Poetry and art draw emotion from corrosion

Poet Andrew Valdez reading at a past Ekphrastacy event at Heights Arts.

Beauty expresses itself in many ways, both at surface level and beneath. At Heights Arts this February, poets and artists will convene to respond to two current exhibitions: RUST, and Jesse Rhinehart's Spotlight show.

The event—Ekphrastacy: Artists Talk and Poets Respond—is one of Heights Arts' most popular recurring programs.

This month, on Feb. 17, at 7 p.m., four poets will respond to the shows on view with performances that combine sight, sound and the soul. Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Ray McNiece will be the emcee.

McNiece, in collaboration with Heights Arts' Heights Writes volunteer community team, selected three guest poets for their ability to use the spoken word. Poets Robert Miltner, Andrea Doe, and Molly Fuller will give voice to the exhibitions' images and objects that have so many stories to tell.

Audience members will also hear from some of the exhibition artists who will discuss why they might incorporate rugged or repurposed materials, and industrial or post-industrial subjects in their work, and how living in the Rust Belt informs their art.

Ekphrastacy is planned as an in-person event at Heights Arts Gallery, 2175 Lee Road, but it could end up being presented online, pending ongoing pandemic precautions. Prospective audience members can check for event status updates, and find more information about Heights Arts' multi-disicplinary programming, at www.heightsarts.org

Tom Masaveg

Tom Masaveg is a local public artist specializing in augmented reality installation and graphite works on paper. He's also the programs manager at Heights Arts. Contact him at programs@heightsarts.org.

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Volume 15, Issue 2, Posted 8:19 AM, 02.01.2022