Downtown Auction of Fayetteville Street Banners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Tracey Lovejoy
traceylovejoy@downtownraleigh.org
919-832-1231
Downtown Auction of Fayetteville Street Art Banners
[Raleigh, NC – February 19, 2007] –
Friday, March 2, 2007 will kick-off the silent auctions for Fayetteville Street’s banners. Coinciding with downtown Raleigh’s First Friday Gallery Walk, the first auction of the beautiful banners will be held at the Raleigh City Museum from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Several ‘angel’ banners will be available to the public at the auction. The brainchild of Raleigh Arts Commissioner, Jessie Cannon, the art banners are a wonderful way for local artists to display their work. “I am so pleased that the response from our local artists has been so positive” said Jessie Cannon, Raleigh Arts Commissioner. Half the proceeds will go back to the artists and the other half will fund future quarterly banners along Fayetteville Street. Throughout the year, the banners will be auctioned off at The Raleigh City Museum during the First Friday Gallery Walks.
The artists painted their visual concepts of angels with materials supplied by the Raleigh Convention Center. The artists’ angels were hung on lamp posts lining Fayetteville Street in December and stayed up during the holidays and for the “First Night Raleigh” celebration. Several art teachers participated with three 5th graders from Lacy Elementary School, as well as artists from the Visual Art Exchange and Artspace. The artists who painted the ‘angel’ banners were Anna Podris, Keith Norval, Luanna Winner, Veronica Samuel, Lee Ball, Dan Nelson, Jayne Cluggish, Carol Lancaster, Kirk Adam, Charlene Bowling and Dawn Wade.
The Raleigh City Museum will also have a special reception with light refreshments celebrating their newest exhibit, "The Centennial Hall of Fame". The exhibit recognizes and honors 25 individuals who made significant contributions to the city of Raleigh during its first 100 years. Dianne Davidian, Executive Director of the Raleigh City Museum, said “"the museum is excited about joining other participants as a new Fayetteville Street venue for First Friday. We welcome the opportunity to serve as the host site for displaying and auctioning the artists' banners." The Raleigh City Museum is located at 220 Fayetteville Street. For further information on the “Centennial Hall of Fame”, please call 919-832-3775.
Currently, you can stroll along Fayetteville Street and view the wonderful work of fourteen local artists who painted their visual concepts of ‘love’ for Valentine’s Day. The fourteen artists participating in the ‘love’ banners project are Georges LeChevallier, Anna Podris, Keith Norval, Kathy Ammon, Karin Baumeister-Rehm, Veronica Samuel, Matthew Mahler, Kitty Mecham, Stacy Lewis, Jose Manuel Cruz, Bill Burch, Kirk Adam, Virginia Owen and Constance Pappalardo. Artspace and Visual Art Exchange were instrumental in recruiting the artists for this project. “This is a great way for local artists to have a presence in downtown and a wonderful way to showcase Raleigh’s talent,” said Executive Director, Sarah Powers, of the Visual Art Exchange.
For additional information, please visit http://www.godowntownraleigh.com/event-detail.cfm?id=855&month=3&year=2007.