CCAI Press Release - Allen Spore Exhibition

Capital City Arts Initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Capital City Arts Initiative launches exhibition program with Allen Spore Photography at the Court House

The Capital City Arts Initiative [CCAI], Carson City's new arts organization will launch its exhibitions program with an exhibition by San Francisco Bay Area photographer Allen Spore.

The exhibition, "Carson City-Carson Valley Portrait Project" opens at the Carson City Court House with a with a public reception for the artist on Thursday, February 26 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. There is no admission fee and the public is cordially invited. The court house is located in

Allen Spore inaugurated CCAI's Artists In Residence program which brings professional artists to the area to create new work, present workshops and exhibitions while working with a broad cross section of the Carson community.

During a fall residency Spore, a photographer and faculty member at the prestigious San Francisco Art Institute produced a series of community portraits.

He also worked with art students at Carson High School, Virginia City Middle School and Nevada Hispanic Services Carson City.

Setting up temporary on-site makeshift portrait studios at Comma Coffee in Carson's historic downtown and J.T.'s Basque restaurant in Gardnerville, Spore photographed over a hundred and twenty residents. A selection of his portraits will be presented in his exhibition. An on-line exhibition on CCAI's web site http://www.arts-initiative.org features additional photographs and information on the project.

"Allen's project celebrated our community-from our Thursday Mahjong group to high school students and young parents," comments June Joplin, local arts activist and proprietor of Comma Coffee. "Through his eyes, we are able to see our rich diversity and individuality."

Photographer Spore received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the San Francisco Art Institute where he now teaches. In 2002, he produced a series of photographs in Sedgwick, Colorado where Spore attended grammar school in the 1950's.

Exhibitions of work created by participants in Spore's CCAI residency projects will also be on display at Nevada Hispanic Services, and Carson High School's Main Street Gallery, in the Stewart Title Building. A satellite exhibit of Spore's work will also be at Carson City Hall.

Arts writer Marcia Tanner will produce an essay in conjunction with the essay which will be accessible on line on CCAI's website, http://www.arts-initiative.org.

Capital City Arts Initiative and its programs are funded in part by the Carson City Redevelopment Authority the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts; the James W. Calhoun Foundation; Carson High School St. Mary's Art Center Virginia City; Carson City Library; Nevada Hispanic Services Carson City; and by BrAG its 'Brilliant Advisory Group'. We extend special thanks to Joe McCarthy, Carson City Public Safety Complex/Carson City Courthouse, Comma Coffee, Capital City Entertainment, Milliard Realty and Construction, Phil & Kathie Bartlett, the Brewery Arts Center and Whispering Vines Wine Company.

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Photo Editors

Please note: high resolution photographs by CCAI Artist in Residence Allen Spore suitable for print reproduction, are on line below.

Click on the thumbnail images below for high resolution suitable for print media color or black & white photographs by photographer Allen Spore. Click on the thumbnail above for a photograph _of_ Allen Spore. Once the full scale image is on screen, mouse down (Mac) or mouse click right (Windows) on the image to save it to your desktop. Please contact us if you have questions via email or phone at.

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caption: From the series "Carson City-Carson Valley Portrait Project" by Allen Spore
[scale: 36" x 36"] 2003