Supple - It's on!!!

Where on Earth do I begin? I have had one incredible day... and it is largely, if not completely, due to the incredible community spirit sent my way. Email after email, phone call after phone call came in from people expressing their support of Supple. By the time I went to bed last night I was worried there might be a backlash from not delivering Supple as promised. By noon today I received dozens of supportive emails from all sorts of people. Not a single negative comment came my way. Also, by noon I received not one, not two, but four offers for a space to mount Supple. By 4pm, I had secured an incredible location that, believe it or not, is even closer to the Convention Center. That location? Warehouse Gallery.

Early this morning I received a call from Sondra Arkin expressing her willingness to do what it takes to make Supple happen. I immediately got on the phone with her and listened to her pitch. Turns out, Sondra, along with Phillippa Hughes and Ellyn Weiss, were mounting an art show of their own at the Warehouse called "No Representation: abstraction in the capital." Sondra said that if Molly Ruppert, owner of the Warehouse, was onboard, they would like to offer me two rooms within the Warehouse to mount Supple. The Warehouse, for those who don't know, is located a mere half-block from the front door of the Convention Center.

Anyone who knows Molly Ruppert knows that there are few people in D.C. more passionate about our city and our art community. When pitched the idea to mount Supple at the Warehouse, she eagerly agreed to do so. Sondra called me back and we made plans to meet at the Warehouse at 4pm. So much for doing any real work at the day job today...

I met Molly, Sondra, Phillippa and Ellyn at the Warehouse and they showed me the rooms they could offer me. If you're familiar with the space, Supple will be on the second floor in the back two galleries. This is plenty of space and for the most part I think all of the artists will be able to include the same work they planned to use at the old location.

I could not have been more excited about the situation. 24 hours earlier I was dreading having to tell my artists that the show was cancelled. Then, all of a sudden I was excited to be able to tell them the show was back on and hopefully bigger and better. I believe even more people will be out to see the show now.

All of the logistics for the show remain the same except for the location and the duration. Please see below for the updated info:

Supple @ Warehouse Gallery
April 26 - May 12

1021 7th St, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Gallery hours (4/26-29):
11am-7pm

Receptions (4/26-28)*:
7-9pm

Gallery hours (4/30 - 5/12):
Mon-Fri: 5-11pm
Sat: noon-midnight
Sun: noon-6pm

Live performances of Matt Sargent's music will still be at 8pm on Thursday and Saturday.

I know the schedule is a bit confusing, but I wanted to keep as much of the old schedule intact as possible. If any of this confuses you, do not hesitate to write me and I'll clarify.

I want to take this opportunity to plug "No Representation." I saw much of the work this afternoon as it sat on the floor waiting to be installed. There's some great stuff there. The show will run from April 26 - May 12 as well. There will be a reception ("Freeform Bash: an unCONVENTIONal opening") on Saturday, April 28 from 6pm to ????

Here are the participating artists:

Sondra N. Arkin
J. Belmar
Mark Cameron Boyd
Renee Butler
Tory Cowles
Laurel Farrin
Michael Gessner
Janis Goodman
Pat Goslee
Tom Green
Eve Hennessa
Kristin Holder
Brece Honeycutt
Becky Jones
Joanne Kent
Adrian Loving + Ayodamola Okunseinde (Dissident Display)
Aubrie Mema
Elizabeth Morisette
Emily Piccirillo
Lynn Putney
Marina Reiter
Nooni Reatig
Chris Tousimis
Dan Treado
Andres Tremos
CC Vess
Gail Vollrath
Anita Walsh
Rex Weil
Ellyn Weiss

So that's the deal. It's been quite the learning experience and will be a great story to tell in the years ahead. I'm so glad to be working with folks who understand art, business and generally how to communicate with others.

Thanks so much to Sondra, Phillippa, Ellyn and most especially, Molly. I owe you guys big time!!

Comments

[Ian]

Hey I'm really glad for ya dude!

[Phil Nemsith]

I am happy to see that the community that we were talking about on Sunday was able to help out. It is very exciting when something like that happens. Great news!

[wwc]

Congrats man, and good job.

[Lenny]

Yay!

[andrea]

This could only happen in a great supportive city with a tightly-knit artist community like DC. Having done many offsite shows in very alternative spaces, it can be difficult - especially when insurance (liability) issues arise. But congrats on your tenacity. And to the generosity of those offering you space. I hope to be able to see the show one of those evenings. It's going to be a crazy week!

[brent hallard]

Hi Jt.
i've been following this from afar-- at first excited, then astounded, then astonished! Good luck with Supple, the artists: can't be in better company with 'no representation'. As far as I am out of all this, at a distance, I'm always there inquisitive, so have been watching this all the way through, internetly, silently. I don't know what caused the breakdown but probably from my experiences it usually has something to do with 'fear of the artist temperament', the herds, thus the insurance/liability mentioned by andrea above.
... it's not the first time, nor will it be the last ... though there is a lesson]... also thanks for the mail-out... look forward to seeing images of both shows.

cheers

[J.T. Kirkland]

Brent,

Thanks for the note. I don't have much time but I wanted to say that the breakdown was much caused by things much simpler than insurance/liability.

Everyone else,

I'm sorry to not have time to respond to each of your comments. Trust me when I say that they have meant the world to me. I appreciate each and every one of them.

Thanks!

J.T.