East Village Arts is a non-profit artist collective
We are a membership based co-operative of artists, musicians, and patrons.
We believe that diversity and collective creativity is the strength of a healthy community.
This month's feature artist is sculptor Randy Gachet from the visual arts faculty at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. His work is consistently exhibited in galleries, non-profit spaces and museums throughout Alabama and the Southeastern region. His sculptures have been included in the HomeGrown Southeast Exhibit 2007 at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Awards received include the 2008-2009 Individual Artist Fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, a 2009 Art Teacher fellowship from the Surdna Foundation, merit awards at the 2007 and 2004 Kentuck Arts Festival, 2013 and 2004 Magic City Art Connection, the Spirit of the South Award. Mr. Gachet’s work can be found in the collections of the Huntsville Museum of Art, the Wiregrass Museum of Art, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College, as well as in private collections across the country.
INVITATION for you! Free to the public!
Join us on Friday November 8th at East Village Arts for another Coffee with Creatives! Our in-person morning meet-up with Birmingham’s creative community will take place from 8:30 AM – 10 AM and is free to the public. During this meet-up, attendees will have the opportunity to brew new ideas, forge collaborations, and hear insight from artists, entrepreneurs, and community leaders.
The theme of this event is Accounting Tips and Insight for Small Businesses and Nonprofits. Our guest presenter will be Talibah M. Bayles, founder and CEO of TMB Tax & Financial Services Benefit Corporation. A Birmingham native and esteemed leader, Talibah Bayles is a renowned National Small Business Advocate with a unique blend of local dedication and national influence.
Friday morning coffee @ EAST VILLAGE ARTS 7611 1st Ave. North
HALLOWEEN ART PERFORMANCE PARTY !
BEAM SPLITTER ~ AUDREY CHEN (UK/US/NO)
Pho Mint'n, HENRIK MUNKEBY NØRSTEBØ OCTOBER 31 Halloween party!
EVA is hosting some very special voices to Woo and BOO your imagination! Two duos intersect, Mintn/Chen and Beam Splitter forming this trio of hyper extended close mic'ed mouthful and breath driven antics for double voice and trombone.
Dress up or down and prepare yourself for an interactive
Feral Choir By the Fire !
H a l l o w e e n N i g h t 7:00 p.m.
H'Art impart skart shart bart...
Come as a 'thing for an O-w-l-some Sing! $15
"For each of us, breath is a highly personal signature at the audible edge of sound; to magnify it, as BEAM SPLITTER does, is to make oneself available in a particularly bold way. And the work on Rough Tongue is nothing if not bold.”
— Daniel Barbiero, Avant Music News (US)
BEAM SPLITTER (Audrey Chen & Henrik Munkeby Nørstebø) is a duo for amplified voice, trombone & analog electronics. They have been touring globally since 2015, playing over two hundred concerts in a wide variety of spaces and contexts, bringing their own brand of highly amplified dialog, which is as intimate as it is equal amounts raw and entirely exposed. They join together their two individual voices into a distinct language that delves beyond the borders of un-processed voice and trombone, while utilizing analog electronics to offset their hyper extended physical play.
“BEAM SPLITTER is highly improvised, extremely crafted and held in an iron will for
experimentation.”
— Jean Louis Fernandez, La Nacion (AR)
Phil Minton comes from Torquay in the UK. He played trumpet and sang with the Mike Westbrook Band in the early 60s- then in dance and rock bands in Europe for the later part of the decade.
Phil Minton returned to London England in 1971, rejoining Westbrook and was involved in many of his projects until the mid 1980′s. For most of the last forty years, Phil has been working as an improvising singer in groups, orchestras and situations, in various locations worldwide. Some composers have written pieces that especially employ his extended vocal techniques and improvisations. A master sounder, he has the distinction of being considered a founding father of improvised vocal phenomena. He has performed worldwide. Since the eighties, his Feral Choir, where he voice-conducts workshops and concerts for anyone who wants to sing, has been performed in over twenty countries.
Join us for a chance to experience a late night Finale by the firepit!
MASKS AROUND THE WORLD
Art Exhibit by Craig Legg & artist talk
Paper Machet, Found-object Assemblage
Currently Showing: Gallery Open Saturdays 11 am-3 pm
Mask Workshops! Come see.
What's happening at EVA?
Check it out!
Welcoming new Artist Residents Soon!
