This Friday, the Phoenix-based ArtFarm organization will open its newest exhibit, “Nurturing the Landscape,” at the Oasis on Grand, as a part of Phoenix’s monthly First Friday and the sixth annual Grand Avenue Festival.
ArtFarm’s founders Patricia Sannit, Christopher Jagmin and Mimi Jardine came together about a year ago in order to create an organization that provokes a greater interest in the Phoenix art district. As local artists themselves, they designed ArtFarm to meet specific goals tailored to an emerging art scene in an urban environment.
ArtFarm strives to create exhibition opportunities for artists, develop a critical writing environment for better art reviews and expand upon artistic awareness in Phoenix, according to its founders.
The group posts frequently on its Facebook page in order to promote artists and upcoming exhibitions as well as critical writing tips for those interested in developing their inner art critic.
“Patricia, Mimi Jardine, and I kind of got together about a year ago and we had the same kind of sensibility and feelings about art and our community,” Jagmin said. “We kind of connected and started working together to see how we can enhance the artistic scene here in Phoenix, expose artists to more people and also bring critical thinking to the art community here and put Phoenix on the map if possible.”
ArtFarm found 10 new and long-time local artists to participate in the exhibit.
“We each individually proposed artists we thought would be interesting,” Sannit said.
Amy Manning, one of the artists chosen to display their work in “Nurturing the Landscape,” said she met Sannit through an art class at Phoenix College.
“She had been giving me some advice about getting good images of my work if I wanted to be professionalizing as an artist,” Manning said. “She said she wanted to forward them (her art) to ArtFarm and see if the rest of the people there would be interested in including the works in their show.
Manning will have her pieces “Reverse Telescope” and “Head Beating Machine” featured at the exhibit.
“Nurturing the Landscape” showcases many different mediums of art including jewelry, sculptures and paintings.
Additionally, the founders of ArtFarm will have some of their works displayed in the show. Jagmin, known for his conceptual wax and oil paintings, helped design the event’s “landscape” theme.
“We’re calling it ‘Landscape’ because we’re talking about Phoenix as a whole, the view of Phoenix as an art community. So, it’s not necessarily about landscapes in particular,” Jagmin said.
The show’s venue, a motel-turned-apartment complex, offers a place for gallery shows and artist workspaces. The Oasis’ central location in the Phoenix art district offers artists the opportunity to place their work amidst a stream of creative culture enthusiasts.
Nancy Hill, a member of the Grand Avenue Members Association, helped ArtFarm find the Oasis, Sannit said.
The ArtFarm team described their room at the Oasis on Grand as a “raw interior environment” because of the space’s undeveloped nature and currently unoccupied state.
“It’s an interesting space. It’s a space you walk in and go ‘Huh this is cool. What can we do here?’” Sannit said.
“Nurturing the Landscape” will be open to the public Nov. 7th from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Nov. 8th from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Nov. 9th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., and Nov. 14th from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Contact the reporter at syaghsez@asu.edu
