- November 26, 2024
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The second “Bicycle Art & Poetry” show opens Saturday and aims to explore the freedom bicycles bring to their riders.
The exhibit is held by a collaboration between the Hollingsworth Gallery, the Flagler County Art League and the Gargiulo Art Foundation. It will kick off with an opening reception starting at 6 p.m. July 13 at both the FCAL and Hollingsworth.
Both Hollingsworth Gallery and FCAL studio space will exhibit bicycle-themed art, while
FCAL will host poetry readings.
The event will this year include a poetry slam, the first ever to be held at City Repertory Theater, which is held in Hollingsworth Gallery. The slam starts at 8:30 p.m., and the first eight people to sign up at the door will participate. Each contestant will have five minutes to write a poem on a specific theme. Admittance to the slam is $3 per person, and the prize money is drawn from admittance fees. The competition will be judged by a handful of people, such as poet Joyce Sweeney, as well as by audience members appointed as judges.
The slam is organized by artist Stephanie Salkin, of the FCAL, who is also organizing the exhibit’s bicycle-themed poetry competition that was held in anticipation of the art show. Winning entries will be read and displayed at 7 p.m. at the FCAL gallery before the slam begins.
The event is also held in connection with Palm Coast’s annual Tour de Palm Coast event, in which landscape architect Bill Butler leads bicyclists on about sixmiles on paved trails, stopping at certain points along the way to see the city’s art. The bicycle tour begins at 8 a.m. July 13.
New to the Tour de Palm Coast this year are four sculptures of great blue herons, which have been installed on along the water’s edge near the Waterfront Park pier. The sculptures were created by Anthony Gargiulo and their casting was done at the GeFest Arts Foundry in Bunnell, by Vadim Volnov.
The “Bicycle Art &Poetry” opening will be complemented by music performed by classical guitarist Abe Alam, who will be joined by others.
Artists included in the exhibit include Robert Mielenhausen, from New York City. His mixed media art has been featured in 15 solo shows, and he is represented by Viridian Artists in Chelsea, New York and Onward Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
Mielenhausen said to him, the bike represents freedom. Learning to ride a bike gives children their first expression of freedom.
Three other artists will also be featured in the show.
Other events during the opening of this exhibitare as follows: