Winning combinations – visual arts and music; barbecue fire and ice – mark the continuation of the fifth annual Mount Tremper Arts (MTA) Summer Festival throughout the month of July. The next two weeks boast a host of multidisciplinary art exhibits and performances, as well as the creative collective’s popular annual pig roast.
The “Meeting Point” exhibition opening will be held this Saturday, July 14. The exhibit, featuring collaborations among sound artists, photographers, writers and visual artists, is curated by Boru O’Brien O’Connell. An earlier collaboration with dancer Miguel Gutierrez at Mount Tremper Arts inspired the interdisciplinary show. “That was really kind of both exciting and very touching for us that [Boru O’Brien O’Connell] brought to this his own experience of Mount Tremper Arts: as a laboratory space where people come together, a meeting point, a place of convergence,” said executive director Mathew Pokoik.
The free opening event features performances and video screenings throughout the day by artists Charles Atlas, Xavier Cha, Jen Rosenblit with C. Spencer Yeh and Jacques Louis Vidal. “Meeting Point” also includes works by Nicholas Buffon, David Horvitz, David Levine, Sharon Lockhart, Sergei Tcherepnin and Ei Arakawa and Triple Canopy. Each of the artists in the exhibit has created a piece in conversation with a type of art outside of his or her native medium – e.g., an installation artist’s work becomes performative; performance artist emphasizes the visual arts.
At 5 p.m. that day, the opening will break to break bread, as MTA hosts its popular annual Pig Roast and Dinner ($20 supplement). Pitmaster Pokoik will roast a whole 120-pound pig, courtesy of Fleisher’s Grass-fed & Organic Meats.
The next weekend, beginning Friday, July 20, will feature a hot summer concert series by the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), a world-renowned 33-piece group known for electrifying audiences with its eclectic new classical programming. Just back from a tour of Brazil, ICE’s Friday program features newly commissioned works by four Brazilian composers, as well as songs from Mexico and Argentina.
It’s also the kickoff of Art-B-Q Fridays. Tickets cost $15, and include both performance and dinner. “It’s kind of a place for people to come together in a relaxed setting, yet with rigorous works of art,” said Pokoik. After the music, crowd and artists mingle and share a feast prepared by resident chef Richard Krause.
On Saturday, July 21, ICE pairs two musical revolutionaries separated by centuries: Franz Schubert with experimental jazz and electronic music pioneer George Lewis. This symphonic and dynamic program promises to push chamber music to exciting new levels, said Pokoik. “This is a little out of the box for us, because we’re generally a contemporary art [space], featuring the works of living artists who are younger or in mid-career,” he said. “We’re excited to hear what happens.”
Mount Tremper Arts is located at 647 South Plank Road in Mount Tremper; (845) 688-9893. The “Meeting Point” opening will be held on Saturday, July 14 from 3 to 8 p.m. Admission is free. The Annual Pig Roast, 5 to 6 p.m., is a $20 supplement. Tickets for most other events are $15 in advance or at the door. Advance tickets are available at www.smarttix.com or toll-free at (877) 238-5596. Or follow the Buy Ticket link at www.mounttremperarts.org.
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