Montalvo Arts Center’s Final Fridays, a free, monthly program that highlights artists from the Lucas Artists Residency Program, presents a variety of art disciplines ranging from visual art to culinary demonstrations to performing arts in the next three months. The August event features composer and 2009 Guggenheim Fellow, Erin Gee along with multimedia artist Miguel Palma who will present a preview of his 2010 01SJ Biennial commissioned work; Culinary Fellow Michelle Fuerst follows in September with a demonstration celebrating her year-long fellowship at Montalvo; finally, jazz musician Paul Kikuchi and the Empty Cage Quartet will be in concert at the Carriage House Theatre for October’s Final Fridays event.
The Final Fridays series, which marked its year anniversary in July, has brought hundreds of visitors to Montalvo for an inside peek at Montalvo’s Lucas Artists Residency Program. All events take place on the last Friday of the month at 6 p.m. and are free and open to the public and includes a no-host bar. These are the last three events for 2010 – the Final Fridays program resumes in January 2011. Visit montalvoarts for more information on the August 27: Miguel Palma, a Lisbon-based, multimedia artist, will present photos, videos and books, tracing his last 20 years as an artist. He will also preview a new video, In Image We Trust, commissioned for the 2010 01SJ Biennial, which will be on view beginning August 31 at San Jose State University’s Natalie and James Thompson Art Gallery. Palma investigates issues informed by technological advancement and through his work suggests alternatives to our dependence on new technology. Fellow resident, contemporary composer, musician and vocalist Erin Gee will present vocal works from her series, Mouthpiece. Gee has performed her unique vocal sounds works in such venues as the Los Angeles Philharmonic with conductor Esa-Pekka Solonen.
September 24: Culinary Fellow Michelle Fuerst, who is concluding her fellowship at the end of September, shares A Celebration of Abundance at her Final Fridays event. Since October 2009, Fuerst has built relationships with local food providers, rehabilitated Montalvo’s herb and vegetable kitchen garden, even taking advantage of the edible items on Montalvo’s property, and incorporating them into her recipes.
October 29: Artist-in-residence Paul Kikuchi – a percussionist, composer, and instrument maker from Seattle – is a member of the band, The Empty Cage Quartet. The band will perform a free concert in the Carriage House Theatre for Final Fridays. The Empty Cage Quartet has been consistently praised by critics as one of the most interesting and original new jazz groups to emerge from the west coast. For more than eight years the group has explored new ways to integrate a diverse mix of musical influences, utilizing a unique system that blurs the lines between composition and improvisation.
Montalvo Arts Center is a nonprofit organization that fosters community engagement through the creation and presentation of multidisciplinary art. By uniting the broadest possible audiences with a global community of artists, Montalvo expands the role of arts and culture as an essential community resource. Montalvo’s programming includes: an annual theme-based arts program; music and performance; education and public programs; new media and visual arts; and the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency. Located in the Saratoga, CA, Montalvo Arts Center occupies a Mediterranean-style villa on 175 stunning acres, which Senator James Phelan left to the people of California for the encouragement of promising students in the areas of art, music, literature and architecture. Montalvo celebrates its centennial in 2012. For more information about Montalvo Arts Center, call 408.961.5800 or visit montalvoarts.
Get an Inside Peek at the Arts at Montalvo’s Final Fridays
Friday, August 27, 6 p.m.
Friday, September 24, 6 p.m.
Friday, October 29, 6 p.m.
Free Events Open to the Public
