Since May of 2009 when we started the artist residency we have had 18 visiting artists at Cassilhaus and we thought it was time for a reunion party! 7 artists were able to make it back and none of them knew one another so it was a great opportunity for exchange and networking. Tamas and Eszter (see previous post) were here during the June reunion so they got to join in the fun as the newest residents. We have made such beautiful connections with our artists over the years and we miss them so much that it was exponentially joyous to have a bunch of them here together.
To add to the party we placed the returning artists with host families from the extended Cassilhaus family and they were invited to several of the reunion events. Our neighbor Kitty hosted Walter from Switzerland and they have become fast friends.
I went a little crazy on the programming for the 4 day weekend. I pulled in a bunch of favors and really pulled out the stops to have an extraordinary experience for our visitors. We started on Thursday with a fascinating tour of the Ackland Museum paper conservation lab. Many of our artists do works on paper and were amazed at the magic conservator Lyn Koehnline was able to do with damaged works in their collection. We followed with a brief visit to Light Art + Design Gallery and the Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill to see two exhibitions. I rented a big passenger van so we were all able to travel together. We headed back to Cassilhaus where Ippy Patterson (see earlier post) gave us a full tour of her show in the gallery. Dinner was a very very special treat. Our friend and amazing chef/restarateur Giorgios Bakatsias gave us the amazing gift of making a special 7 course farm to fork dinner for all of us.
Mark could only be with us one night due to his heavy ADF teaching schedule but he sure picked the right night!
Giorgios you are the best! Ellen played sous chef.
After dinner we had another special treat with noted author Allan Gurganus giving us a wonderful reading from one of his short stories. It was a night we will not forget.
On Friday morning we headed down to Durham's own Organic Transit to get a test drive of the 3 wheeled hybrid bike called the ELF. They gave us a great tour of their manufacturing operation. Doug plays Vanna.
After a visit to Durham institution The Scrap Exchange and Liberty Arts (I thought we were going to need to do an intervention to get Rachel out of the Scrap Exchange), we headed to the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden inside the main Duke Gardens for a picnic and walk. Ellen's architecture firm designed the buildings, trellis, and entry pavillion.
Doug was channeling his inner gardener.
The gardens are right next door to the Nasher Museum of Art and our friend and chief curator at the Nasher Trevor Schoonmaker gave us a private tour of the Sound Vision exhibition which he curated. The exhibition was comprised of new acquisitions since the opening of the Nasher. He had lots of great questions from his artist audience!
It was a short walk over to Duke Chapel and one of the most special treats of our entire weekend. I have know University Carillonneur Sam Hammond since my undergraduate days at Duke in the late seventies. Every weekday at 5pm Sam ascends the elevator to the top of the chapel tower to serenade the Duke community on the bells. It is closed to the public but as a favor he allowed our group to join him on high and it was a magical treat.
The view from the Carillon balcony
In the evening we were joinded by the host families and we all headed back to Cassilhaus for a Pecha Kucha style event where everyone made a presentation about the current work they were doing. Fascinating stuff all around.
Saturday was a quieter day for folks to do more on their own. We did have group meals and then had a wonderful evening of an American Dance Festival peformance by Ballet Hispanico. We are so grateful to our friend Jodee Nimerichter, the Executive Director of ADF, who treated us to the performance and greeted us afterwards.
Sunday morning Ann led us in some movement and meditation to get the day off to a great start.
We then all headed off to the singular Duke Lemur Center to see some of the most amazing creatures on the planet. How cool that the largest population of these creatures ourside of their native Madagascar is right here in Durham!
Rachel and Ellen were scheming new and considerably more expansive enclosure designs.
Making sure to cover all the cities in the Triangle we headed off to Raleigh for a picnic in the NC Museum of Art Outdoor Art Park and then got a private tour of the Bull City Summer Exhibition by participating photographer Leah Sobsey. Sunday evening with the blessing of the host we crashed a private party at CAM Raleigh and saw a spectacular exhibition by Gabriel Dawe and the second half of the Bull City Summer Exhibition.
We were so sad to see Monday come. We said goodbye at breakfast at our dear friend Jennings Brody's restaurant Parker and Otis in Durham. There was already much talk of the 10 year reunion. See you in 2019! (That's Aldwyth hiding behind the Pimento cheese sandwich.)
“I don't believe in art. I believe in artists.” --Marcel Duchamp
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