Press release
“Art on the Bricks” is a community-based fundraiser, sponsored and hosted by the City of Athens, designed to unite local artists and community members. The purpose of “Art on the Bricks” is to recognize the historic presence of The Texan Theater and celebrate the revitalized Texan as a live music and events venue while encouraging the growth of fine arts awareness in Athens. We are seeking artistic participation from local artists in decorating bricks from the original Texan Theater to be exhibited as an art installation and sold individually. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to Art Gallery 211, a non-profit community art gallery for the promotion, education, and support of fine arts in the Athens community and surrounding area.
Participants will donate their artistic creations on the bricks to this effort, though artists will retain copyrights to their original images. Participants will grant the City of Athens, The Texan, and Gallery 211 permission to use photographic reproductions of the artwork in publicizing, advertising, and promoting the fundraiser. Bricks remain the property of the City of Athens until sold.
All bricks will be judged with ribbons awarded to the top 3 in each of the following categories: Youth, Amateur, Professional. The 9 prizewinning bricks will be held on exhibit and sold in a special auction.
All artists participating in the creation of these artworks will receive recognition and may be photographed with their bricks as desired.
RULES
Bricks will be picked up at Gallery 211 during business hours from April 2 through April 6. ONLY BRICKS FROM THE ORIGINAL TEXAN WILL BE ACCEPTED. Special arrangements to pick up after hours may be made by calling 903-292-1746. For those interested, a limited number of the small ceramic tiles from the façade of The Texan Theater will also be available for inclusion in the project.
Bricks may be decorated in any style, genre, or subject EXCEPT for graphically explicit sexual, criminal, or violent images. Any images deemed inappropriate by the jury panel will not be exhibited. Materials used should be durable and may cover only 5 sides of the brick, leaving the stamped side (or one long, flat side) unpainted. Artists may choose to sign on this unpainted side but not on the artwork displayed. Three-dimensional artwork may be applied to the bricks but must not protrude more than 2” above nor more than 2” beyond the sides of the bricks.
The deadline for delivery of finished bricks to Gallery 211 is 5:30 p.m., June 1. The exhibition, reception, and sale of the bricks will be held at The Texan, 209 East Tyler St., on June 16 from 5 to 8 p.m.
For questions regarding “Art on the Bricks,” please contact Community Services Coordinator, Adrianna Hinds at City Hall by calling 903.675.5131 or e-mailing [email protected].