By Richard Harker
This spring Historic Oakland Foundation (HOF) at Oakland Cemetery and creative agency Dashboard U.S. explore light, life, and death at Arts at Oakland presents: Golden Hour, an arts exhibition that opens at historic Oakland Cemetery on May 19.
“Often, sunrise and sunset conjure metaphors of life, death, and transition,” said Richard Harker, director of programming at HOF. “At Golden Hour, we’ll utilize Oakland’s natural beauty as a canvas to examine this concept through art.”
Golden Hour is HOF’s first multi-day Arts at Oakland exhibition, and will be on display through May 27. Visitors attending the May 19 opening party, which runs from 5:00pm to 10:00pm, will experience Oakland Cemetery in a new light as they enter the cemetery at sunset and follow a lighted pathway leading to the installations. Cellist Okorie Johnson and DJ Ree De La Vega will add to the atmosphere. Local food trucks and bars will sell some of Atlanta’s finest food and beverages (including Old Fourth Distillery’s Golden Hour cocktail, made from gin flavored with juniper berries picked at Oakland Cemetery). Tickets can be purchased online at www.freshtix.com/events/golden-hour.
Throughout Golden Hour’s 10-day run, HOF will also offer a range of public programming, including sunrise and sunset photography tours and workshops, talks with Dashboard U.S. and participating artists, and tours for HOF members. On May 26 a free, family-friendly closing event gives youngsters an opportunity to interact with the installations.
Dashboard invited New York-based curator Oshun Layne to collaborate in assembling an impressive lineup of local and regional talent, who have created site-specific works, including sound, light, and mixed media installations based on the theme. “There are two times of day considered the ‘golden hour,’ sunrise and sunset, which can mirror the moment we enter life and when we leave. Arts at Oakland explores these moments with installations that alter a viewer’s perception at different periods of time throughout the day,” said Layne.
Participating artists include Khalilah Birdsong, InKyoung Chung, Ben Coleman, Paula Cuevas, Henry Detweiler, Sara Jimenez, Eto Otitigbe, Plastic Aztecs, Ruth Stanford, Justin Rabideau, and Karen Tauches. Their works will be installed throughout Oakland’s Original Six Acres, North Public Grounds, Jewish Flat, and African American Grounds. All proceeds from the Golden Hour exhibition support HOF’s mission to preserve, restore, enhance, and share Oakland Cemetery in partnership with the City of Atlanta. More information can be found at www.oaklandcemetery.com.
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