Owego, N.Y. — Founded in 1972 and celebrating its golden anniversary in 2022, Tioga Arts Council (TAC) recently announced its first exhibit that kicks off the milestone celebration. “What the Wind Taught Me: An Exhibit of Visual Art & Poetry in Conversation,” will debut from 5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m., Friday, March 4, at TAC’s gallery located at 179 Front St. in Owego. Following the opening night, the exhibition will continue its run from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Wednesdays through Saturdays, March 5-26.
The exhibit is styled in the tradition of ekphrasis. According to a press release supplied by TAC, ekphrastic poetry describes visual art and provides a dialogue between visual artists and poets. In March 2021, TAC held its first ekphrastic exhibit by pairing artwork created in and around Tioga County with poetic responses to that work. For the upcoming March 2022 exhibit, TAC did the reverse by providing a poem to participating Southern Tier artists and asking them to create an original artwork based on that poem.
While the artists are from the Southern Tier, and some of the poets are from Owego, Binghamton, and Ithaca, others came from across the United States including Richard Blanco, who President Barack Obama selected in 2012 to serve as the fifth presidential inaugural poet in U.S. history, and who granted TAC permission to include his poem, “Cloud Anthem,” in this show. Altogether, 16 artists and 16 poets are featured in this exhibition. There is also a youth gallery with artwork inspired by lines of poetry from the show and created by children from The Discovery Center of the Southern Tier.
All visitors to TAC are required to wear masks and observe social distancing while in the gallery. Information will also be available online at www.tiogaartscouncil.org/exhibitions and on social media.
For questions or more information, contact Christina Di Stefano, Executive Director, at [email protected].
