News Article

Artists' haven offers new approach to creativity
by Ruth Rice
Source: The Tribune-Democrat, August 29, 2006

     ART WORKS in Johnstown! will provide artists a creative haven in which to flourish.

     ART WORKS, located at Third Avenue and Power Street in the Cambria City section, is housed in a former industrial building that once served as a livery for several 19th-century breweries.

     The 18,000 square-foot building is being renovated into artists' studios, galleries and classrooms, as well as a kitchen, café and rooftop garden. Artists will be able to have space to create, teach and sell the results of their labor, all under one roof.

     A preview of what will be offered at ART WORKS in Johnstown! will be presented at an opening reception at 7 p.m. Friday. Music will be provided by Rachel Allen and Friends. The building also will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

     Next-door neighbor BOTTLE WORKS Ethnic Arts Center at 411 Third Ave. is the proud parent of ART WORKS, but the two are separate, said John Kubinsky, ART WORKS board president and a senior vice president at AmeriServ Financial Corp. The ARTWORKS board is made up of members of Johnstown's business community who feel strongly about making a home for artists to produce and show their work. The goal of ART WORKS is to provide an environment that fosters both educational and creative interaction for artists while serving as a catalyst for added economic growth and cultural enhancement of the community,” Kubinsky said. “We hope to attract artists to the area who would have this as their home-base studio. We're off a good start with our artists-in-residence.”

     This summer three young artists have used ART WORKS as a place to create their art. Sarah Walko, a Pittsburgh resident who now lives in New York City, has worked on conceptual sculpture; Jennifer Styperk, a Pittsburgh resident who recently spent a year in London, has done text art; and ceramic artist Jon Rugh of Johnstown has crafted pieces and will help build a kiln on nearby property leased from St. Stephen's Roman Catholic Church.

     “Johnstown is amazing with the history of the flood,” Walko said. “It's ripe for artists to do community projects.” Her conceptual sculpture “Glass Violin” uses test tubes to house simple objects such as crumpled pages from a book, harp strings, keys and lightbulbs. The sculpture has four rows of 17 objects each because a violin has four strings and weighs 17 pounds. It brings an awareness of silence,” Walko said. “I don't usually have any explanations because I want people to get out of it what they want.”

     Styperk's “On the Line” features a clothesline with empty, lacy pockets. Visitors can write made-up words on slips of paper and insert them in whatever order they like. Styperk plans to make a story with the words. “There's potential for art when you walk down the street,” she said.

     In addition to their separate work, Walko and Styperk joined forces for several projects. “Paths” is a text-art installation that takes the audience into the surrounding Cambria City neighborhood. Seven stanzas of a continuing poem are posted at various locations, taking viewers on a literary scavanger hunt. “The Inverted Library Project” is an ongoing organic sculpture of books that have not been written. Walko and Styperk have taken blank books and written titles and authors having to do with Johnstown on the outside.

     The opening preview will showcase what the artists-in-residence have done, display art from local artists and show the community what the final building will look like. ART WORKS will be a “green” building that saves on utility costs and is kind to the environment. “It will have the first ‘living roof’ in the Greater Johnstown area,” Kubinsky said. “The plants serve as insulation to keep the heat in winter and keep it cooler in summer.”

Contact Information | Back to Top