by Onajídé Shabaka - 10 Nov., 2007

   Girls' Club Opens

    by Onajídé Shabaka

Fort Lauderdale has had a history of hits and misses as far as drawing a consistent level of galleries and quality of art. There have been efforts in the past that have been successful but, they didn't last. The Girls' Club is making it abundantly clear with their current exhibition, with a spacious exhibition space, great work and, good location, all the ingredients are there for a high level of success.

From their Press Release:

After many months of extensive planning and an inspired makeover of the Girls' Club building - from nondescript to glamorous - Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz are pleased to invite the public and press to attend the opening of Girls' Club, South Florida's newest private foundation and alternative exhibition space.

Aside from unveiling a new cultural landmark in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the inaugural exhibition, Talking Heads, will offer a glimpse into selected works culled from the Good/Horvitz collection of contemporary art. Special events scheduled for that include an interactive live radio project called Talking Head Transmitters, engineered by Miami artists Eugenia Vargas and Odalis Valdivieso.

As an alternative space, Girls' Club exists between the traditional realms of museum, private gallery, and community-run art center, responsive to new trends in art-making as they arise. The Girls' Club web site, www.girlsclubcollection.org, is a work-in-progress, adding content in the form of interviews with selected artists, web-based projects by artists in the collection, links to guide research, and related special topics addressed by guest writers.

The thematic exhibition Talking Heads is curated jointly by Francie Bishop Good and artist and writer Michelle Weinberg.

If it were not for the great art works, consisting of photography, painting and video, the exhibition space itself would predominate, as it is a magnificent place to exhibit. Many of the works confront identity while others raise issues of form and function. The wide range os works in some sense seem to dilute the strength of a few of the individual pieces but, that typically happens in groups exhibitions.

During the opening event, painter and performance artist David Rohn, continued his repertoire of characters that are both vibrant and full of unassuming humor.

Exhibition hours will begin after the opening weekend on Fridays, 1-5 pm and by appointment only. Please email info@girlsclubcollection to schedule an appointment.

Please visit www.girlsclubcollection.org for more information and announcements of special events related to the opening exhibition. Events coinciding with Art Basel/Miami Beach December 6-9, 2007 are planned.

Girls' Club
117 NE 2nd Street
Fort Lauderdale, FL 3330

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