Asides: Arts news and events

First Friday in Raleigh

Art galleries will be open throughout downtown Raleigh Friday night to show off their newest exhibitions.

Be sure your art walk takes you to Artspace at 201 E. Davie St., where five new exhibits are going in. They are:

▪ “Strangers in Paradise” featuring works by Carolyn Janssen and Jillian Mayer that deal with questions of identity, place and authenticity in a digitized world. It will be in Gallery One through May 6.

▪ Gallery Two will showcase works by teaching artists participating in Artspace’s Summer Arts Program. On exhibit through May 14.

▪ A site-specific installation by Antoine Williams will be on display in the lobby through June 25. Williams is a Charlotte-based artist who graduated from UNC-Charlotte with a BFA in Art and then started the God City artist collective with four other artists inspired by hip-hop culture. His work has bee displayed at Charlotte’s Mint Museum.

▪ And Martha Clippinger, the “Pop In Artist in Residence,” will be on hand with her mixed media works, which will be in the Upfront Gallery through April 30. Clippinger, who received her MFA from Rutgers University, lives and works in Durham.

There will be an opening reception 6-10 p.m. Friday.

Winning season on display

Twelve years ago, a Siler City high school soccer team became North Carolina’s Class A high school soccer champions. The team from Jordan-Matthews High School became the first predominantly Latino sports team to win a statewide sports championship in North Carolina.

The N.C. Museum of History recognizes their achievement – and place in the state’s sports history – with a one-case exhibit in the museum lobby. The exhibit opens Friday and includes a talk by some former team members and their coach, Paul Cuadros, and a screening of the first episode of a documentary series, “Los Jets,” based on a book Caudros wrote about the team and their winning season. Friday’s event is 5-9 p.m. and is free. The episode will be shown at 7 p.m. and runs about 30 minutes.

The bilingual exhibit showcases 15 items from the season and win, including their championship trophy, the championship ball, photos and uniforms. It will be in the lobby through Oct. 2.

Cuadros is an associate professor in the School of Media and Journalism at UNC Chapel Hill and is an award-winning investigative reporter and author. His book, “A Home on the Field: How One Championship Soccer Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America,” was published in 2006. The documentary series “Los Jets” was co-produced by Jennifer Lopez and Lynda Lopez for NUVOtv.

Glass-art studio

East Carolina University will open a hand-blown glass-art studio in downtown Farmville with an eye toward a new concentration in its art school. Students will travel from the main campus in Greenville for classes, which are expected to begin this fall, according to a press release from the school. It will be the first time hand-blown glass is offered as part of the curriculum in the UNC system.

The project is a win for Farmville, which first approached ECU about opening a studio or gallery downtown two years ago after a volunteer economic development association decided arts were one way to boost the local economy.

ECU suggested a glass-art facility that could be a classroom that would also offer public workshops and have a public gallery. ECU is leasing the building for the facility, a former gas station on West Wilson Street, for $14,000 a year. It’s being referred to as “the glass station,” of course.

21c exhibit

21c, the museum and hotel in Durham, has a new exhibit on view through September.

“OFF-SPRING New Generations” is a group exhibition featuring works by acclaimed and emerging artists from around the world. The works explore the role of rituals – institutional and domestic, religious and cultural – in the development of personal and group identity, according to a statement from the museum.

The exhibit includes photographs by Adriana Duque, Loretta Lux, Vee Speers, Laetitia Soulier, Oleg Dou and Nathalia Edenmont; sculptures by Gerhard Demetz, Sophie Mueller and Chris Radtke; and videos by Beth Moyses, Guy Ben-Ner, Mohau Modisakeng.

21c is at 111 Corcoran St. in downtown Durham. The exhibits are free to view.

This story was originally published March 26, 2016 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Asides: Arts news and events."