The art world often lets down its guard during the summer, eschewing the formalness of white walls and room temperature and instead heading to airy locations like beachside towns where the previously black-attired crowd shows a bit more skin while attending lavish and fun art affairs in much more relaxed settings.
The organizers of SiTE:LAB, a multi-disciplinary and often migratory by nature contemporary arts group, will be hosting for a third year another space-time specific exhibition at Blandford Nature Center -- a sprawling 143 acres that artists have transformed in the past with temporary exhibitions inspired by the natural beauty of this unique city space.
The organizers are seeking to switch it up a bit this year and avoid the "didn't they just do this same thing over the last two years?" comments.
"We freely admit that doing multiple projects in a single location seems inconsistent with the organization's nomadic business model of our curator Paul Amenta," says Tom Clinton, one of the co-founders of the arts group, who adds that they are seeking a fresh way to emphasize the unique aspects of Blandford as a venue. "To embrace this widely changing terrain, we realized that by moving from location to location within Blandford's 143 acres, and doing potentially different projects within different seasons, Blandford could easily provide a new and different location for each project."
However, rather than expecting the crowds to brave the cold winters, they are back to summer, but with a new spot at Blandford Farm.
"Not only does this give us an opportunity to use the terrain unique to the farm," says Amenta, "but it also allows us to call attention to the programming that Blandford offers at the farm, including its CSA and community garden."
In addition to the change of location within the venue's vast space, this year's event also involves a format change as well. Unlike previous years where the event took place on a Friday night and during the day on Saturday, this year, the event will take place from noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday only. You get just one chance to see this impressive display of temporal artworks.
Admission: Free (see
SiTE:LAB’s website for details and times for programming.)