Press Release for Denver Artist Reception / Listening Party

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 22, 2009

Contact:
Free School Records
Phone: (303) 520-4842
Email: press@freeschoolrecords.com


JOHN COMMON, ABECARDIAN GALLERY AND 65 ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY COLLABORATE IN “THE COMMON BOX PROJECT”

June 22, 2009, Denver, CO – Abecedarian Gallery director Alicia Bailey and Denver-based independent recording artist John Common (www.johncommon.com) share a belief that art forms benefit from overlap, and that collaborative efforts usually have rewarding and exciting outcome. That belief is the basis for the Common Box Project.

Here’s the general idea: Invite 60 artists from across North America, send them each a simple wooden box, along with the nuts and bolts of a new record by an indie songwriter and then mix it all together in a beautiful collaboration called the Common Box Project -- a mixed media collaboration with artists of all types to create unique pieces of assemblage box art that are inspired and/or informed by the new record by John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light – due to be released this fall.

Each box, measuring about 7x7x5, has a recessed area in the back that will hold a copy of John’s new record. Buying a box will be the only way to get an early copy of John’s new record as regular distribution won’t start until later this year. A limited number of copies will also be available with purchase of a work on paper in support of the Abecedarian Student Scholarship Fund.

The exhibition opens Thursday, July 9 at 1pm and continues through the close of the CD Listening Party July 18 at 10pm.

Learn more about the project at: http://commonboxproject.blogspot.com
EXHIBITION DETAILS

Exhibition: The Common Box Project
Exhibit Dates: July 9 - July 18, 2009
Exhibit Events:
July 14: Abecedarian Gallery hosts Action Figures (formerly Self-Made) with guest John Common, 7-9pm
July 17: Exhibit open during Arts District on Santa Fe’s Preview Night, til 8pm
>>>July 18: Listening Party - New recordings by John Common & Blinding Flashes of Light, 7-10pm
Gallery Location: 910 Santa Fe, #101, Denver, CO 80204 (at the north end of the 910 Arts building)
Gallery Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday 1-5. 1st & 3rd Fridays 1-8
Contact: Alicia Bailey - alicia@abecedariangallery.com, 303.340.2110 or 720.282.4052
John Common - letters@johncommon.com, 303-520-4842
BOX ARTISTS

Some of the notable Common Boxers with national reputations include Tennessee sculptor Dolph Smith, paper artists Betsy Dollar (Minneapolis) and Helen Hiebert (Portland, OR), and painters Kelly Kievet and Kimberly MacArthur-Graham. Although there are boxes coming in from all over the United States (and two from Canada), many regional favorites (Dave Seiler, Penney Bidwell, Maura Grimzinski, Annalee Schorr, Kathleen Sherman, Joan MacDonald, Claudia Roulier and Rik Sargent) are part of the project. Alicia Bailey has a national reputation as book artist and curator so a heavy emphasis on book artists is inevitable. In addition to Alicia, book artists contributing to the project include Mia Semingson, Amy Leepard, Rutherford Witthus, Suzanne Vilmain, Mary Powers Torrey, MaryAnne Riker, Jana Brubaker, Gail Smuda and Jill Berry. It seems particularly fitting that luthier (maker of stringed instruments) Randy Arnold, is also participating.

The full list of artists can be found at the project blog: http://commonboxproject.blogspot.com