the people in the neighborhood

Jess Adkins is happy and currently living in Youngstown, Ohio.

- - -

In 1981, Jess was thrown off a hill and landed in Kentucky.
In 1990, Jess learned how to dance like M.C. Hammer.
In 2003, Jess begins carving while living in a hunting cabin.
In 2008, Jess displays some of his work in a gallery downtown.

Readers of Shout Youngstown first saw a glimpse of Jess' work from a review of the Stage at the Oakland in November 2007.

More recently, a downtown gallery displayed Jess' woodcarvings of the characters he remembers from his neighborhood growing up on the south side of youngstown in Lansingville. In his words:



From a description by the artist:

"I am interested in learning more about our story, your story, and even my own story in the process of creating work.

In the neighborhood I am trying to recall all of those individuals who lived in my childhood neighborhood, only from memories and stories.

What dissolves over time or who are recalled act as mental landmarks for an ever-changing world. What remains and what fades away."

from the opening reception:




additionally, be on the lookout for Jess' next project, the life-sized (to be unveiled)

jay in U.S. News, art in a bakery, and full frontal nudity

You wouldn't think these three things are related - and really they're not very interconnected - but they all involve to a slight degree exposing yourself for a good cause.

#1 - Mayor Williams is interviewed in U.S. News and World Report.

Youngstown's emerging brand is a city that is (1) protecting its heritage and (2) shrinking strategicially. Just a stockholders expect a company to responsibily manage itself during an economic transition, Youngstown is becoming a global leader in attempting to responsibly manage its affairs.

An exerpt:

"What's been the response to the initiative?
The community has been overwhelmingly supportive. There are critics to the Youngstown 2010 initiative; some are concerned about gentrification. And I've actually said that we could use a bit of managed gentrification. But we have to be sure that the people who are here aren't pushed out and put in conditions that would be not affordable. Overall, the Youngstown 2010 plan has been well embraced because it's about right-sizing the city and redefining the city economically and socially to where the world is today.

Have other communities inquired about the initiative?
Oh, absolutely. We've had the opportunity to visit and talk with communities across the country—and foreign entities—or have them come here. There have been foreign journalists and officials who have visited."

more here on the small city with a big brand.

#2 - Ward Bakery Artists' Open House

From the infrastructure our industrial past, artists have become intertwined with Ward Building and its many artists are opening the doors of their studios over the weekend. The picture explains all the details:


The Mahoning Commons is a funky mix of old churches, renovated warehouses, shotgun houses, community theaters and in-town city artists. Look for more artist space developments to be announced soon. If you are a Cleveburgh artist, this neighborhood might be place to investigate as a place to do your thing with no one bothering you. A good preview of the event can be found at the blog for The Stage.

#3 - The Full Monty begins at the Oakland this weekend, and will continue for the next three weeks.



the story: a couple of steel workers find creative ways to make ends meat. based on a true story in Struthers.

- - -

ps. Le Nouveau Rock Festival will take place in downtown youngstown this saturday.

the queen's name was Brookback Mountains, and I met her at the Stage

Youngstown's next version of The Stage will for the first time, be broadcast live over the internet.

But performance art is not just an auditory sensation, so you should be there in person on Thursday, April 17, 8:00pm at the Oakland downtown.

It's yummy and brookalicious.


Check out this short video recently posted on YouTube:



The Stage is open to any type of performance art, from anyone who wants to participate.

This month's event will feature the 1st round of the Oakland's "next top drag queen" competition, with a $500 prize going to the eventual winner. Hosting this month's Stage will be the voluptious "Brookeback Mountains".

yikes.

scary . . . but delicious.

- - -

Location:
Oakland Center for the Arts
220 W. Boardman Street
Downtown Youngstown

Admission: $5.00

Performers please register in advance via
myspace.com/oaklandcenter.
Rehearsal/set up is from 7-8 pm in the theater.
If you're a performer and bring a group of 5 or more
people, your admission fee will be waived.

things to do in youngstown

Looking at Shout Youngstown's site analytics, one of the main searches drawing people to the blog is the Google search:
"things to do in youngstown".

Our staff has compiled a preliminary list of about 60 places in Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley that are essential and vintage Ytown - the true unique gems of this community.

So we are unveiling "The Map"
a.k.a.
"The Gems of Youngstown"

click here to see it.

