Sculptors, Painters, Filmmakers and Alumni Artists Featured in 2015 LoKo Festival at SUNY Potsdam

Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts Brings Together Guest Artists and Incredible Student/Alumni Exhibitions from April 24 to May 3

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Todd McGrain ’83 will speak about “The Lost Bird Project” and offer a screening of the PBS documentary about this project on May 1 during the Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts at SUNY Potsdam.

POTSDAM, NY (04/20/2015)(readMedia)-- SUNY Potsdam will explode with artistry during the Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts, with an array of incredible exhibitions and installations, plus a great line-up of guest artists, from April 24 to May 3.

The Loko Festival will welcome a number of visiting artists to campus, including SUNY Potsdam alumnus Todd McGrain '83. McGrain is the multitalented sculptor, filmmaker, author and creative director behind "The Lost Bird Project." He has created incredible sculpted memorials to five extinct species of North American birds, which have each been permanently placed at locations in the birds' former habitats, and were also displayed at the Smithsonian. A documentary about the project is airing on public television nationwide this spring. McGrain is the artist-in-residence at the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and is the winner of the 2014 Audubon Award for Art Inspiring Conservation. He will offer a performance and discussion about his artistic process on Friday, May 1 at 4 p.m. in Brainerd Hall Room 202, followed by a screening of the documentary film "The Lost Bird Project," at 7:30 p.m. in Kellas Hall Room 101.

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam and the College's Department of Art will sponsor a number of exhibits and presentations during the LoKo Festival.

All events are free, and the public is invited to attend. For a full schedule of events, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.

The festival's art highlights include:

  • Friday, April 24: Emily Glass '06 will offer a lecture, "My Agent Says the Neighbors are Nice," discussing her most recent large-scale work and the many iterations that go to canvas before completion, at 3 p.m. in Brainerd Hall Room 202.
  • Monday, April 27: Molly Jo Burke will offer a talk titled "From Fluid to Solid," about the concept and process for her work, which incorporates glass, fabric, wax, clay and other 3D materials, at 12:30 p.m. in Brainerd 202.
  • Tuesday, April 28: Danielle Johns '05 will offer a lithography demonstration at noon in Brainerd Hall Room 204. At 5 p.m., there will be a showcase for the Art Alumni Invitational Exhibition, in the lobby of the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall at SUNY Potsdam's Crane School of Music. At 6 p.m., there will be a screening of "Junk Drawer," a non-narrative, pre-recorded electronic music and video collaboration between faculty members Jerod Sommerfeldt and Doyle Dean, in the Wakefield Recital Hall. At 7 p.m., visiting sculptor John Van Alstine will speak about "Turning Negatives Positive" in Kellas Hall Room 103.
  • Wednesday, April 29: Liza LaBarge '12 will lead a drawing demonstration at 2 p.m. in Satterlee Hall Room 119. Van Alstine will offer a presentation about planning for public sculpture at 3 p.m. in Brainerd 202. At 7 p.m., the fourth annual Festival of Light will showcase a menagerie of illuminated artworks by students lighting up the Academic Quad at dusk. The rain date for this event is Thursday, April 30.
  • Thursday, April 30: Artist Meredith Mallwitz will offer a workshop on "Monarch Migration: Exploring Sustainability Through Creative Expression," at 9 a.m. in Satterlee Hall Room 312. She will ask participants to help build an installation inspired by the monarch butterfly, using natural and recyclable materials. At 11 a.m., filmmaker Rodrigo Dorfman will speak in the Raymond Hall eighth floor board room, followed by a screening of his film "Occupy the Imagination, Tales of Seduction and Resistance," about his roots in the 1970s social movement in Chile, at 4 p.m. in Kellas Hall Room 102. Visiting artist Margie Hughto will speak about her large-scale ceramic installations at 6:30 p.m. in Brainerd 202.
  • Friday, May 1: Todd McGrain '83 will offer a performance and discussion about his artistic process at 4 p.m. in Brainerd 202, followed by a screening of "The Lost Bird Project" at 7:30 p.m. in Kellas 101.
  • Saturday, May 2: There will be a workshop on making photograms in the darkroom without the use of a camera, at 10 a.m. in Brainerd 202.

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam will present the annual Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition, featuring works by graduating seniors from the College's selective BFA program in visual arts, during the festival. The BFA Exhibition will be on display in the Roland Gibson Gallery through May 17. Admission to the Gibson Gallery, located at Brainerd Hall, is free, and the exhibition space is handicapped-accessible. The museum is open to the public from noon until 5 p.m. on Monday and Friday, from noon until 7 p.m. from Tuesday through Thursday, and from noon until 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

There will also be a showcase of works by accomplished SUNY Potsdam art alumni throughout the festival in the Hosmer Gallery, located at The Crane School of Music. The Art Alumni Invitational features works by Mary Anne Evans '95, ceramics; Kate Gesel '11, printmaking; Emily Glass '06, painting; Danielle Johns '05, printmaking, and Liza LaBarge '12, drawing. There will be a reception with the alumni artists on Tuesday, April 28 at 5 p.m. in the gallery.

For more information about these exhibits, call (315) 267-3290 or visit www.potsdam.edu/museum.

Art students at SUNY Potsdam live, create and study in a unique art environment within the context of a stimulating liberal arts tradition. Art students have the advantage of working closely and sharing ideas with other creative people in music, dance, drama and writing. This total art environment provides a challenging stimulus and has given the SUNY Potsdam art program a reputation for excellence. For more information about the College's Department of Art, visit www.potsdam.edu/art.

These are just a few of the many guest artists taking part in this year's festival. To keep up with the latest, visit www.facebook.com/lokofestival.

North Country Public Radio is the media sponsor for the 2015 Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts at SUNY Potsdam.

For a full schedule and listing of events, visit www.potsdam.edu/loko.

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of only three arts campuses in the entire SUNY system. SUNY Potsdam's arts curriculum offers the full palette: music, theatre, dance, fine arts and creative writing. No matter the discipline, people from all backgrounds can find their creative compass at Potsdam, with myriad arts immersion experiences available for both campus and community.

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