Artopia – Salem Main Streets

Creating a Good Time at PEM with Artopia

Salem Event, Salem Festivals No Responses »

Mar 162016

While the every 3rd Thursday of the month PEM/PM late night party is a festive & educational stroll through the Peabody Essex Museum, this week’s may well prove to be the most creative. The theme in fact is “creation.”

Artopia asks “what’s your creative story” and from 6-9pm on March 17th, the community as individuals, groups and organizations respond.

For example…

Observe or take part in the creation of a pinwheel. But not just any pinwheel. Participants will connect to distant cultures by taking time to draw out cultural patterns from across the world, directly onto a sailcloth. This will in turn be included in Move With Me, which is a collaborative public art project scheduled to be featured during June’s Salem Arts Festival.

Or consider decorating vintage-style postcards using collage elements, along with members of the Salem Arts Association. Let those creative juices flow as you build a story with words and pictures from vintage books, papers, glue and scissors. And best of all, you can share the creativity by email with a friend.

Looking for something a bit more “techie?” How about a session where you can create your own GIF! It will be presented courtesy of Figsburry Creative Group and Retonica.

Plus, you can’t talk about creativity in Salem without referencing the Salem Film Fest; enjoy a compilation of short documentary tangos around the town, from the perspective of local and visiting filmmakers featured in this year’s Salem Film Fest.

What about liquid creations? You will find creative samples from Far From the Tree Cider, Notch Brewing Co., Rumson’s Rumb and Deacon Giles Distillery in a Taste of Salem in the Atrium.

Listen to beats built by participants in a workshop led by Salem-based producer Qwill. Get a look at how they built their own drum racks, breaks and percussion samples. I

And much more. For a full line-up check out this info page at Creative Salem .

There will be a cash bar and small plates menu available from the Hawthorne Hotel. The Peabody Essex Museum is located at 161 Essex Street, Salem MA.

Create: to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes.

You will not only see creativity, you will get the chance to express it yourself!

Night at the Museum— For Real at Salem’s PEM

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Workshops No Responses »

Mar 222015

Over 600 people decided that what Artopia had to offer was something they wanted to experience. Thursday’s PEM/PM monthly late night party at the Peabody Essex Museum was a grand old time and if we may say, an artistic success for all the community groups that came together to create the schedule of events.

Attendees were invited to…

… contribute to a fiber arts project by knitting spring flowers with the folks from the Salem Arts Festival (a Salem Main Streets project)… sit and sketch with local group Sketch Collective… drum along with Express Yourself… catch Salem Sketches — short films created right here in Salem — which screened at recent Salem Film Fest… create your own instrument with Salem Jazz & Soul… and enjoy a 15-minute gallery experience highlighting some “ordinary” gems in the museum’s Japanese art collection.

And there was much more. Music that excited and moved the crowd from Ross Livermore Band. Front Yard Street Art, a collaborative fiber arts project open to community members and groups of all ages and abilities certainly attracted a lot of attention.

Hats off to Creative Salem, the Salem Arts Festival and, of course, the Peabody Essex Museum. Producing an event to attract over 600 people on a weeknight certainly indicates that art is not only alive & well in Salem— it also delivers an exciting environment.

(Video produced by JoeyPhoenixPhotography.com by way of CreativeSalem.com)

The Arts Are Alive, Well & Thriving in Salem – at Artopia

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Workshops 1 Response »

Mar 182015

Vibrant and creative are words to define the arts & culture scene of Salem — and those words will take physical shape this Thursday from 6-9 pm as Artopia takes over the monthly PEM/PM event, hosted by the Peabody Essex Museum.

Now, this blog may shake a little as you read it because we at Salem Main Streets are very excited about Artopia as so many local groups and festivals are involved! It is a real coming together of the community.

“The theme of this event is ‘Art in the Everyday,’ which is part of why we’re playing a lot with the creation of art and elevating ‘ordinary’ objects or activities,” reveals Kylie Sullivan, Main Streets Manager.

For example… contribute to a fiber arts project by knitting spring flowers with the folks from the Salem Arts Festival… sit and sketch with local group Sketch Collective… drum along with Express Yourself… catch Salem Sketches — short films created right here in Salem — which screened at recent Salem Film Fest… create your own instrument with Salem Jazz & Soul… and enjoy a 15-minute gallery experience highlighting some “ordinary” gems in the museum’s Japanese art collection.

For Artopia, PEM is partnering with the Salem Arts Festival and Creative Salem to super-charge this celebration. PEM/PMs are held on the 3rd Thursday of every month as a way to introduce and invite the community to utilize the resource that PEM is to the community.

Adds John Andrews of Creative Salem, “There will be roaming performance artists including members of ARTiculate this. Featured live artists will be Denny Tentindo, Ben Stebbings and Jamie O’Neil. Also at our Creative Salem table, we’ll have Allison White doing a needlepoint demo.”

The evening, as with all PEM/PM events, includes music, cocktails and conversation with separate stations for creativity. But Artopia doesn’t stop there.

Local author and meatball aficionado Adeline Myers, will discuss her recently published cookbook Global Meatballs and even prepare a couple of her favorite recipes. A well-crafted meatball can be a work of art!

Beer lovers can glean creative brewing insights from Newburyport Brewing Company and sample its locally brewed and appropriately named beers: Newburyport Pale Ale, Plum Island Belgian White and Green Head IPA.

And as they say, “that’s not all folks” as the evening will also feature North Shore-based Ross Livermore Band. A local favorite, the band has toured throughout New England and beyond and was recently nominated for Best in State in the New England Music Awards.

One other item to note, and of personal interest to those of us at Salem Main Streets and the Salem Arts Festival, is the Front Yard Street Art project.

Front Yard Street Art is a collaborative fiber arts project open to community members and groups of all ages and abilities. Create your own “green space” (field, garden plot, jungle, etc.) made of yarn, felt, fabric, and whatever else inspires you! Each piece will become part of a large-scale temporary art installation transforming Front Street during the Salem Arts Festival weekend.

Examples created by the students at the Phoenix School in Salem, will be on display Thursday evening as well.

And what is the cost of admission for this extravaganza? For PEM members and Salem residents (with ID) it is free of charge. For nonmembers, it is only $10 at the door. PEM is located at 161 Essex St., Salem Ma. For more info go to www.pem.org or call 978-745-9500.

Artopia is a most creative reason to venture out into the evening.

(Phoenix School photo courtesy Joey Phoenix)