Area residents and poetry lovers of all ages are invited to read at the Open Mic from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Following the Open Mic, at 7:30 p.m., poet, musician, and performer Luis Humberto Valadez, a native of Chicago Heights, will be the featured reader at this inaugural event.
Valadez is the author of a poetry collection, What I’m On. A graduate of Columbia College Chicago, Valadez holds an M.F.A. from the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado.
In reviewing Valadez’s debut poetry collection, poet Arielle Greenberg writes, “In voices colloquial and church, reverent and riotous, serious and sly; in rap and fragment, sound and sin; from gangs and minimum-wage jobs to astrology and Christ, Luis Valadez makes his fearless debut.”
The poetry event is being held on the closing night of a national juried art exhibition, “Assume Nothing,” which opens September 11 and features 36 artists from across the country. Artists working in a broad range of media, styles, and formats investigate the subtleties of the theme, filtered through personal experience and political beliefs, global concerns, and private visions. The intentional ambiguity of the exhibit’s title has given artists and juror alike the opportunity to search for surprising links and tangents, and to create an exhibit of unexpected depth and visual pleasure.
“Unlike oil and water, poetry and the visual arts make perfect companions,” noted Union Street Gallery Administrator Jackie Riffice. “Poetry lovers are very often art lovers, and vice versa. We’re very excited about having this chance to showcase poets from the Southland against the backdrop of this marvelous Gallery and this remarkable national juried art exhibit.”
In addition to the national juried art exhibition, Terry Dixon, winner of the 1st annual National Juried Artist in Residence Program at Union Street Gallery, will exhibit works responding to the Re-Enslavement of African Americans from the Civil War through World War II. The exhibit runs from September 11 through October 31.
The poetry reading and art exhibit are both free and open to the public.
Founded in 1995, Union Street Gallery is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization. The Gallery’s mission is to encourage and nurture emerging and established artists and be a resource for art appreciation and education to the communities that make up the Chicago Southland.
Additional information may be obtained by calling (708) 754-2601 at www.unionstreetgallery.org
