Art in Opera – Colors of the Season

For the third year in a row, Opera in the Ozarks at Inspiration Point will host the Art in Opera Fine Art Group Show exhibit by Eureka Springs area artists during our 2011 performance season. Many of the artists donate prints of their work to the student performers, and also set aside a portion of the proceeds from their sales for a scholarship fund for our summer program. Twenty-one invited artists will participate in the 2011 show, exhibiting paintings in acrylic, oil, watercolor, beading, ceramic tiles, and fine art photography.

In the first year [of Art in Opera] there were just a few artists, but when Carol Saari took over the job of Chairperson, it really took off. She has such focus, dedication; and, best of all, she has an outstanding reputation in the arts community. She has done an absolutely wonderful job. — Pamela Jones, President of the Eureka Springs Opera Guild

The last two Art in Opera exhibits have been organized by Carol Saari, a Eureka Springs artist whose interest in opera comes from attending performances at Opera in the Ozarks. This past May, she exhibited art at The Queen Anne Show, the Cornerstone Bank “Bank on Art” show, “A Taste of Art” at Sparky’s Roadhouse and White Street Studio Walk at 10 White Street.

The show is for the creative opera people and for the public. A painting can contribute to the performer’s creative process as well as entertain the public at intermission. Sales of paintings contribute to the scholarship fund and I get satisfaction expressing appreciation for this excellent art form. — Carol Saari, Chairperson of Art in Opera

19 pieces were sold from the 2010 Art in Opera exhibit and artists are hoping for another successful season.

Artist Julie Kahn Valentine, who exhibited in 2010, donated prints of her Tosca painting to Opera in the Ozarks’ student performers. Photographers Edward C. Robison III, Richard Quick and Ron Lutz donated prints of their works last year, as did painters Larry Mansker, Susan DeRosa, Carol Saari, Jana Robison, Drew Gentle and Wendi La Fey. All of these artists will be exhibiting again this year.

Larry Mansker donated his original painting, “Don Giovanni,” the student performers’ favorite at last year’s exhibit, to Opera in the Ozarks to be hung in the new opera house when it is built. Larry also arranged the 2010 Art in Opera photo shoot with us for the artists.

John Robert Willer donated 100% of the proceeds of his watercolor, “Lobby of the Theatre,” to the student scholarship fund and will be exhibiting again this year. All of the artists from the 2010 Art in Opera show donated 10% of their proceeds to the student scholarship fund.

The art is displayed along the back wall of the Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony Theatre where our audiences can view it as they enter to take their seats. The area is lighted during intermissions to allow for viewing. The artworks for 2011 exhibit will be based on our season: Die Fledermaus, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Little Women. Many of the finished pieces are interpretations of photos taken by the artists of the performers, the stage sets, or the opera house itself.

All but three of the 2011 season performances take place at Inspiration Point in the intimate and outdoor Inspiration Fine Arts Colony Theatre, which allows theatergoers the opportunity to see and hear our performers up close. The three performances not in our theatre will take place at the Arend Arts Center in Bentonville. Art in Opera artists attend one or more of the operas and on any evening at least two of the artists are available to greet the public and answer questions about the works. Please see our calendar for all performance dates and times for the 2011 season.

In it’s third year, the Art in Opera Fine Art Group Show is already a tremendous success and we hope that the collaboration between its artists and our artists continues into a four, fifth, and 61st year.