Marginal Arts Festival Taking Shape in Roanoke

Performance artists Alexandra Zierle and Paul Carter

One of the area's most interesting artworks (performance and the entire spectrum) is getting ready to kick off. Here's the press release:

Work is already under way to plan the 2012 Marginal Arts Festival. An informational meeting will take place Wednesday, September 7 at Community High School from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Individuals, groups and organizations interested in participating in the 2012 Marginal Arts Festival (February 16-21) are encouraged to attend.

The Marginal Arts Festival was founded in 2008 by the faculty and friends of Community High School in order to provide venues for art forms seldom seen in the valley, and exposure for artists working in unusual media or in unusual ways. An annual six-day carnival ending on Mardi Gras, Marginal Arts nurtures local identity and promotes contemporary art, collaborative events, marginalized artists and communities.

During Wednesday's meeting, festival organizers are encouraging discussion of partnerships and partnering venues, exhibition and performance suggestions, sponsorship opportunities, artist and community feedback and general input on the festival itself.

The Marginal Arts festival has featured regional and international artists and has acted as an incubator for the curious to explore working in new ways, to develop community-based art projects, and to collaborate with artists from other disciplines. The 2011 festival included partnerships with the Taubman Museum of Art, Hollins University, Roanoke College and WVTF public radio, and included experimental, performance and political artists from as far away as Vermont and the U.K.

Community High School is now in its new location downtown at 302 Campbell Avenue SE, in a renovated 100-year-old warehouse. CHS houses Liminal: alternative artspace and the June M. McBroom Theater.