Do you remember doing show and tells in elementary school? Sometimes they would occur weekly, or monthly, or even once a year, but they were always a highlight of the school year. On Friday, Feb. 23 at Roost Studios on Main St. I was taken back to those days at the studio’s monthly “Show and Tell” event.
Dagan Julty, a volunteer from the Fairy Palace (an art-based community center in Rosendale, New York) is currently helping the Roost set up the event, which is a common occurrence at the Fairy Palace.
“This is the second one. The first one was a huge success, we had a room full of artists,” said Julty, “These things take time to build up a reputation, but once they’re in they’re in.”
Roost Studios hosts a wide variety of events, from solo/group exhibits to dance classes and tai chi. “Show and Tell” is one of the newest events that Roost hopes to make reoccurring. “The ideals of this event are directly in line with the ideals of the Roost,” said Julty.
The ideals of the event, Julty explained, could be viewed in two categories: the artists, and the community.
“Artists are often very isolated and the only time they have with the public is when they perform or present,” Julty said. “This allows artists to become more personal and get feedback which is valuable to them.”
At the events, artists of any medium (painting, music, sculpting, design, etc.) are given the opportunity to present their work, and participate in a discussion with the audience about what they’ve shown.
You don’t have to be an artist to attend the events, however. Julty encourages any community member to come and experience the art that is being made around them.
“For the community, the goal is to help people gather live and in person, away from social media, and to get them engaged in the arts in the real world,” Julty said. “People can attend as an artist or performer, or just as an audience member.”
David Wilkes, vice-president and co-founder of Roost Studios, echoed Julty’s statement.
“Most of the events that we have here are ran to bring in the community, kind of exposing them to art and really having an interaction with the community and not defining it by just, say visual art or something like that,” Wilkes said.
Due to the rainy nature of the Friday evening that the second show and tell took place on, only one performance was presented. Adam Silverman and Kevin Kelly, two members of the community, performed an Eastern Indian song, and gave a brief history on Eastern Indian music and the role it plays in our society.
“Some of the programs, like what Dagan has brought to us with the show and tell, we’re very open to these things because we sort of don’t know what we’re gonna get, and this is really more than almost anything I can think of, this brings in people who are doing such a wide variety of things,” said Wilkes.
At the original event, some of the art presented included photography, knitting, and even architecture.
To learn more about Roost studios, the “Show and Tell” events, and other upcoming events, visit their website at roostcoop.org, or their Facebook page, “Roost Studios and Art Gallery.”
