PEOPLE | PRODUCTS | PIZZAZZ The Richmond Regional Cultural Action Plan takes shape
Amy George found her avocation— or it found her—at the intersection of Mulberry and Grace as the breeze changed direction. “There was just something in the air—the moment had a certain scent, and I could dissect in my head what the notes were,” she says. “That got me thinking about all the interesting scents of Richmond: the tobacco heritage, the FFV cookie factory, the Sauer’s factory, the smell of dogwoods in the spring, and so on.” George began researching perfumes and buying essential oils. In February of 2006, Modern Atelier, her line of handmade perfumes, was born. Its name describes her approach to perfumery. “I have a very modern sense of life. However, perfumery is a craft that fuses science and art. Atelier is French for ‘workshop.’ So I feel that the brand reflects the handmade character of the scents, yet also conveys the modern aesthetic.” Modern Atelier is sold online at www.etsy.com and includes a wide array of scents for women, men and even fragrances for the home. Twenty-four scents are inspired by Richmond places and have attracted
a clientele far beyond Broad Street and Bon Air. “I have a lot of customers in the Pacific Northwest and San Francisco areas. One of my very best customers is somewhere near London, but I've shipped to Finland, South Africa, and Singapore. Many visited Richmond, used to live here, or are ordering the scents as gifts for family who lived here,” she says. How does she make a perfume based on the Farmer’s Market or the Hippodrome? “The scents are inspired by firsthand experience of the places they are named after. I take a scent-snapshot of the moment in my mind, tease out the notes that I think might be able to recreate that moment, and then head back to my workshop.” George believes the Internet has fostered perfume connoisseurship, calling perfume collecting “the new wine-tasting.” Unlike wine, however, many historic perfumes can be recreated through modern science. “You may not be able to find a 1982 Bordeaux, but you can enjoy a reconstruction of Coty's L'Origan or Bourjois Soir de Paris every day,” she says.
Urge eau de parfum Amy George and Urge invite you to suggest a new scent based on a Richmond location or experience. Send the name, along with a brief description of the fragrances it should comprise, to urge@urgeonline.com. Amy will select a winner and create the new scent for Modern Atelier. Deadline for entries: August 15, 2008.
The development of a Regional Cultural Action Plan is a response to the dramatic changes in its cultural life that the Central Virginia region has witnessed over the last decade. This project has been endorsed by the leaders of Richmond’s cultural institutions, as well as the business and government sectors. The Regional Cultural Action Plan will seek to look broadly at the importance of arts and culture and to identify ways to improve the awareness and support for this essential element to our community. Cities across the nation have developed cultural plans that guide the promotion, planning, development, and funding of their community’s arts and cultural organizations. This plan begins to create a collective vision for the arts and culture of the Richmond region, in order to send a clear message to our supporters and to the community that the region’s cultural organizations are working together for a
common goal. In January the proposal for a Regional Cultural Action Plan was drafted by the Valentine Richmond History Center, the Richmond Symphony, the Visual Arts Center of Richmond and Theater IV/Barksdale. It was subsequently approved by the full membership of the Arts & Cultural Funding Consortium, Affiliates of the ArtsFund, the members of the Richmond area group of museums, the Board of the Arts Council and the Executive Committee of CenterStage Foundation. Since then, the following steps have been taken to move the initiative forward: •The board of the Partnership for Nonprofit Excellence of the Community Foundation has agreed to serve as the fiscal agent for the process. •Connect Richmond (www.connectrichmond.org) has agreed to serve as the clearinghouse for communications for the process.
Real Small Art League
“Random acts of kindness meets Banksy's public works—an art awareness campaign with ambush inspirations and no destructive element.” This is how founder Tiffany Glass Ferreria describes Real Small Art League, an ongoing public art project designed to inspire creative awareness. Since February a growing number of artists have been joining Real Small Art League to make, post, and give away tiny original artworks in surprise public locations. First, the miniature works of art, in a variety of media, are posted in public places. Each contains a message intended specifically for the finder. The artworks direct finders to a website. There, they may answer a series of ques-
tions and become members of an online community. In addition to Ferreria, participating artists include Mim Golub Scalin, Allison Compton, Sheila Gray, Bart Schultz, and Richard Garrett. The ongoing project welcomes new artists. Sammo, a painter from Kalamazoo, Michigan recently sent work to Richmond for this project, and RSAL artworks have been spotted at Crossroads Coffee and Tea, the Potomac Mills Ikea store, and around Washington, DC’s Artomatic event. The League uses Google maps to track free art works that have been found. The wide reach of this “small” initiative proves that its motto is entirely fitting: “A little work of art can go a long way.”
SUMMER 2008 | www.URg Eonline.com |
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