The Map is intended for:
- those who seek the unique things in life
- those looking for the quintessential youngstown
- students in ytown for college
- out-of-town visitors exploring local flavor

The Map is kinda organized by color:
- red for food places (sometimes serving drinks)
- purple for drink places (sometimes serving food)
- yellow for neat cultural/entertainment options
- green for outdoors/nature stuff
- white for historical
- tan for interesting shops

The Map is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every place in the region.

It is a work in progress.

If you don't agree with the contents of The Map, go ahead and make your own.

But by all means, we will listen to your suggestions for future additions.

Make sure your suggestion is a good one though, as character and good food is what drives many of these places to the top of our rankings.

For example, Bw3's in Boardman near the s.p. mall will not make our staff's list because it (a) is not unique, (b) has expensive beer, (c) lacks local flavor.

We realize The Map is created though the lens which represents our tastes. While our tastes are not necessarily superior to anyone else's - they are inherently wonderful.

and with great humility, we give you . .

The Map

l'amour

butler release (in chinese)

tonight's event is free, no euros needed

First off, Art Youngstown is having a community-wide gallery showing tonight, March 14th from 7pm to 10:30pm in the Ohio One Building downtown.

This event is free and open to the public.

If it's similar to the last gallery event on Federal Street, there will be plenty of people, art covering every corner of the space, food, drink, and excitement.

Everyone in Ohio and Pennsylvania is welcome to attend.

The Youngstown Artblog has been really cranking out posts recently. First, here is a post about the space for the reception this evening:

"Art Youngstown is having what promises to be a great show. How could it be otherwise in a venue known as The Great Room?

This fantastic space is five thousand square feet , has 25 foot high ceilings and is completely decorated in heavy wood work to nearly the ceiling. There are even hand carved wood griffins above the entry. The lighting is seductive and warm and the space is an incredible place to display original art. If you have never seen the Great Room in the Ohio One building this is your chance to enjoy the splendor and grandeur of Old Youngstown."

more on the space here.

Next, he shows his love for the interesting lady known only as Rita.

"I receive so many benefits from the city that at times I am actually glad to pay. These days so many organizations get a chunk of my money, including the Church and various art and cultural organizations, that I figure I am paying my dues to be a part of a club of 85,000 members.

Consider what you are getting for your money: great location in the state, great inner city parks, a convocation center, impressive downtown events to name just a few. So take my advice: pay it, shut up and enjoy the city."

This post made me chuckle. Read more here.

And next, a very interesting post on the devaluation of the dollar, the rise of the euro, and how Youngstown artists can take advantage of this:

"The American Dollar continues to fall like so many dead leaves from Autumn trees and a cold winter wind is blowing. The Euro however is rocketing into prominence like a 4th of July firework. Many reports are coming out of Manhattan stating that Europeans are spending Euros like mad on American Art and Antiques, because of their currency's strength against the feeble Dollar. In fact signs saying "Euros Only" are appearing in gallery windows."

"To reiterate what I have been saying in this blog, we have a tremendous resource in the artists of our Valley. Many of us have been selling our work to those very collectors for years now. We can easily tap into the National and International Art Markets in a much more profound way if we can work together and get REAL support from the powers within our community.

Here is a list of things I would like to accomplish in the next 6 months: Create a stronger unity amongst Valley artists, Use this unity to promote Valley art nationally and internationally, establish strong contacts with European collectors, and establish Youngstown in the Manhattan and European mindset as a Cultural Mecca. To help assist in accomplishing these goals I would be happy to hold meetings to discuss and formulate plans.

Email me: Artbake777(at)aol.com."

more on this topic can be found here.

If you are surfing the internet instead of being downtown tonight, well, then you need to get out more. (if you are physically capable)

Yes, that means you Aunt Betty.

If I can do it, you can do it.

support the arts in downtown youngstown

good grief

look what starts this weekend:



these videos are great! way to promote . . .

March 14,15,20,21,22,28 and 29 at 8:00 PM
at the Oakland Theater in Downtown Youngstown.



Reservations can be made by calling (330)746-0404


also, next Stage: THURSDAY APRIL 17, 2008, 8-11 pm.

inside a downtown artist's studio

From a recent video put on YouTube, here is a view inside Jim Pernotto's downtown studio.



