11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | NEST Arts Factory Open Studios

“At the NEST, an empty wall is a place to put art.” Tour the labyrinth of 30 studio spaces, meet the artists. View their work in the studios, exhibit spaces and in the hallways, including fiber art by Carlos Biernnay, abstracts by Trish Monahan, large scale still life and figurative work by Lilah Heyman, dreamlike symbolism by Eliana Mesa, expressive figurative work by Samuel Pintos, and dynamic urban cityscapes by Thomas Greene. The energetic marine life paintings by Honduran visiting artist Marcio Arteaga will also be on view. Feel the creativity of a working artmaking building. The sensation of creative potential begins before you step inside. Recently the NEST served as the facility to train new mural artists. Workshop participants and NEST artists added color and their unique imagination and style to the white exterior walls. Since the studio group is called the NEST, the mural artists were given one request, to include a bird(s) in their design.

11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | On Display: Black Rock Art Guild Members’ Art Exhibition
Reception 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Members of the BRAG will be exhibiting work in a variety of mediums. Join us for our exhibit reception!

11:00 AM - 4:00 PM | On display: Invasive Species + Endangered Species Installation by Suzanne Kachmar

See a wall-size grid of hand painted, repurposed cloth shopping bags. This symbolic mash up of relevant imagery represents current events, people, issues and rights that can be considered endangered or invasive.

Artist’s Statement:
We are experiencing unprecedented times that threaten people, the environment, conditions, and rights that we took for granted. Some may apply the characterization of ‘invasive species’ to both the local infestation of the beautiful lantern fly and to those who can be perceived as other and perhaps invading America. Migrants like young Liam Ramos in his blue bunny hat and the beautiful lantern fly accidentally introduced to the US through foreign trade share a vulnerability. The lantern fly as an invasive species is a metaphor for the fearful perception and biases some may have towards people from different cultures, ethnicities, races, backgrounds, and lifestyles. The choice of a common object, a mass-produced shopping bag with a target pattern, symbolizes the frequency and magnitude of the crisis and how it has invaded our everyday lives.