Cinema Art, Fine Art, Family Theater, and Ragtime!
By Josh Garrick

Those forward-thinking folks at the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) will stir up the mix of art and ‘understanding’ as they premiere the Global Lens Film Series beginning July 10.  The films, which had their U.S. premieres at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, will be shown in Orlando from July 10 through November 1.  
Ten feature films will open a window into the culturally diverse world in which we live through cinematic story-telling. Put simply, as we watch the films from the series, we will learn about world cultures, recognizing not only the differences, but the commonalities we share with people around the world. It is a testament to the enlightened leadership at our local Museum that these international films can now be seen in Orlando.  Both entertaining and thought-provoking, the films come to us from Argentina, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Morocco and Mozambique. Each film is selected for its authentic and unique voice, thereby giving further encouragement to filmmaking in countries with developing film communities.
The first film, Sleepwalking Land, tells the story of a young refugee and his elderly companion as they journey across war-torn Mozambique in search of the family he lost. Tickets are $12 , $7 for OMA members.  To see the full schedule, visit www.omart.org.

ART has often expressed the mesmerizing duality of its kinship with AND its inherent mistrust of technology.  Opening July 10, artists Richard Reep and Jim Jackson will use art to explore the chasm between our physical and virtual reality. The artists note that technological changes have brought “tremors and conflicts as we adjust to the change,” and the exhibit will examine how we deal with these changes.
Reep (an architect and an artist) has exhibited recently at both the Orlando Museum of Art and the Maitland Art Center.  Found objects make up his idea of a city as a collection of objects intertwined with a web of cables and wires, cell phones, and artifacts from our digital age.  Reep says, “… the physical form of a town or city may decline into insignificance, making debates about form and style of a city obsolete.”
Jackson’s work as a mural artist has graced everything from monumental architecture (at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios) to motorcycle fenders. His fine art alludes to classic pulp fiction amid images of smashed computers, cell phones, and other examples of contemporary life. The exhibit asks serious questions about our ‘digital’ lives, while providing glimpses into our possible future. 
Creative Spirit Art Gallery, 820A Lake Baldwin Park (in Baldwin Park), will host the exhibit from July 10 to August 1.  The Opening is set for July 10 from 6 pm to 9 pm.

The leading Gallery in the Downtown Orlando art scene is definitely the Gallery at Avalon Island as curated by Jeff Shonkwiler.  When he hosts a ‘Third Thursday’ event, I invariably begin and end my Gallery Tour in this historic and welcoming space.  July’s ‘Third Thursday’ Opening (July 16) will feature two of the area’s leading artists in their respective fields. 
Keith Theriot is known, since moving here in 2000 from an art-enriched background in New York City and New Orleans, for his abstracted figuration and color field paintings. Theriot’s abstracts come to us through collaboration with musician Scott Robertson who blended electronic and Native American instruments for Theriot to interpret visually. The results of this collaboration will be the focus of the work. 

Mask, Keith Theriot

Family, Keith Theriot

Glass artist Nick Bingham has created his own niche within the fine art world of Orlando. Nick’s process is called ‘fusing.’ “In fusing,” he says, “you build a work from many pieces.” The pieces (of glass) may be shaped, colored, or broken, but the pieces work together to create a design that is then placed in a kiln and brought to 1400 degrees. The pieces melt together to create one single piece … and ‘voila’ – a single work of art. 
The exhibit will open on July 16 and run through August 14 at the Gallery at Avalon Island, 37 S. Magnolia Avenue in Downtown Orlando.

Just in time to answer that “what’s next?” question for the kids this summer, The Orlando Repertory Theatre is here with its 3rd Annual Target Family Theatre Festival.  The Festival is 10 days of affordable, family entertainment with performances by Mr. Steve from PBS Kids, Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could, Justin Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players, the children-produced musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, Snack, International Puppet Shows and more! 
The Festival features a free Opening Day Celebration (July 18th) with performances, face painting, a musical petting zoo, balloon animals, and inter-active activities as an affordable way for families to come together while also introducing acclaimed children’s artists to Central Florida.  And it does all this while training young people in the theater.  Mr. Steve from PBS Kids has performed at the White House and the Kennedy Center; Brady Rymer was nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children; and Justin Roberts received rave reviews from The New York Times and Newsweek and has been featured on The Today Show.
Artistic Director Jeffrey Revels says, “This music is for families who rock!  These are not the traditional toddler favorites, but kid-friendly songs that adults can appreciate as well.”  The Festival begins July 17th with the opening of Thoroughly Modern Millie and continues through July 26th with tickets from $6 to $12. Visit www.orlandorep.com or call 407-896-7365 ext. 224 for the full schedule.

We can thank the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra for continuing to make FUN a significant part of its Sounds of Summer Series.  The concert set for Monday, July 20th will feature the Redwing Blackbird Ragtime Band as directed by Mark Goldberg as part of the series highlighting musicians of the Philharmonic in diverse programs. There is no doubt that audiences will be ‘toe-tappin’ to this program of original turn-of-the-century Ragtime Band arrangements including Rags, Waltzes, Marches, and Gallopes – a la Scott Joplin.
The musical roots of ragtime were tied to plantation life where there was a popular form of entertainment called the “Cakewalk” with the birth of ragtime set by the date of the first published work in 1895. The history of ragtime is mirrored in the life of Scott Joplin who published Original Rags in 1899, but Ragtime was being played long before it was published.  Most of the composers did not sell their works; they were making a decent living based on the tips they received performing in bars … with their more “boisterous” music reserved for their own enjoyment.  The audience will enjoy tunes including Shine On Harvest Moon, The Black and White Rag, The Entertainer, The Mississippi Rag (the first rag ever published), and Scott Joplin's Wall Street Rag (written for the "Panic of 1907”). 
The band is comprised of Mark Goldberg, Band Leader and Traps; Connie Brink, Vocals; Colleen Blagov, Flute; Nikolay Blagov, Clarinet; Brian Brink, Trombone; Jeff Thomas, Baritone;  Neal Webb, Trumpet; Thomas Macklin, Trumpet; Ed Firth, Tuba; and Randy Morris, Piano.  Mark Goldberg performs on his complete vintage 1900's drum set, including all the traps.
Audience members are encouraged to dress in 1900's fashion, to sing along and dance, or to just kick back and listen. The Philharmonic promises a “boisterous” good time, with the “toe-tappin” taking place in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E. Rollins Street in Loch Haven Park on Monday, July 20 at 7 PM.  Call 407-770-0071 or visit www.OrlandoPhil.org.

Josh Garrick is the Florida Arts Editor for Wandering Educators.