On Wednesday March 6th, The Samek Gallery hosted Movement and Atmospheric Music Workshops.The Samek Gallery is always looking new ways to use the gallery space, and the Movement and Atmospheric Music Workshops were a fun and active way of getting the community involved. The current exhibition held in the Samek is Jim Campbell: “At the Threshold”. The exhibition was an appropriate background for the event because Campbell uses a lot of movement in his electronic artworks. The workshops were open to the public and included yoga and Tai chi classes. The classes were held in the main gallery space, throughout the entire day. The turn out was great, and the audience was a mixed crowd of both students and locals of all ages. The workshops were paired with atmospheric music provided by the musician Rob Schwimmer who is a pianist, composer, and theremin player.
After attending one of the yoga classes I found that the gallery environment felt completely different than it did on a daily basis. Usually you think of an art gallery as a place to and view art, which creates a static setting, but not during the yoga class. The gallery shifted into a lively and energetic venue. The movement workshop allowed the public to view the art in a more experiential way. The light emitting from the Jim Campbell exhibit cast an ethereal glow while the music playing was light an airy. The peaceful atmosphere allowed for a great place to participate in yoga and Tai chi. This event was a new and innovative way to use the gallery space. Overall the experience brought movement into the gallery while gave me a new appreciation for the Jim Campbell exhibit.