Month: April 2023

May 6 – 26, 2023 | Opening Reception Saturday, May 6th 1–9 PM

COOP Gallery is pleased to present Bag Bag by Ann Moody. Moody’s practice grapples with
the superabundance of material culture by reclaiming and retooling discarded objects from
thrift stores, junk shops, and friends’ homes. Necessarily worn and often dated—single-use
plastics, scratchy acrylic yarns, pilled clothing, stained sheets, and stiff, stifling poly-blend
fabrics foreground Moody’s work. Reworking this archive of waste becomes a framework for apprehending Moody’s past as a material that can be reclaimed, cut up, mended, painted over, and worked into. Bag Bag investigates the ubiquity of plastic, particularly in the domestic space. While living in Buffalo, Moody watched stores transition to compulsory reusable bags.

After returning to Moody’s home, Alabama, during a global pandemic that necessitated
grocery delivery, Moody was struck by the piles of accumulated plastic bags and the ease
with which everyone consumed them. Petroleum spilling from our external environment, into our homes and—once disposed of—back into our environment again. Moody’s mother kept a “bag bag” to hold plastic shopping bags in purgatory before their eventual reuse as garbage can liners. However, the amount of garbage can liners Moody needs is disproportionate to the quantity of plastic bags accumulated. This resourceful, conscientious “bag bag” logic can find its way into the studio, utilizing an excess of free and low-cost materials.

More about the Artist
Currently based in Alabama, Ann Moody (b.1989) is an educator and artist combining
reclaimed materials with painting, soft sculpture, and other craft-based processes to examine how domestic objects entwine with identity, maintenance, waste, and productivity. Moody has exhibited nationally at galleries including The Waiting Room, Little Berlin, and The Overlook. Prior to receiving her MFA from the University at Buffalo, Moody completed their BFA at the University of Montevallo, where she currently teaches studio and lecture courses. Moody leads workshops covering a range of craft and art techniques within educational, community and gallery contexts. Learn more about Moody at cargocollective.com/annmoody

You’re invited to join COOP member and Indigenous artist Shayna Hobbs, in a relaxed & soothing environment as she guides you through a journey of healing through creation. She will share her own story of healing through art which has helped her process and release heavy emotions, the death of two siblings, trauma, abuse, PTSD, and the identity struggles of growing up as a bi-racial, Indigenous girl. Hobbs has reclaimed her childlike expression by allowing herself to play and create without rules and without judgment.

She will lead you through her method of intuitive healing & playful creation and you’ll make and take home your own art, and hopefully your own healing too 🙂 We look forward to seeing you there.

THE EXPERIENCE:
+ guided meditation & breath
+ healing sounds + music + movement
+ sweetgrass & sage
+ stories of healing
+ Create your own art

* canvases and art materials will be supplied but I ask that you bring a memory, picture, or item that holds symbolism for something you want to heal, release or transmute through art.

*Please bring a yoga mat, sleeping bag, or pillows as we will be working on the floor in a relaxed and childlike way. Wear comfortable clothing.

DETAILS:
SUNDAY
APRIL 23, 2023
2:30-4:30 PM
COOP GALLERY
507 HAGAN ST.
NASHVILLE, TN 37203

Grab your free tickets here!

COOP GALLERY APRIL 28-30, PART OF THE TENNESSEE RE-PAIR TRIENNIAL 

Take a 4-dimensional dive into your identity at Persistent Ache of Baby Teeth at COOP Gallery April 28-30. Samantha Zaruba’s (Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville, Paint Your Noodz) interactive exhibition features paintings, reflection stations and workshops inviting viewers to engage with these complex themes in a visceral and personal way. This Tennessee Re-pair Triennial show, will be open for public viewing on Saturday, April 29 from 6-9pm.

Prompt-driven reflection stations, workshops, or other interactive parts of the installation, may encourage participants to begin shedding their current identities and consciously create new, perhaps more authentic ones. 

Sliding-scale workshops accompany the work throughout the weekend, pulling viewers deeper into the art. On Friday, Zaruba will lead a special edition of her Paint Your Noodz class for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence to provide an accessible opportunity to reclaim their bodies. Saturday afternoon, Zaruba will take participants through a mirror and emotion workshop that will leave them with a deeper understanding of themselves and an increased power over their emotional state.

“In the rigorous examination of the age-old question “Who am I?” I believe we will begin to repair our relationships to ourselves and by extension, with each other.”

BIO:

Samantha Zaruba is a mixed media artist and art empowerment teacher interested in how self-constructed narratives and media consumption impact human beings on a cellular and collective level. Zaruba’s latest series examines our relationship to our bodies in the modern era and is a revival of work she started while studying Art at UMass Amherst. Her work has been featured in print (Out Voices Nashville, Winner of Best Visual Artist in Nashville Scene’s Best of Nashville), galleries (Turnip Green Creative Reuse Artist in Residence) and album covers (Ron Gallo, Naked Giants).

Zaruba is the creator of Paint Your Noodz, a personalized and empowering paint & sip art experience. In her role as a business owner and visual artist, she utilizes her platform and passion for community organizing to raise funds for causes that align with her commitments. In 2022, Zaruba raised over $1200 through art donation and benefit classes with funds benefiting Nashville Launch Pad, ARC SouthEast and Abortion Care Tennessee.