First Friday’s therapy

The First Fridays Artwalk took over West Broad Street on Friday night, with galleries providing an array of musical, visual and philanthropic stimulation for the Richmond community.

While only a handful of galleries exhibited new works for the month, Ghostprint Gallery in particular displayed a creative array of artistic expression. Curated by VCU illustration alumnus Brian Hubble, “Midnight Snacks” featured works from 38 artists, ranging from decorated cocktail napkins to paper maché and photography.

Of the 38, 16 are affiliated with VCU’s School of the Arts. Though not all are regular fixtures in the First Fridays scene, the goal of Hubble’s exhibition was not relying on artistic reputation to bring out the crowds.

“We’re trying to build a community of art, especially in our economic time, to just lean on each other and try to keep the lights on,” Hubble said.

Thea Duskin, who co-owns Ghostprint Gallery with her mother Geraldine, said the theme behind the works was to demonstrate the method behind artistic achievement.

“Brian has curated the show based on process work by a wide range of mediums and different artists just to show how the artwork developed into preparation for other work,”Duskin said.

Hubble said because the show has grown so much in size, he soon hopes to take the multi-faceted menagerie of works on the road.

“We’re starting here, going to Brooklyn and we’re also going to hit up D.C. and Philly from there,” Hubble said.

Also coinciding with the opening of the exhibition was Style Weekly’s mid-season arts party and exhibition titled, “Unboxed.” Focusing on public art encountered in the streets, the publication enlisted the help of nine community artists, including Duskin, to paint, sculpt or maim its outboxes to later be placed around Richmond for the enjoyment of the public.

Christina Stratman’s “I Can’t Help Myself,” sported a funky mohawk made of railroad spikes, sharp teeth and arms which feed the alien outbox its own letters. When asked if the sharp edges were potentially hazardous to the public, Stratman said her design had relatively little artistic guidance from the people at Style.

“Nobody told me outright, which was a little surprising, but I figured I needed to take precautions,” Stratman said. “I e-mailed (Style) and said I wanted to have an alien creature with arms coming out eating its own letters and I didn’t get a reply, so I just decided to do it.”

Down the street at Gallery 5, a different kind of artistic exhibition was unfurling in the gallery’s Lucent Phoenix Library. While music from Happy Lucky Combo and Zac Hryciac and the Jungle Beats rocked out in the main room, the non-profit learning center featured a heavier-than-normal topic for the artwalk-surviving sexual violence.

Titled, “The Art of Surviving,” the exhibitions featured paintings and prints by various members of the community who were also victims of sexual violence. On each placard was the name (or alias), title of the work, the meaning of the work and the ages during which victims were assaulted.

Casting a somber mood on the evening, the pieces were well received even though some lacked professional quality.

Lucas Fritz, a jazz studies major, said he appreciated a couple of pieces for their hidden meaning.

“Some of them weren’t that obvious and quite captivating,” Fritz said. “I studied a couple for a while before I felt like I kind of understood them.”

Carol Olson, who produced the show, is on the governing board of the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, which funds therapeutic treatment for victims of sexual violence. Once a victim herself, Olson said the necessity for the victims to express themselves through art therapy is essential to their recovery.

“I’ve always used art as a means for my own need to heal but also to help clients find their comfort from within.”

“I’ve always used art as a means for my own need to heal but also to help clients find their comfort from within.”