Chris Ivey, a documentary filmmaker whose work challenges audiences to think more broadly and inclusively on issues like race, class and gentrification, will talk about his work “Finding Beauty in the Raw,” Jan. 27 at 5 p.m. in the Rhododendron Room at the Mountainlair.
Video installation opens at 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in The Mountain Room of the Mountainlair.
Artist Statement: With my early gentrification documentary work, some would ask "Where were the beauty shots?" and I would reply that "Not everything deserves beauty." In my more recent works with teens and this installation, I felt that the subjects and viewers deserved more. They deserved beauty, to feel energized, to have hope, to have your heart drop or soar, to feel wondrous, to feel still and to engage others outside of social media. This installation shows individuals telling various stories from their lives and histories. Some may enlighten you, some may enrage you, some may make you want to cry. The goal is for the audience to have various and very different experiences. My hope with this installation is that the viewer will watch one segment, then return later for a different one. To give serious thought and comment on what they just experienced and to share with others... Family, Friend, Stranger, The World, The Universe... We are here.