September 27th through October 3rd, Telluride Arts HQ Gallery and Original Thinkers are featuring a pop-up, group exhibition, INTERPLAY: Art + Opera.
INTERPLAY: Art + Opera is an interdisciplinary gallery and performance project created by The BRDG Project and soprano & creative producer Leah Podzimek. “Interplay was created as a mechanism to provide artists with new creative capital, share opera with rural communities in informal yet intimate settings, and build cross-disciplinary relationships between visual and performing artists that help to enhance audience experience,” said Podzimek.
Visual artists from all mediums came together with opera singers this past June at the Telluride Transfer Warehouse. The program included stories and histories of the musical selections, as well as live performances by Denver-based singers Leah Podzimek and Kira Dills-DeSurra, with accompaniment by Jessica Nilles Kressin. In the months since, seven local artists—Brittany Miller, Daniel Kanow, Fran Windsor, Jonathan Bailey, Kathy Green, Margaret Rinkevich, and Molly Perrault-Daniel—went away to create new works of art inspired by the music. Now, those works will be curated into a group exhibition within the gallery walls at Telluride Arts HQ featuring live performances of the same music that inspired the art.
“When we were approached about this project, it seemed like a perfect match for Original Thinkers. Fresh, different and we particularly loved that Leah was reaching out to local artists to make her vision happen” said David Holbrooke of Original Thinkers.
Podzimek writes, “The creative community in Telluride has welcomed this project with such open arms, it is a truly humbling experience that proves artists of all mediums share a kindred spirit - one of joyful creation, expansive thought, and a desire for collaboration! We are excited to see the art these folks have created and perform in town again, continuing to showcase the 'interplay' of visual and audio art for local audiences.”
This project is a collaboration between Leah Podzimek, Telluride Arts and Original Thinkers Festival. An opening reception for the gallery exhibition will be held on Wednesday, September 28th, 5-8pm at Telluride Arts HQ Gallery at 220 W Colorado Avenue. Live music by Kirk Drogsvold, and small bites will be available at the reception. Then, Original Thinkers will host a special event in the gallery for passholders only on Friday, September 30th as well as a free, community encore on Saturday, October 1st with performances starting every 20 minutes from 12-6pm.
