Go Triad printed the first page of my cover story twice, omitting quotes from Molly McGinn, Emily Stewart and Cheryl Lipstreu. My apologies. For what its worth, the story I filed is below. Female artists poised to take over Greensboro By Ogi Overman Special to the News & Record Don’t look now, but Greensboro is about to be taken over, not by Martians or zombies or hordes of locusts but by a much more benign — and, one might add, talented — force: women. There’s not much time to prepare, as the friendly takeover will commence today, Thursday, Mar. 6, so the preferred course of action might be to simply arm oneself with facts and enjoy the next four days. And the facts are these: Roughly 150 women artists of all disciplines and persuasions will be plying their various crafts at no fewer than 40 venues around town. The four-day event is billed as the Female Artist Takeover. It began last year as a one-day affair to coincide with International Women’s Day (March 8) and met with so much success that it was able to expand considerably. “I am overwhelmed by the support we’ve gotten,” said Bonnie Stanley, co-founder of the Female Artist Collective and promoter of the event. “We expected the artists would get behind us, but the response from the club owners and venue operators, and especially the public, has been remarkable.” Stanley, a photographer by profession, stressed that the Takeover is in no way an anti-male event, nor is the Collaborative is an anti-male organization. Quite the contrary, in fact. “No, we are not anti anything, especially men,” laughed Stanley. “We are pro artist, pro Greensboro and pro female. This is simply a way to highlight the enormous reservoir of talent, especially female talent, we have right here in Greensboro. We want to ignite the arts community, all genres, mediums and disciplines, as well as the community at large by demonstrating what a huge part the arts play in our lives. We are simply turning the stage over to the ladies for four days, giving them exposure but also exposing their value to the town and the Triad.” The Takeover was actually the brainchild of well-known pianist and actress Stephanie Lindley, who recruited Stanley last year to help launch both the group and the series of events. Lindley’s son was forced to undergo a series of operations at an out-of-state clinic, which understandably took precedence, and she gratefully handed the reins to Stanley, who immediately turned to Susan Sassman for help. Sassman, as founder of the Women’s Resource Center, former executive director of the Creative Center, and promoter of the Summer Solstice celebration at Lindley Park, is arguably the most well-connected woman in town to both the arts and female communities. “The best thing I could have done is getting Sue involved,” enthused Stanley. “She is a tour de force, and everybody in town knows and loves her. She’s been invaluable.” Together, the two set about town imploring venue owners to book female acts this first long weekend of March, while at the same time contacting the various performing and visual artists, who sometimes booked their own events and helped promote the series. “One thing that makes it rather unique is that it’s not limited to music and clubs,” noted Stanley. “Sure, music is a big part of it, but we have art shows, comedy, a bodypainter, belly dancers, a play, fire spinners, the whole gamut of creative expression. Plus, we have them performing in unlikely places, not just bars.” The Takeover gets underway at one of those unlikely places, a bookstore/coffee shop. Scuppernong Books, on S. Elm St. On Thursday the recently opened business will host singer-songwriter Emily Stewart and violinist Suzy McCalley, known collectively as Croonshine. The musical pair are also business partners at The Breathing Room, a holistic empowerment center in Winston-Salem. “What we do in our daily lives dovetails perfectly with what Bonnie is doing here,” said Stewart. “We are all part of the same whole, empowering one another.” Another non-traditional venue is Corrupted Arts Studio, a tattoo parlor on Chapman St. The spacious and well-appointed room will feature artist Cheryl Ann Lipstreau Saturday night from 8 p.m. until. Lipstreau will have 30 of her paintings on display (and for sale) and will also be bodypainting a live model. A silk aerialist will also perform, and a DJ and cash bar will be on hand. “This came about by serendipity,” smiled Lipstreau. “Tony (owner Crowder) already had my paintings up and I had done a live bodypainting here before. Sue had been at that event and asked Tony if he’d want to participate in the Takeover. Naturally we both jumped all over it. I am delighted to be a part of it.” Molly McGinn, however, put a Friday event together solely for the Takeover. One of Greensboro’s most acclaimed songstresses, she rounded up her old mates in their heralded and much-lamented band, Amelia’s Mechanics, for a one-night reunion. It too will be at an unlikely venue, Crop Salon, a newly opened cosmetology salon downtown. “This was the perfect storm,” she explained. “I’d wanted to perform again with Molly (guitarist-songwriter Miller) and Kasey (violist Horton), and (Crop Salon owner) Jay Bulluck was opening his new shop. Obviously, I support what Bonnie is trying to do in pulling the arts community together, so it just made too much sense not to do it.” All of Friday’s events are centered downtown, to coincide with First Friday, while Saturday will feature performances all over town. Then Sunday’s wrap party/reception will be held at Uptown Artworks on Arnold St. As if Stanley didn’t have enough to do organizing this massive undertaking, she has also been quietly negotiating to buy or lease a building to house the Collaborative and provide a performance space for local members of the creative class. There are two potential properties available, but she is not at liberty to say where they are. “I don’t want to jinx it,” she commented. “All I can say is that they’re both downtown and either would be ideal. This would give us the means to do these types of things year-round. We could really shine a light on the wealth of talent around here. “I am just so happy with the way things are working out. These are the people I enjoy being around, and I can’t thank everybody enough.” Contact Ogi Overman at overmanogi@gmail.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 13:56:23 +0000
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