Artists, art lovers, environmentalists and ecologists from across the Southeast have the rare opportunity to hear a presentation and then participate in an open discussion about sculpture with artist Aurora Robson on Saturday, Oct. 5, when the Mid-South Sculpture Alliance ConFab is held in Chattanooga.
Robson is a well-known multimedia artist who focuses her work on intercepting the plastic waste stream.
Her work references recurring nightmares she had as a child, which she hybridizes with organic forms found in nature. Her talk will be followed by a discussion between the sculptor and the audience.
Her work has been featured in Sculpture Magazine, Art in America, WIRED, Art & Antiques and on the cover of Green Building + Design. She is a recipient of the Pollock Krasner Grant, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Sculpture, a TED/Lincoln Re-Imagine Prize, a National Endowment for the Arts Art Work Grant and an Annenberg Scholar.
ConFab will kick off at 9 a.m. with the keynote speaker and conclude around 4:30 p.m. at Chattanooga State Community College, 4501 Amnicola Highway, CAT Building, Room 30.
ConFab admission is $30 for MSA student members, $80 MSA members and $100 nonmembers, which includes lunch. There is an optional dinner with the guest artist at Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant, 2 W. Aquarium Way, from 7 to 9 p.m. for an additional $55.
“Aurora Robson represents what’s exciting and relevant with contemporary sculpture,” said Roger Halligan, sculptor and former MSA board vice president. “Aurora’s sculpture is both whimsical and deadly serious. Her use of an ‘archival material’ (discarded one-use plastics) engages the viewer to contemplate transformative beauty and the threats we bring to ourselves as consumers.”
After Robson’s presentation there will be a lunch buffet followed by the 10×10 Scholarship presentations. This year, 10 students won a $1,000 scholarship funded through a gift to MSA by Dianne Komminsk. These talented students will share their work in 10-minute presentations.
ConFab attendees will tour and listen to a short presentation at Branch Technologies new plant at 4 p.m. Branch Technologies is an architectural fabricator specializing in large-scale 3D printing.
To make a reservation, email admin@midsouthsculpture.org or call 423-903-5648.