The goal of the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) at Shepherd University is to create dialogue. In addition to five fresh, new American plays, the 2009 Festival will include visual arts exhibitions from Jodi Patterson and Alison Helm.
Patterson is committed to empowering individuals and communities through art and education. She earned her MFA at Goddard College, where she studied with artists such as Dread Scott (What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?), Peggy Diggs (Domestic Violence Milk Carton Project), and Devora Neumark (Presence). Patterson has published in national journals and is the author of the Art Teacher book series. She currently lives in a historic town where two rivers converge, but her "home" is ever illusive. Patterson is an aunt, de-gendered cat caretaker, gardener, and independent world traveler who embraces an academic interdisciplinary approach to art making and process sharing.Helm has exhibited her sculptural work extensively at many galleries, museums and parks throughout the United States and worldwide; including the Cultural Center in Charleston, West Virginia; the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, and the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Helm has received two NEA Grants for underserved area artists from the Cultural Center in Charleston. She received the Outstanding Research Award for Creative Activity in 2001 from West Virginia University and she was nominated for the Claude Worthington Benedum Distinguished Scholar Award. She has completed various sculpture commissions including "Splendor of the Seas" for the deck of one of the largest cruise ships in the world, owned by Caribbean Cruise Lines. Helm is currently a professor of art and has been the coordinator of Sculpture in the Division of Art at West Virginia University College of Creative Arts since 1983.
Both artists' exhibitions will be in the Center for Contemporary Arts. Visit www.catf.org for the official exhibition schedule. A number of local artists and galleries will be open for your enjoyment while visiting Shepherdstown for CATF, including:· AHA! Art exhibit and sale at the Entler Hotel on German Street [July 15-19] · Metal sculptor Scott Cawood at the Ricco Gallery on German Street [ July 10-August 2] · Painter Michael Davis and sculptor Gavin Gardner at The Bridge Gallery on Shepherdstown Pike [July 9-August 9]The Contemporary American Theater Festival 2009 Season runs July 8 through August 2, presenting five powerful plays that celebrate the power of now: Dear Sara Jane, a world premiere play by Victor Lodato; Farragut North by Beau Willimon; Fifty Words by Michael Weller; The History of Light, a world premiere by Eisa Davis; and Yankee Tavern by Steven Dietz.
The Contemporary American Theater Festival prides itself on producing and developing new American theater. Since 1991, CATF has produced 68 new plays, including 25 world premieres. Five plays, five playwrights, five unique theatrical experiences at the Contemporary American Theater Festival. The 2009 Season runs from July 8 through August 2. For more information, please visit www.catf.org or call 304-876-3473 or 800-999-CATF (2283).
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