Located at the intersection of Federal Street and Phelps, the space works great for this Youngstown artist's larger pieces. Jim has moved back to Youngstown after spending a large part of his career in NYC.

check out www.jamespernotto.com

Valley native Schreckengost, renowned designer, passes away at 101

Viktor Schreckengost, born in Sebring, winner of the National Medal of Arts, and artist extraordinare, passed away over the weekend at the age of 101.

from his wikipedia article:

"Schreckengost taught industrial design at the Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA) for more than 50 years, and is Professor Emeritus at CIA today. He was also the youngest faculty member ever at CIA (then known as the Cleveland School of the Arts). Schreckengost founded CIA's renowned school of industrial design, the first of its kind in the country."

and from the website of his foundation:

"Every adult in America has ridden in, ridden on, drunk out of, stored their things in, eaten off of, been costumed in, mowed their lawn with, played on, lit the night with, viewed in a museum, cooled their room with, read about, printed with, sat on, placed a call with, enjoyed in a theater, hid their hooch in, collected, been awarded with, seen at a zoo, put their flowers in, hung on their wall, served punch from, delivered milk in, read something printed on, seen at the World’s Fair, detected enemy combatants with, written about, had an arm or leg replaced with, graduated from, protected by, or seen at the White House something created by Viktor Schreckengost."

click here to access his gallery, where you can see more wonderful images like this:

fear the penguin, hello kangaroo

Crain's Cleveland Business reported today an agreement reached bewteen the University of Akron Research Foundation and Youngstown State University.

"The research foundation will help Youngstown State evaluate products for commercialization, negotiate contracts regarding intellectual property and identify opportunities to form partnerships with companies and other organizations. The foundation also will assist young companies formed to commercialize Youngstown State technology.

[YSU will] stand to benefit not only because they will gain access to technology transfer expertise at the University of Akron, but also because the foundation, unlike public universities, is able to take equity in startup companies."

also, check out this march:



Oh yeah, additionally check out this cool post from Shout Youngstown's sister site In The Yo:

Coveted Creativity

new gallery downtown explodes with excitement

The opening reception for The Inaugural Exhibition of Art Youngstown was a packed house, filled with the young and old, professionals and amateurs, observers and creators - all buzzing with energy.

Boy, was their gallery space on West Federal in downtown stuffed with supporters. It was hard to breathe, yet along move to the back of the building to get to the baked ziti.


Room upon room, the gallery was filled with oil paintings, sculpture, photography, video instillations, watercolors - from 76 local artists in total. I even saw a childrens book on sale featuring Jay Williams, what I believe was titled "the boy who would become mayor".


The mission of Art Youngstown is "making art accessible to all." This collection could be viewed by any person who walked in the door.

Anyone.

As the rooms cleared towards the end of the evening, it was possible to take some photos highlighting the diversity of art produced by the Youngstown community.




From the brochure of the opening night . . .


The thing always happens that you really believe in;
and the belief in a thing makes it happen.

Here is a photo of the people who put it all together:


Due to the overwhelming response of the opening weekend, the show will have extended gallery hours from
12pm to 8pm on Saturday, December 1st
25 West Federal Street

Some of the remaining pieces are available for purchase.

Check it out if you have the time, and contact Art Youngstown for more information on how you can become involved.

a look inside the stage

the most recent production of The Stage took place during the halloween weekend and it rocked.

never been to one at the Oakland? care to see what takes place?

"just get up there" is the main vibe behind the stage, as eloquently described in this week's interview with Sherry Linkon on her program at wysu.

This last stage had a ton of different acts - 17 to be exact - from music to comedy to magic to live painting to a fashion show and a costume competition. for 5 bucks you get all that grassroots culture and talent, free food, and a gallery opening - mixed into a single night.

this post will share a few photos, and 8 movies from a variety of acts that night.

first off, in the gallery was the artwork of Jason VanHoose who assembled a collection of paintings, sculpture, and other mixed media. the buff was in this room too. This piece on its side, was composed of nails, bottles, horse hair, dog bones, and chains (in no particular order).


at some point in the night was the the costume contest,


and a shot taken at the end of the fashion show,


and a gorilla playing with the Realtime Digimob.


As you go through the next set of videos, check out the dude painting throughout. That's Jess Adkins taking this, a blank canvas . . .


. . . and transforming it 3 hours later into a work of art. Go to the end of this post to see the end result.

the night started out with this duo, who moved into a Radiohead cover.



