Orange County NC Website
Grant Amount <br />Requested <br />2,000 <br />Project Start Date <br />(no earlier than July <br />1, 2020) <br />July 1, 2020 <br />Project End Date (no <br />later than June 30, <br />2021) <br />June 30, 2020 <br />Project/Program <br />Summary <br />My Room is an artist run exhibition space in downtown Chapel Hill <br />that was started in 2018 by artist, Amanda Barr. The project is <br />Amanda's remedy for the dearth of experimental exhibition spaces in <br />the area. It exists as part of a microcosm of art spaces abov e the <br />Local 506 music club, on Franklin Street, known as Attic 506. The <br />mission of My Room is to giv e artists exhibition opportunities that <br />foster maximum creativ ity and experimentation, with absolutely no <br />market pressure. The space is small, at roughly 150 square feet, and <br />offers artists a blank slate that allows for bold exhibitions that feel <br />larger than the confines of the room. Each show opens on the <br />second Friday of the month, when the adjacent spaces, two art <br />studios and The Concern Newsstand, are open to the public. Shows <br />run for one to two months, by appointment only. <br />George Jenne, another Chapel Hill artist and director of Lump Gallery <br />in Raleigh, joined forces with Amanda in 2019 to create Mystery Meat, <br />a mov ie screening on the roof deck behind My Room. It starts after <br />sunset as Second Friday winds down. The program is curated by <br />George and taps his background in film and v ideo, offering a mov ie <br />that is, until showtime, a mystery to ev eryone - something hard to <br />find, if not impossible to see otherwise. Each is accompanied by a <br />brief essay, in form of a printed handout, that sets the tone for <br />ev ening’s communal v iewing experience. <br />My Room is an efficient project. Amanda and George are focused <br />solely on creating a platform by which artists can create small, <br />exhibitions, without compromise. The support and sense of family <br />that My Room offers to artists and to the arts community, looks huge <br />in proportion to its tiny footprint. It is arguably the only game of its <br />kind in town. And to Amanda and George, it is essential that My <br />Room be on sturdy ground as we emerge from this pandemic. <br />W hile the space is currently closed for reasons of safety, the <br />financial burdens of the gallery continue. My Room operates <br />according to a yearly lease and has no specific start and end dates, <br />so the application budget is structured for a year of expenses within <br />the grant calendar. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: D5C63E1C-43C3-4399-B75A-1C21ED1446AA