Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. introduces new mural

Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. has a new mural underway, made possible through the Activate This Place gant program. 

The mural is located at 800 Ottowa Ave. and local artist Kevin Wolfrom has titled the mural “Dreamchaser.”

Wolfrom began painting in late Oct., and the mural is still developing. 

John Ball Zoo features animal sculpture exhibition

The John Ball Zoo currently has an exhibition called, “BRICKLIVE Supersized!” featuring massive animal sculptures made entirely out of nearly two million toy bricks.

Until Nov. 14 these sculptures will be placed around the zoo, and include a 12-foot tall blue-legged tarantula, a multicolor tokay gecko, and a bright yellow poison dart frog. 

GV Art Gallery adds new photos to collection

The Grand Valley State University Art Gallery has a new set of photos for their collection taken by photographer Patty Carroll. 

Since the 1970s, Carroll has been known for her colorful, highly saturated photographs. 

Her most recent project, titled, “Anonymous Woman,” is made up of a three-part series of studio installations that were made to be photographed. 

The project is centered around womens’ complicated relationships with domesticity. To portray this, Carroll took photographs of things like a woman’s figure camouflaging into drapery or domestic objects. 

The photos are meant to create a dark, humorous game of hide-and-seek between the viewer, and the “Anonymous Woman.”

Carroll’s photographs were published as a monograph, and the project was officially released in Jan. 2017 by Daylight Books. Most recently, “Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise” was published in 2020 by Aint-Bad Books. 

More information about the collection can be found on the gallery’s website. 

Grand Rapids Symphony member to host bassoonist masterclass

Metro Detroit native, Bassoonist Brigid Babbish, joined the Grand Rapids Symphony in Sept. 2018.

On Nov. 8 from 5-7 p.m. in the Cook-Dewitt Center, Babbish will be hosting a Bassoon Masterclass for anyone interested. 

Babbish earned a Master’s Degree in Musical Performance from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse in Lyon, France. 

She completed her undergraduate studies in New York as a member of the Columbia-Juilliard Exchange, which culminated in her pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Columbia University while concurrently studying bassoon at The Juilliard School. 

Babbish then went on to receive her Post-Baccalaureate Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

In 2014, she received a Fulbright Scholarship to Norway, and spent one year studying with Dag Jensen, a renowned bassoon soloist and teacher, at the Norges Musikkhøgskole in Oslo.

Babbish has performed in orchestras worldwide and attended numerous festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, the Pacific Music Festival, and the Banff Centre Orchestra Institute.