Watch for East Village Arts ~ Holiday Open House ~ Saturday December 7th
10:00-3:00
If YOU are an Artist, Maker, or Performer have art, handcrafts, kitch or carols, or just curious, now is a good time for inquiry into participating at EAST VILLAGE ARTS Open House, Saturday Dec. 7 from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Get a early start, and come out to visit! For information, Contact: director@evabham.org txt: 205-503-3677
RECENT EVENTS
CULTURAL FORCES
FROM THE UKRAINE FRONTLINE WITH THANKS SECOND MUSIC TOUR OF GRATITUDE
Tuesday OCTOBER 15th
2:00-4:00 Public Welcomed! FREE
The cultural arm of the Armed Forces of Ukraine brings together active servicemen and volunteers of artistic and creative trades. Through culture and arts, Cultural Forces improves troops’ morale and provides psychological support to soldiers in combat and recovery zones.
Professional artists before the war, now active duty soldiers and frontline volunteers, they will present a wide variety of music from Ukrainian and world classics to covers of popular hits and country tunes. Most artists fought in some of the fiercest battles of the war. After recovering from injuries, they get back to playing music.
The artists’ repertoire presents renditions of a wide variety of music, from Ukrainian and world classics to covers of popular hits and country tunes, featuring the traditional Ukrainian string instrument, the bandura. There will be an opportunity for interaction between the audience and the artists. Live music, Stories & more!
Free admission.
Yurii Ivaskevyeh
Vocalist and Soloist, the Zapariatutua Philharmonic Orchestra, Grenade Launcher Operator, 110TH Separate Brigade
Taras Stoliar
Bandura player Honored Artist at Ukraine, PFC Reconnaissance Operative, 112th Separate Brigade
Olha Rukavishmikova Violinist, conductoer, and symphonist, Reconnaissance Operative, Grenade Launcher, Operator, 112th Separate Brigade
Mykhaile Olinyk
Composer, pianist and singer, Separate Mechanized Brigade
Sasha Poole Country music singer, composer, and writer, Capt. 22nd Separate Infantry Battalion
Liubov Shipiliuk, Bandura player, singer and songwriter, (CF frontline volunteer)
Mykolai Sierga Popular presenter, poet, musician and lproducer (CAPT, 50th Separate Mechanized Brigade)
for more information about these cultural ambassadors visit
https://culturalforces.org/international/
BAMA
Birmingham Art Music Alliance
presents
IRON GIANT
Thursday, October 10, 2024
7:30PM
Iron Giant Free Association premieres new music by local composers in boundary-stretching performance.
Iron Segments - Michael Coleman
Versicles for Aries - Kyle McGucken
Improvisation - LaDonna Smith / Iron Giant
differance - Mark Lackey
as reflected in the glimmer of the black pond Holland Hopson
Thus Spoke the Giant - Joseph Landers
Armature - Monroe Golden / Iron Giant FREE
Prince Tunde Odunlade at East Village Arts!
Sept 27th, EVA celebrated Prince Tunde's return to Birmingham with an Exhibition of his new work, experiencing the Prince in person, his presence, artworks, & amazing beaded batiks, simultaneous to Craig Legg's new exhibit MASKS OF THE WORLD, artworks by Eddie Melton & Neko Linda. Add to that a diversity of performances, featuring improvisations by LaDonna Smith, Si Reasoning and CillaVee of Ashville NC, and finally the hilarious excerpt from Lauren Jones comedy theater, MASK ON THE WALL.
East Village Arts exists not only as a platform for world class visiting artists like Prince Tunde, the Ukrainian Military "USA Thankyou America" tour group, and seminary visiting improvisers from United Kingdom, Norway, and Germany, who are coming for HALLOWEEN, but moreover EVA is the hub for amazing world-class talent that live and thrive in our own Birmingham Greater Metropolitan area, who contribute to our own "East Village," the scene for artists, non-commercial music & both the innovative and folk arts of our city! BECOME A SUPPORTER at the Patreon link above, and you will truly help us keep up this work & our unique one of a kind presence in the community. Thank you! Your contribution makes EVA sustainable!
Prince Tunde Odunlade, Cultural Ambassador of Nigeria is a print and textile artist who has exhibited, taught, lectured, studied and traveled extensively within Nigeria and throughout Africa, North America, and Europe. His work is in the collections of institutions including the Smithsonian Museum of African Art and the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the MacArthur Foundation Collection in Chicago, and the State House in Lagos, Nigeria, and in Birmingham, Alabama at East Village Arts! ;)
Saturday! September 21 Jonas Van den Bossche is a Belgian guitarist, based in the United States. He explores music both through written songs and improvised playing. Jonas embraces contradiction and change, which enables his improvised playing to flow seamlessly from noise to melody to silence and back. He has been exploring noise, free jazz, and improvised music on guitar and drums for well over two decades. Also on the bill, exquisaire T Roussi, Playplace,
Patrick Stone & The Hotel Bibles.
This night of free improvisation called opens ears to task! Manifesting the interception of improvisations, flow, friendships and East Village Arts beautiful creative space!