Then this family of brothers got on stage, with this Elvis song performed among the others . . .



YSU's award winning professor Dr. Ray taught us some science about the atmosphere, inserting some infomation about silicon and an implicit boob joke.



then another band, picture progressing top right . . .



this next act had a tuba, a trumpet, and a handsaw all on stage at once. I love this video and the energy at all extremes of the picture.



then a costume contest, and standing on top of someone laying on a bed of nails



Eventually a truly wicked fashion show by Ohio Vintage took place, with awesome live music by Starfish on the Battlefield.



And finally the Realtime Digimob in all its glory:



as promised, here is the final piece by Jess Adkins after paining for 3 hours.


whew! was a night. well, when the next one is going to take place, all you peeps from northeast ohio can come and join in the fun.

new art gallery to open downtown

A new art gallery will soon be opening at 25 West Federal Street in downtown youngstown, and the the public is invited to provide works and join the opening reception.


Taking some tidbits from their press release . . .

CALL TO ALL LOCAL ARTISTS
“The Inaugural Exhibition”

Art Youngstown, with Denise Powell of James & Weaver, will proudly present their Inaugural Exhibition - the first in a series of exhibitions by local artists.

The Inaugural Exhibition will be held on Friday, November 23rd at 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Gallery open Saturday, November 24th noon-6:00 p.m. All proceeds benefit Art Youngstown.

The Inaugural Exhibition will kick off with a reception that is free of charge to the public. Refreshments will be offered. It is time for downtown Youngstown to have a venue in which local artists can display and sell their art. Attendees will have the opportunity to view art from their family, friends and neighbors.

Artists (18 and older) interested in submitting piece(s) of art of any medium (limit 2 pieces) should go to their website for additional details. Phone numbers and emails are provided on their website if you have any additional questions about pre-registration, drop-off, or pick-up.

Individuals interested in attending the Inaugural Exhibition or purchasing sponsorship should contact Joy or Sarah, whose contact information is available here.


I also noticed Star Supply is now a sponsor.

Star Supply - Youngstown's 2nd Greatest Wonder

public art popping up around town

Thanks to Abraham White for writing at Supopular about the unique art that is popping up all over town.


It's refreshing to see good public art instead of the usual crappy tags that are underneath many bridges and the sides of buildings. (interpretation: Stew has no talent whatsoever and should put himself out of his misery)

Keep up the good work whoever is doing all this. Keep pushing your artistic boundaries and stay away from mundaneness.

And look for more stories on the musik, art, and cultural scene in youngstown at Supopular.

the STAGE is one

This Saturday September 29th a new "the Stage" will be held at the O. So if you are looking for somthing to do before Kelly Pavlik beats the spleen out of that other chump, stop on over from 8pm tp 11pm.


$5 gets you in the door. At 7pm a social hour commences with free eats. Arts stuff will be all over the gallery's walls.

7:30pm will be auditioning for the experimental band "before the undead". And then, starting at 8pm will be the official program with...

-- The Zou, with new bassist Murad making his local debut with the band PLUS rocky horror
-- Dr. Ray's Sideshow with NEW assistant, Megan
-- Joe Carrabia's comedy styling
-- Harold Davis' unique blend of blues/comedy
-- Angelo LaMarca's song stylings
-- Chaos of Wisdom, a new-ish band (first time at the Oakland!)
-- Chris Barzak's wonderful words (he'll be rushing in from Clv)
-- Brandon Smith (comdey) vs. Brandon Martin (tap dancing)
-- other stuff still being arranged (will update)

This will be the one year anniversary of the Stage. Congrats to all who made it possible over the past 12 months.

The Oakland is located at
220 W. Boardman Street
Downtown Yo. O.

lots of free parking around.
and again, 5 bucks.
and plenty of Bettys.

Contact Brooke with questions and request to be in the show. Anyone can be on the Stage.
www.myspace.com/oaklandcenter
www.theoaklandstage.blogspot.com

jack's project of Paramount importance

On Friday, July 6th I was a passenger in a car heading down Federal Street.

Although I had never met Jack Carlton face-to-face, I knew it was him.

"quick, pull over," I said, "he putting up the new murals."

And so I was able to meet the artist who has been changing the face of Youngstown over the past few years with his "Museum Without Walls Project".

According to this vindicator report, Jack has installed 50 murals downtown since 2000.

