 15th anniversary, Director Peggy Finnegan said its organizers wanted an artist with an appeal similar to Dent’s – and they found that in Jonas Gerard.
Gerard is a contemporary abstract expressionist who emerged onto the scene in the 1970s, and has since built a loyal following of fans and collectors. “Color, form and texture dancing spontaneously across the canvas awakens all the senses and charges every painting with its own spirit,” reads the artist statement on his website, jonasgerard.com. “The work has vitality and energy as well as a subliminal healing power known only to a receptive heart. Jonas lives true to his belief that spirituality has to be the very essence of pure abstract art. Without it, abstract art is lifeless.”
With music playing in the background, Gerard becomes completely absorbed in expressing his painting style, which observers have called a “spontaneously choreographed dance.” Coming from Asheville, N.C., Gerard’s work is known the world over; some is even included in the Smithsonian Institution’s collection in Washington, D.C.
“Those lucky enough to attend Colorscape Chenango will be awed by the talent of world-renowned performance artist Jonas Gerard,” said Colorscape Board Chair Lucy Funke. “Gerard will take the stage throughout the weekend and spontaneously create large one-of-a-kind paintings to music.”
Also sharing the Colorscape spotlight this year, albeit in a less flamboyant role, will be Norwich’s own Donna Wood-Craig, who has taken on the position of the arts festival’s development coordinator.
Since the event’s inception, the roles of grant-writer, artist-wrangler, fund-raiser and show-organizer have been rolled into one. With the resignation last fall of two-year director Lisa Iannello, the Colorscape mantle fell once again to longtime coordinator Peggy Finnegan of New Berlin.
“Colorscape is my passion; I’ve always loved it,” said Finnegan of resuming the reins. “I just hoped to have a little less responsibility this time around.”
The Colorscape Board of Directors agreed, splitting the chief exec role into two parts – Festival Coordinator (Finnegan) and Development Coordinator (Wood-Craig).
“There were a number of very qualified candidates for the position and the committee’s search was a difficult one,” Finnegan said of her new counterpart. “We are pleased with the skills, background and enthusiasm that Donna brings to Colorscape and look upon this decision as a very positive step forward.”
Wood-Craig is no stranger to the local fundraising scene, performing a similar function in her longstanding role of development and community relations coordinator for Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County. “It’s a good fit,” Wood-Craig said of her new part-time job. “I’ve been involved in Colorscape as long as I can remember, and I know what an important role it plays in the community.” Indeed, Wood-Craig has long served as a volunteer at the festival, doing everything from delivering sandwiches to booth-sitting for artists. Now, she’ll be in charge of soliciting donations and applying for grants for the venerable show.
“Just ask anyone, and they’ll tell you they’re very worried about the economy,” Wood-Craig said of the challenges she faces. “But people really value this event. I’ve been very pleased with the response so far.”
While there are changes in store for Colorscape, most of what festival-goers have come to know and love about the two-day, outdoor show will still be in place. In addition to the music of Ken Millett’s stable of folk musicians on the main stage, Colorscape will also feature an impressive roster of artists in a variety of mediums. Competition for booth space at the juried show was tougher than ever this year, Finnegan said. For this September’s show, 81 artists have already been juried and accepted.
“While we have lost a few of those who traveled from outside the region,” Finnegan said, “we’ve also gained quite a few who are staying closer to home due to this year’s economy. The result is a lot of new artwork for Colorscape’s visitors.”
Finnegan said she’s also excited about the return of Colorscape’s Plein Air program, an outdoor painting session series that leads up to the festival, as well as the returns of the Emerging Young Artists Program, the Poetry Slam and the interactive Art Zones.
For more information on the 15th annual Colorscape, visit www.colorscape.org or call 336-FEST.