Tmbuk2 hosts
"FRIDAY NITE WRITES"
The Soultopian Society is back! Gracing the mic for the September edition of #PoeticallySpeaking was the humorously delivered, thought-provoking commentary of Akeyla Chatman! Totally entertaining, and then participants were prompted to write and "speak their peace" on the subject of "There's no turning back" So Bring a pen, pad, and an open mind and get ready to “speak your peace” on Third Thursdays! Doors open at 7pm. Program @ 7:30! It's a beautiful community!
Hidden Impact! - a tribute to two artists whose mostly hidden works impacted the community in powerful ways. Eddie Melton was an inventor, a creator, and who played with shapes, fractals, & recipes! His work manifested in many unusual mediums. Neko Linda, writer & artist, silently co-organized the Sister City Connection - a multi-cultural collective of female poets. She fostered a deep awareness of Women's Spirituality was producer of the first performance of the Vagina Monologues in Birmingham. She supported and heralded the LGTBQ Community organizing fundraisers and spoken word. Eddie's impact was as subtle as a poet on a skateboard! Celebrating their many hidden talents and community impact! Poetry, Exhibition and Performance!
Saturday September 7th, 2024 6:00-9:00 p.m.
Photos above & below: EVA's Sun Ra departure event: outdoor screening, performance and art fair, celebrating the upcoming documentary film of Sun Ra's Birmingham legacy by french film makers, Guillaume Maupin & Pablo Guarise.
All this as the final scene of the movie was filmed at the EVA celebration!
East Village Arts hosted an open air outdoor event celebrating the departure date of our son of the city, Sun Ra! Beginning with a parade of musicians and the Sun Ra giant puppet down first Avenue North accompanied by the volunteer ad hoc Sun Ra Band, music, poetry, a history lesson, art, merch, tee's, BBQ, and a screening of early historic Birmingham clips of Sun Ra to be included in the documentary film by French filmmakers Guillaume Maupin and Pablo Guarise.
POETICALLY SPEAKING - a writing workshop of sharing & healing through written and spoken word. The featured poet for the month of July was Jahman Hill, an astute poet and Birmingham influencer. Thursday July 18 at 7:00 p.m. Poetically Speaking is Third Thursdays!
The EXPROV Concert Series features improvisation, electronic music, and avant-garde jazz. Presenting local and touring musicians from all over the country, as well as brilliant musical innovators from around the world.
EXPROV SERIES AT EVA
features free improvisation and experimental musica exploration
Curated by Taylor Rouss
7:30 p.m. Byob $10
MARCH 15, 2024
This historic event was part of "Echoes Surrealiste Contemporaines" an international collaboration of correlated Surrealist exhibitions hosted in Luxor, Egypt, Budapest, Hungary, Saint-Cirq LaPopie, France at the summer home, now Cultural Museum of Andre Breton, and in all places, right here in Alabama at East Village Arts!
The Alabama Surrealist group, FRESH DIRT, active since the seventies has drawn attention in the international movement, and our Alabama exhibition was celebrated as one of the most innovative in live performance! The Alabama exhibition at East Village Arts featured visual art from Egypt, France, Canada, Australia, Britain, Scotland, USA and Peru. Our event featured spontaneous sound poetry, dance, performance artists, improvised 'automatic' music, surrealist films, and the experimental string instruments of Jean Jacque Gaudel.
The performances included body language and performance art by CillaVee (NC), Susan Hefner and Shelley Hirsh (NY) with Bruce Golden (MS). Improvisations by Ruthlessly Killing: LaDonna Smith & Taylor Rouss from Birmingham. Also performances by DadaUU on wind synths, Rachel Inman & Mary Foshee in a comedic theatrical skit, followed by the mad sound science by Doctor Khlurr, poetry, manifestos, wild wombs, ghosts and intuitions. A comprehensive catalog will be forth coming. To learn more about Alabama surrealism , and see the collections of our native visual artists visit the Fresh Dirt web site at http://fresh-dirt.us
Welcome Tunde Odunlade to Birmingham!
East Village Arts is proud to host Prince Tunde Odunlade, acclaimed beaded batik artist & the cultural ambassador from Nigeria. The exhibition in March featured large handmade pieces that captured the village life and spirit of his people. The Exhibition Opening Exhibition of his hand-crafted beaded batik was heralded with performances by the drummers of Sahi On Ko Djony and dance by Nathifa African Dance director Empress LaVondia. The gallery attendees could not help but join in the dancing followed by poetry, reggae and rap curated by Birmingham's outspoken poet, Tmbuk2 the curator of the exciting monthly series, "FRIDAY NITE WRITES!" Dont' miss your opportunity to meet Prince Tunde! He will be coming back in late September for more co-creating with batik workshops, lecture, drumming and creative connection to Birmingham's art community. [2024]
PRINCE TUNDE ODENLADE of NIGERIA is a print and textile artist who has exhibited, taught, lectured, studied and traveled extensively within Nigeria and throughout Africa, North America, and Europe. His art has been displayed around the world in dozens of one-man and group shows. His work is in the collections of institutions including the Smithsonian Museum of African Art and the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C., the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the MacArthur Foundation Collection in Chicago, and the State House in Lagos, Nigeria. His work is also in the collections of many private individuals in the North America, Europe, and Nigeria. In the early 1970’s Tunde studied with Yinka Adeyemi, of the Oshogbo school of art that was largely responsible for the explosion of creative contemporary art emanating from Nigeria. He is Director & Curator of the Tunde Odenlade Contemporary Art Center in Ibadan.
