Greeneville Art Center Partners with
Symphony of the Mountains
Historic Greeneville, TN – James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center is pleased to announce an upcoming partnership with Symphony of the Mountains for the 2007-2008 season. The Gallery will host Art in the Lobby for all concerts in the season, beginning with the September 29th Gala Opening Night and including the Symphony’s Bristol-Abingdon Concerts, Voices of the Mountains, and Youth Orchestra performances. Concerts featuring Art in the Lobby will be held at the Eastman Chemical Company’s Toy F. Reid Employee Center in Kingsport, at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, TN/VA and The Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center of Abingdon, VA.
The partnership between James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center and the Symphony of the Mountains began with a successful Art in the Lobby exhibit in December of 2006. The unique gold, silver, and platinum jewelry from the artistry of Gallery director James-Ben Stockton was paired with a concert featuring the “gems” of classical music, resulting in a particularly satisfying evening for Symphony patrons. The success of that pairing led to the Gallery being invited to host and coordinate Art in the Lobby exhibits for the entire upcoming season. “Visual and performance art in combination are a powerful stimulus to the senses,” says Stockton. “As an art center, we have long been aware of the potent forces created when eye and ear react in tandem.”
Stockton brings to the partnership with the Symphony of the Mountains more than 35 years of experience as a Tennessee artist. Along with partner Daniel Luther, the work of his jewelry studio has expanded to include teaching of various formats as well as the presentation of art in a wide variety of styles and media. The result was the creation of James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center in 1992, which was recognized not long after its relocation to Greeneville, TN as one of only five Southeastern Regional Galleries in Tennessee.
Art in the Lobby was introduced during the Symphony of the Mountains’ 2006 season as a way of furthering the goal of introducing new and exciting cultural experiences to long-time patrons, and to attract new patrons into a greater appreciation of art and music. “The upcoming season offers a wonderful opportunity to promote the power of visual and performing arts, “ says Stockton. “The musical selections include both classical and jazz offerings, both of which lend themselves to the addition of visual elements. Our job will be to select and feature individual artists whose work can be coordinated with specific performances or the works of several artists to create thematic exhibitions.”
While the Gallery, with its many years of operation, has wide contacts within the artistic community, artists in the upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia areas are encouraged to come forward and have their work considered for feature in the 2007-2008 Art in the Lobby series. “We certainly don’t presume that we are aware of every good artist in this part of the world,” says Stockton. “Those who’d like to introduce themselves can easily do so. Submission forms can be found, downloaded, and returned online by visiting the Symphony of the Mountains web site at www.symphonyofthemountains.org. We are enthusiastically seeking new (to us) artists and artistry from within the region.”
The 2007-2008 season of the Symphony of the Mountains featuring Art in the Lobby from James-Ben: Studio and Gallery Art Center opens September 29th at Eastman’s Toy F. Reid Employee Center. For further information about the concert series or submitting works for Art in the Lobby, visit the web site at www.symphonyofthemountains.org. Contact can also be made with James-Ben: Studio and Gallery at (423) 787-0195.