You can see his work when relaxing in the garden at Cedars. Jack also reproduced our world famous "Snap the Whip" towering above pedestrians belowt. And for his latest project, Jack and his assistants placed 11 vinyl murals around the perimeter of the ol' Paramount Theater.

The pieces illustrate Youngstown's rich entertainment history, with collages of long gone venues like the opera house, of the first programs at the Warner Brothers (of Youngstown) theater, and of the acts that have graced downtown's stages throughout the years.

In a response to a request from "Towntalk" at the Mahoning Valley message boards this evening, here are some close-up photos of Jack's work.

Enjoy!

a beautiful thought on sunday morning

Found this on the "Meditations in an Emergency" blog


Last night at the Stage was just the most wonderful experience. There were so many people there, so much talent and creativity and expression, and so much of it just really really good . . .

. . . Youngstown has so much talent it makes me not sick but deliriously appreciative of being here and being a part of making this city into something good. My mom came to the Stage with me last night, and before and after the show we walked around in the downtown together. She hadn’t been there in years, and commented on how there were actually people walking the streets again, and storefronts with actual stores open inside them, and how things just felt so much different, more like what she remembered from decades ago . . .

. . . in my lifetime I’ve never seen Youngstown so alive and full of a hopeful wind blowing through it, I’ve never seen so many people coming together before to take the city back into their hands and make it into home again.

Youngstown’s a place with a lot of potential because it is so undefined, and I can see it as a place that people of the right spirit and inclination to create will come to because of that in the future.

Artists of all sorts, after all, want a blank canvas. And this city has more than enough room to make room for new life.

interactive art in karlsruhe

Last week I made a stop in Karlsrhue to visit some colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute in Karlsruhe Germany. Karlsruhe is the center of a metro area about the same size as that of Youngstown's.

For a city of Karlrhue's size, it seems to have a remarkable about of arts and cultural institutions. One is the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (Center for Art and Media Technology) and I had the chance to visit. Here is a photo of the outside of the building:


Three very large floors were dedicated to interactive art. There was even art in the men's bathroom.


One of the coolest pieces I saw was a screen projecting bubbles onto a wall. As a person made a swipe at the bubbles, the bubbles made noises as they bumped off your silhouette. Check out this clip:



Karlsruhe has a large chateau/castle in the middle of the city and many of the main streets emminate from this building. Kinda like the Capitol in Washington DC.


In the stone street in front of this building, they did some neat design. During the day, all of these stones look the same. But at night, certain stones light up and illuminate the ground. I'm still not sure how they did this, but it was really cool.


And one last picture is dedicated to this advertisement in the window of a store. I'm not sure what they were selling (it wasn't toilets) but it certainly caught my eye.

between the rues in Montréal

scattered throughout the Plateau neighborhood of Montréal

are murals

big and small

tucked

in the alleys

peaking around corners

waiting to be seen

and photographed

maybe some could hide in our downtown...

are there seats at the table for younger people?

The City Club of Cleveland has been posting podcasts of their past presentations over the past few weeks, and one was downloaded into my iTunes yesterday which particularly caught my attention. It was by Rebecca Ryan, who is the founder of Next Generation consulting. She did some consulting work for many midwestern cities, including Akron. The entire presentation can be listened to by clicking on this link.

One of her central talking points is the necessity for a community to accept younger people on their civic orgnization's boards of trustees. She cited how Akron recently added four seats on board of their Chamber of Commerce, in the attempt to engage younger people and entrepreneurs in the area. A recent posting on this blog reviewed academic research that theorized one reason for the stuggles of Youngstown is that the leadership of the civic organizations throughout the years have been a fairly homogeneous bunch.

Should the boards of Youngstown-based organizations take this idea to heart?

My question is this: what number of the board of trustees of the following organizations are held by people younger than 50 years old?

- The Butler Institute of American Art
- The United Way of Mahoning Valley
- The Youngstown Symphony Society
- The Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber
- Wick Neighbors Inc.
- The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County

The reason I chose these institutions is that they will be important drivers for the future of Youngstown. I have no clue who comprises their executive boards and leadership and I am not critizing them, but it may be an interesting exercise for these organizations to analyze their own leadership. maybe the best leaders are those who have been in the Valley for a while and with the most connections and experience. But maybe their future success will depend on the engagement of younger generations and where they receive their ideas for the future.