CASSANDRA GRIFFEN EXHIBITION
“I, TOO SING AMERICA”
Celebrating Black History Month
FEBRUARY 15, 2024
Cassandra Griffen is a nationally known Civil Rights Movement documentarian. Her photographs are powerful revelations of the journey of individuals and communities of color during her 30 years of intense documentations of civil unrest and cultural challenge. My images expose the individual’s hidden self. I am curious of what lies behind their eyes; where they have been; and where they hope to go. My images evoke the passage of time. Serving as Human Rights commissioner of a New State Commission taught me that racism was still a factor and this revelation impacted her passion to the underserved and overlooked.
Alabama Roots Music and Trading Card Series
Craig Legg's Alabama Roots Music & Trading Card Series is a visual/musical history in 300+ portraits. Open January through March, 2024, it was a super hit, & Painting with the artist on Saturdays from 11:00-2:00.
The first Friday of the month features poetry, rap and reggae with curator and Master of Ceremonies, Tmbuk2 in a community celebration of the Word! Each month there is a new poet or rap artist featured, and the open mic introduces the community to many talented local artists!
East Village Arts is supported in part by fees paid by member organizations.
Check out these community groups that hold their meetings, rehearsals, and events at EVA!
BAMA New Music Festival 2024
2024 Birmingham Art Music Alliance New Music Festival Tenth Anniversary "THE NEXT MOMENT" was held on Saturday May 11, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. and Monday May 13 at 7:00 p.m. featuring "Esther & Holland"
New Old Time Music! free admission!
The Birmingham Art Music Alliance is an autonomous nonprofit organization with the twofold mission of promoting music by Alabama composers and presenting concerts of recently created art music to communities in Birmingham and beyond. We are proud to acknowledge Birmingham Art Music Alliance BAMA as one of the creative member organizations of EVA!
East Village Arts is an eclectic & affordable community venue of the poetic, visual arts & performance! celebrating diversity and inclusion, supporting local and visiting artists. Contact: director@evabham.org
Join us at East Village Arts as a volunteer, member, or studio resident!
Studio Residency
Uniquely conceived in the form of a "village" or town, we have an open gallery for artist exhibitions, a performance space with a stage & church pew seating, a nice wood floor for dance and classwork, and a number of village mini studios which may be occupied by local artists to show or execute their work.
Book a performance or exhibition
Book a one-time event or become a member and take advantage of our rates and packages for single and serial events.
Volunteer
Share your talents & interests and become a Volunteer!
You can earn many of the perks of membership by serving as an event curator, social media curator, workshop leader, housekeeper, or a member of our gardening team.
Recent Events
Fire, food, and friends at EVA on Family Flow Night--check back for upcoming dates!
Family Flow Night
Come see the show at our new patio!
EVA in the news!
French filmmakers are celebrated at EVA for their work on an upcoming documentary about Birmingham's own Sun Ra.
INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION
ECHOES SURREALISTE CONTEMPORAINS
GRAND OPENING RECEPTION, EXHIBITION, FILM
& PERFORMANCE ART!
6:30 p.m Art & Collaborations set the atmosphere! Early birds experience and improvise on latest stringed instrument inventions by creator, inventor, artiste Jean-Jacques Gaudel!
7:30 BODY LANGUAGE PERFORMANCE ART
CillaVee (NC), Susan Hefner and Shelley Hirsh (NY) Ruthlessly Killing (LaDonna Smith & Taylor Rouss), Si & UU, Rachel Inman & Mary Foshee, Doctor Khlurr (Clifford McPeek) poetry, music, manifestos, wild wombs ghosts, & intuitions.
8:30 SURREALIST SHORT FILMS by Si Reasoning, Michael Mills, Scott Bazaar (FL)!
East Village Arts is a community artist collective supported by memberships, by you, and generous donations: Suggested $20, $10, what you will!
Everyone is a unique expression of talent, insight, and reason for being. Join our membership and contribute to the wellness of the community in our city, impacting the state of things imaginative, authentic, and true. Because resources in the challenges of Life are inter-related, we ask you to join us in this mission! Become part of the EVA Vision as a listener, an observer, a supporter and a creative!