Berks Arts announces the 17th annual Frank Scott Memorial Art Show: The Art of Jazz is now open at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts. Founded during the 2005 Berks Jazz Fest, The Art of Jazz honors the legendary local jazz musician Frank Scott. The Art of Jazz exhibit will be open to the public from March 22, 2021 – April 20, 2021 in the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts Schmidt Gallery, located on the 2nd Floor. The show features artwork inspired by jazz and depicts the impact of art and music on the community.
Juror, Diane Labelle, shared the following about the Art of Jazz this year:
Genius of jazz, Miles Davis was also a painter. According to Robert Irving III, a former musical director of Miles Davis’s band, Davis said that ‘music is a painting you can hear, and a painting is music that you can see.”
It is indeed a treat for me to be asked to come back to the GoggleWorks to jury the 2021 Art of Jazz exhibition for Berks Arts along with artist and GoggleWorks pioneer, Alvin Booth.
Amidst the pandemic, art cannot be suppressed and in this time of enforced isolation and silence, it is even more important to hear and feel the life beat of the arts as expressed in music and the visual arts. As we worked to curate and hang the submissions, jazz was ever-present in the gallery; we heard the music of the artwork as we studied, placed, and hung the 39 pieces chosen for the exhibit.
The exhibition showcases a diversity of media, style, and genre while remaining focused on the musical theme of Jazz. It celebrates a common experience we have of music, especially Jazz as the greatest exemplar of improvisation in history. The artwork in this exhibit is a two and three-dimensional presentation of the fundamental rhythm of life. The artwork represents the bodies of the performers, the instruments used to make the music, and the creative flow of paint, line, media, and color. All of these expressive forms generate the musical notes of the composition to create the 2021 Art of Jazz exhibition.
The honorees this year are:
- Birdie Zoltan with Songstress – 1st Place
- Lori Calabrese with When You Can’t Hold Back – 2nd Place
- Steve Fabian with Round Midnight – 3rd Place
Honorable Mentions are given to Nadija Armusik with Louis Armstrong; Lori Calabrese for Warmer Days and Brilliant Nights; and Don Carrick with Young Talent Trading Four – Chuck Loeb Winners.
To schedule a visit to view the Art of Jazz Exhibit reservations are to be made with the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts or visit during current operating hours of 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM.
