Congratulations to the artists, The Rescue Mission, The Blacksburg Regional Art Association and the League of Roanoke Artists for combining your energies to make this community service exhibition come together for the people of southwestern Virginia. I am truly moved by the efforts all of you make.

I began the curatorial process from digital images. I carefully looked at each image, enlarged them for clarity, and made my selections based on conceptual and formal qualities embodied in each work. It was my goal to put together a show that included numerous stylistic approaches that included works with great imagination and strong compositions. I did not limit the show based on subject matter, and included portraits, landscapes, abstractions, and figures. I also set out to include a variety of media: photography, digital, painting, water media, sculpture and collage. I was delighted to see the show installed in the Rescue Mission.

I was pleased with the effort everyone put into presentation. More than that; however, I was impressed with how the art transformed the space. Along with the quilts and pillows on the beds, the human hands and imaginations present within the art added one more layer to a community of sharing. I’m certain the residents of the mission will have moments of inspiration and a lifetime of knowing that the artists of southwestern Virginia care.

The final pieces were selected for excellence of concept, imagination and execution. Nevertheless, we do not live in an isolated world of artistic formal purity. As a curator, I admit that I was, like everyone else, profoundly affected by the tragedy of Virginia Tech. While working on this show this week, it was clear that the events that bring people to the Rescue Mission are more ongoing; a more silent sequence of challenges faced by individuals in the community. I therefore, directed my curatorial energies toward selecting works that were not only thoughtful, but also contributed to an environment of peace and comfort.

Thank you for the opportunity to share in this process.
Charles Goolsby April 22, 2007

Reception Photos: