Have you ever watched a movie or witnessed a painting and wondered how on earth did someone come up with that? Well, this Thursday, you can peek into the processes of Crosstown Arts’ fall-session resident artists: Nelson Gutierrez, Angelo Madsen Minax, and R Jason Rawlings.
Each of these artists will present a 20-minute talk, followed by a Q&A session. “You’ll learn about the artists’ priorities, how they got where they are,” says artist residency manager Mary Jo Karimnia. “It’s not a comprehensive talk about their practice; it’s more like a window into their practice. The talks are always fascinating. I never get tired of learning how artists approach things.”
“All of the artists bring something unique to the table,” Karimnia says, before adding that this cohort of three-month residents happens to have a local flair. Both visual artist Nelson Gutierrez and filmmaker R Jason Rawlings are from Memphis, and filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax, a current Guggenheim Fellow, taught at University of Memphis back in the day, though he now resides in Connecticut. The fourth resident, Brittney Boyd Bullock, is also a local and will give her artist talk in the spring.
The talks will also be an opportunity to learn more about Crosstown Arts’ residency program, Karimnia says. “[The residency] can be a really concentrated time to work on your practice. … We want people from elsewhere to learn about the great stuff that’s happening in Memphis, and we also want the people who are working in Memphis to be able to network with the greater arts world.”
In addition to this speaking engagement, Minax and Rawlings will screen some of their work on November 9th, with yet another Q&A to follow. “I think [the two films] will complement each other well,” Karimnia says. “They’re sort of a different type of filmmaking.”
Rawlings’ short film “Natives” follows a traditional narrative structure, telling the story of a claims adjuster returning home to New Orleans two years after Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, Minax’s feature North by Current is much more experimental and personal, exploring the inconclusive death of his young niece in Michigan. “It’s a lot of found footage and interviews,” Karimnia says. “It’s very aesthetically beautiful, but also not what you expect.”
Applications for Crosstown Arts’ 2023 residencies are now closed, and the next application period will open May 15th for residencies in 2024.
Crosstown Arts Resident Artist Talk, The Green Room at Crosstown Arts, Thursday, November 3, 6 p.m., free.
Film Screening by Resident Artists, Crosstown Theater, Wednesday, November 9, 6:30 p.m., free.