"It Takes More Than Nostalgia" - A new exhibit from Historic Ithaca opens at TCPL

TCPL is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit in the Avenue of the Friends at Gallery Opening Night on Friday May 6.  The exhibit is sponsored by Historic Ithaca and will be on display through the end of June.

This photographic exhibition highlights key moments and contributions from Historic Ithaca’s 50-year history, beginning in 1966 when the loss of Old City Hall, and the threat of demolitions to come, galvanized community members.

                                         Clinton House by Constance Saltonstall c.1973 during restoration

Together they organized to create Historic Ithaca, in part to preserve historic architectural treasures in Ithaca and Tompkins County.  In addition, different artifacts found at “Significant Elements”, Historic Ithaca’s architectural salvage and re-use warehouse, are displayed in the exhibit cases.

For more information about Historic Ithaca and the salvage items which are all available for sale, call Christine O’Malley Preservation Services Coordinator at 607-0273-6633 or go to www.historicithaca.org.

TCPL presents "Four Artists"an exhibit curated by local art critic and curator Arthur Whitman

Big Moon by Madeleine Bialke

On April 29 Four Artists an exhibit featuring four talented picture-makers curated by Arthur Whitman will open at Tompkins County Public Library and will be on display through the end of June.

For Four Artists, local art critic and curator Arthur Whitman has assembled a quartet of diverse and talented picture-makers.  Madeleine Bialke was raised in Trumansburg and is currently completing an MFA decree in Painting from Boston University's School of Visual Arts.  In her paintings and prints, she takes a visionary approach to landscape that merges observtion and imagination.  Scout Dunbar is a former Ithacan and currently lives and works in New York City.  In her works on paper, she combines diverse technique and prsonal cosmology.  Stephen Phillips, a long-time local artist, brings a depth and subtlety of conception to the traditional genre of oil on canvas still life.  Gizem Vural is new to Ithaca and a rising talent in magazine and newspaper illustration.  Her digital cartoon imagery is concise and witty.

An opening reception will be held in conjunction with Gallery Opening Night on Friday, May 6, 2016.

This exhibit is made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation with grant support from the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.

Ordinary People: Stories and Treasures

There is still time to visit TCPL to view the exhibit Ordinary People: Stories and Treasures, whch highlights the cultural experiences of the local Muslim community. This exhibit in the Avenue of the Friends will be on display through April 22.

When discussing the exhibit with curator Nagiane Lacka Arriaza and asking for signage describing 
the different cultural items on display such as the Prayer Rug, which is "Placed on the ground to create a clean space to sit and kneel in prayer; used by many Muslims around the world" I was interested in the comment she made.  "Items like a prayer rug as so common in my life that I find it hard to explain them.  I feel as if someone has asked me what a pillow or curtain is.  This process (of curating the exhibit) has been an amusing learning experience for me."

This sums up so well how Muslim culture is common place to Nagiane but different and strange to me and vice versa!!