LAHC is forming the Lyons Creative District and changing the art

By Priscilla Cohan Redstone Review

LYONS – There are many changes and exciting evolutions to the art fabric in Lyons. Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission is giving birth to the Lyons Creative District (LCD). The LCD is an independent non-profit that supports and cultivates activities and funding for Lyons creative environment.

Every 4 months the LAHC hosts exhibits in the Lyons Town Hall, open to all 2-dimensional media. This quarter the theme is Cultivating Change, featuring works from 10 Lyons-based artists, including four artists who are new to the LAHC Town Hall shows.

The local art shows at town hall and the Lyons Regional Library are the work of the LAHC. So much gratitude goes out to the members of the LAHC and volunteers who cultivate a welcoming community of art making. Special thanks to Jacob Leeuwenburgh, aka, Kos, and Ann Hall who expertly hang the town hall art Show every time and spent many hours, with the help of Anita Miller to curate and hang Zeroing In Expanding Out –Fluxus Delivery the at the library. Thank you also to David Tiller and Friends who played awesome music at the library reception. Thanks especially to the artists whose creative passion gives us a reason to gather and celebrate.

Town Hall is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The council chambers where the Town Hall Art Show is displayed is subject to meeting schedules. Stop by or call 303823-6622 ext. 66.

This exciting new institution is forming underground and in the spring you will begin to see it emerge with an ever expanding arts presence in town. As the cold gives way to warmer days here are ways to experience the fun art events happening in and around town. Put on your work gloves and make a sculpture for downtown or go out to experience some visual and performing art.

Do you know where all the fantastic art on Main Street comes from? It is a collaboration between the Lyons Arts & Humanities Commission (LAHC) and the Town of Lyons to create an engaging cultural landscape in our downtown and commercial corridor. Sponsored by the Lyons Community Foundation, the HeARTS of Lyons seeks to expand its outdoor public art collection. LAHC is looking for 11 new pieces to place around town in 2023. Deadline to apply is February 22. Artists are paid a $1,000 honorarium and it is free to apply. Applications are available on the town’s website. If you have questions, you can contact LAHC member, Melilnda Wunder, melinda@creativeconvs.com.

Get ready. In April the next town hall open exhibit is called Oh, the places you’ve gone. What does this theme inspire in you? A digital deep dive into multiple time frames? A painting you made in the aughts? Let your inspiration be the guide. The Town Hall Art Shows are open to any work that can hang on the wall. Because of space limitations, no sculptures or three-dimensional works will be accepted. Remember when you deliver your artwork it must be ready to hang, in other words, it must have a secure wire or professional picture hanger attached. Stay tuned for date and time details. Start painting.

When was the last time you saw a live theater production in Lyons? Local theater company, DraMagic Children’s Theatre, is hard at work rehearsing a play adapted from an old Russian fairytale. The tale collected by Alexander Afsnayev in the mid-17th century is called Vasalisa. While they are in the final steps to secure a venue in or around Lyons, the dates are set: March 17 and 18, 2023. There will be Friday evening, Saturday Matinee and Saturday evening shows. Check back in March for details.

We are fortunate to have the work of Lyons’ very own CoCo Gordon, Super Sky Woman, with a sampling of her many years of prolific art making in Italy, New York and Lyons, on display. Her work, large and small canvases, handmade paper, and multimedia pieces often have a literary theme. hang Zeroing In Expanding Out – Fluxus Delivery is on display through April 4.

Italian born Coco Gordon belongs to the most important of American “intermedia” artists. With roots in the Fluxus movement, today Coco refuses to be counted among any specific group.

Lyons is graced with a natural beauty and a rich complex history. The community of friends who live here and are connected through a vast network of citizens who bring the language of creativity into form. There are new and established ways for you to share your artwork and to participate in ongoing creative activities.

Priscilla Cohan is a local artist who works in multi media. She works for the Town of Lyons and is a liaison to the Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission.