Fayetteville Museum of Art's Page

in celebration of the forthcoming Fayetteville After Five’s celebration of the 80’s with regional favorites Suicide Blonde I am making my workweek all 80’s by creating a new radio station on my Pandora. (Pandora is WONDERFUL if you working folks haven’t clued in yet.)

80’s music makes me gloriously happy in a way that no other music can. I was raised on Q98– you know, back when Beyonce wasn’t on the radio. I revert back to that gleeful carefree state of being a kid, and as the triumphant dance opening of Madonna’s “Borderline” opens, all my work worries fade away! You should try it! Guaranteed stress free day at work awaits– and all it takes is a little 80’s tunage!

Seriously, though– if not eager to try out 80’s music while at your desk (oh, cutting crew, ms. lauper, and night ranger– how you make every little rotten thing about life seem okay…) at least come out to our FREE concert this Thursday, June 18th at Festival Park and rock out to all the classic hits of the 80’s and rejoice that you finally did throw that Members Only jacket away! Gates open at 5pm– festivities begin at 5:30pm. Bring your friends and fam– enjoy a variety of food vendors, and frosty cold one from Bud Light!

And in the vein of shameful self-revelations– share your favorite outlandish 80’s memory. What horrendous outfit did you wear? What song did you slow dance to at your wedding, thinking that it was *the* best song ever? Or, better yet, what song took you tabletop? What ridiculous geometrical shaped furniture piece did you buy? We wanna hear them! Let’s take a moment to think back to a simpler time– of Reaganomics and the rubik’s cube and, most importantly Duran Duran and Devo!

Today is the opening reception of the Museum’s annex gallery, Gallery 208. The gallery is housed in the corporate offices of Up & Coming Weekly, which are located at 208 Rowan Street. ( a name that clues into its location sounds like a good idea to me!)

The reception is from 5:30 until 7pm and welcomes artists Shannon Stamey and Mike Ramagno– of course, their art graces the walls.

Stamey is from a little town called Lincolnton, NC, and currently resides right here in Fayetteville, and is very excited for the opportunity to showcase his work. Desiring to be a children’s book illustrator, his works venture from whimsical book illustrations on a large scale to stylized turn-of-the-century ads whose age appears much more than their reality.

This opening reception will feature wonderful hors d’oeuvres from restaurant Lock’s Creek and refreshments and, very importantly, is FREE to the public. For the seasoned gallery crawler, one will delight in the originality of the works, but the person new to gallery openings will find that these works have a mass people that is easily connected with.

Visit the artists website at OctoberIllustrations.com to familiarize yourself with the work. I am sure you will be delighted and taken back to the times of your youth when the simplest things amazed. (which, in these times, is a blessing to be reminded of.)