FAMILY DAY AT OZ TO FEATURE ARTS ACTIVITIES, VISUAL ARTIST BRANDON DONAHUE, AND BMX PROS TRICK TEAM AT ANNUAL INDOOR/OUTDOOR FESTIVAL
Popular Annual Event Featuring Creative Activities for Families Adds Sports Theme and Action for 2017
NASHVILLE, TENN. – July 13, 2017 – Family Day at OZ will take place on August 19 from 11am—3pm. This annual festival of indoor and outdoor arts activities for young people and families is designed to spark creativity, activity and interaction. Dispersed among the grounds of OZ Arts, more than a dozen local artists and community organizations will set up activity stations enabling kids of all ages to tap into their imaginations while having fun with friends and family members.
This year’s Family Day at OZ focuses on the theme of sports and art, featuring sports-themed art-making stations and performance presentations. As always, there are a number of “make and take” activities on offer and this year, attendees will have a chance to make their own jump rope led by the team at Harlan Ruby, choose a design & sand their own cruiser skateboard deck with Rocketown and Sixth Avenue Skatepark or build their own cardboard arcade game with Emily Holt. Additional activity stations will be led by artists from Turnip Green Creative Reuse, Oasis Center, Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville, Hankabee Button Company and the Nashville Predators’ Gnash will even make an appearance for photo opps and a DJ-led dance party. Visual artist Brandon Donahue will create multiple interactive art installations, including an outdoor volleyball court with hand-stitched net and an indoor basketball court with sculpture-backboards and a hand-painted floor. OZ Arts will also display a selection of Donahue’s sculptural artworks on the warehouse venue’s gallery walls, including his signature pieces made from scavenged sports equipment and found urban artifacts.
“I am very excited and grateful to be the featured artist for Family Day at OZ. I believe that one of the most communal activities are sports,” said Donahue. “All ages, race, and genders can participate. The same goes for Art. My work explores the ways that Sports and Art intersect in the same space. By deconstructing the objects that are used in each sport, It allows me to discover a newer game to play.”
Moving the Family Day mainstage outdoors this year, OZ Arts will transform its front parking lot into a bike and skate park with BMX and skateboard ramps for two performances by BMX Pros Trick Team. With bleacher seating for best views of the riders’ high-flying stunts, exuberant audience members may find themselves part of the action as the performers select volunteers to participate in the show.
Lauren Snelling, OZ Arts artistic director, said, “Family Day at OZ is just pure fun. This year, we wanted to tap into the creativity, design and artistic form inherent in games & sport. So, whether you’re eight or 88, you have the opportunity to investigate both athleticism and artistic expression in each activity.”
BMX Pros Team Manager Sam Bowman said, “I have to say that we are more than excited for our first year to perform at the Family Day at OZ. It is an honor to showcase our talents in a city that is so rich in history and character. Nashville is known as a worldwide staple in the arts and entertainment industry. This means the BMX Pros will be ready to put on the best performances possible for the wonderful families and members of the community in attendance. Be sure to stop by to catch all of the high-flying action and stick around to meet the team.”
Family Day at OZ, featuring artist Brandon Donahue and BMX Pros Trick Team
August 19, 2017 | 11am – 3pm
BMX Pros Trick Team shows at 12:30 & 2pm (25 minutes each)
Tickets are: FREE for kids 12 & under, and $25 for an adult. Tickets can be purchased online at www.OZArtsNashville.org.
Artist-led activity stations to include:
- Paint ball action-mural by Tank615
- Reuse fidget spinner making with Turnip Green Creative Reuse
- Jump rope making with Harlan Ruby
- Cardboard arcade game invention with Emily Holt
- Button making with Hankabee Button Co.
- Interactive bicycle sculpture design with Oasis Center Bikeshop & Art Shop
- Cruiser skateboard deck design & finishing with Rocketown & Sixth Avenue Skateboard Park
- Mini canvas painting station with canvases donated by Plaza Artist Materials & Picture Framing
- Tai Chi Demos with live music from Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville
- DJ dance party followed by meet & greet with Nashville Predators’ mascot, Gnash
- Interactive volleyball & basketball art-courts by Brandon Donahue
- Bean Bag Toss Challenge
- More to be announced soon…
About OZ Arts Nashville
Since opening in 2014, OZ Arts Nashville, a 501(c)(3) contemporary arts center, has changed the cultural landscape of the city. Housed in the former C.A.O. cigar warehouse owned by Nashville’s Ozgener family, OZ Arts, under the artistic leadership of Lauren Snelling, brings world-class performances and art installations to the city, and gives ambitious local artists opportunities to work on a grand scale. The flexible 10,000 square-foot, column-free venue, nestled amidst five acres of artfully landscaped grounds, is continually reconfigured to serve artists’ imaginations, and to challenge and inspire a diverse range of curious audiences.
For more information, please visit http://www.ozartsnashville.org/.
Media Contact
Amy A. Atkinson at Amy Atkinson Communications, call/text at 615-305-8118, or email amy@amyacommunications.com. Photos are available to accompany article.