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UID:51@madisoncountyarts.com
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260926T200000
DTSTAMP:20260831T154344Z
URL:https://madisoncountyarts.com/events-calendar/save-this-piece-exhibit-
 opening-reception/
SUMMARY:Save This Piece Exhibit Opening Reception
DESCRIPTION:Save This Piece\nPhotographic Installation Created in Community
  by Lauren Rutten\n\nSeptember 25 – November 14\, 2026\nMadison County A
 rts Council\nMarshall\, North Carolina\nThe Madison County Arts Council is
  pleased to present Save This Piece\, a new exhibition by Marshall-based a
 rtist Lauren Rutten\, on view September 25 through November 14\, 2026. The
  exhibition is the first major public presentation of an ongoing photograp
 hic and community-engaged project that emerged in the aftermath of Hurrica
 ne Helene’s historic flooding of Marshall.\nIn Save This Piece\, visitor
 s encounter 24 abstract\, large-scale photographs alongside writings contr
 ibuted by more than 150 members of the local and volunteer community. Crea
 ted during the first months of recovery\, the photographs focus not on the
  destruction itself but on what the flood left behind: traces of silt\, ru
 st\, mud\, and altered surfaces throughout downtown Marshall.\nEach archiv
 al pigment print is finished with hand-drawn 24-karat gold leaf lines trac
 ing the course of the French Broad River. The gold references the Japanese
  tradition of kintsugi\, in which broken objects are repaired with gold ra
 ther than concealing the damage. The work also draws on the Jewish concept
  of tikkun olam\, or repairing the world.\n“I wasn’t interested in doc
 umenting disaster as much as paying attention to what remained\,” says R
 utten. “These photographs ask how beauty continues to exist alongside gr
 ief\, and how a community slowly reimagines itself after profound change.
 ”\nThe community writings extend the photographs into a shared act of re
 membrance. Collected during a writing project held on the first anniversar
 y of the flood\, the texts bring personal experiences of the disaster and 
 recovery into conversation with Rutten’s photographs.\nThe project began
  while Rutten was volunteering in downtown Marshall during the early month
 s of recovery. While shoveling mud from the flooded Marshall High Studios\
 , she noticed the marks and traces left by the river and made photographs 
 as she worked alongside other volunteers. Rather than documenting the dest
 ruction directly\, she became interested in the evidence the flood left be
 hind.\nCoinciding with the second anniversary of the flood\, visitors to t
 he gallery will be invited to contribute their own written reflections. Th
 ese new responses will become part of the evolving project\, extending Sav
 e This Piece as an ongoing record of community memory and asking how time 
 changes our understanding of what happened\, and what we carry forward fro
 m it. The exhibition marks an important stage in the project’s developme
 nt toward a book interweaving the photographs and community writings.\nAn 
 opening reception is scheduled for Friday\, September 25\, from 5-8 pm. Th
 ere will be an artist talk on Friday\, October 16 at 7 pm. The community w
 riting project will accompany the exhibition for its duration.\n\nAbout th
 e Artist\n\nLauren Rutten is a visual artist\, writer\, and educator based
  in Marshall\, North Carolina. Rutten explores themes of memory\, repair\,
  impermanence\, and our relationship to place. Rooted in contemplative pra
 ctice\, her work transforms ordinary and often overlooked moments into med
 itations on beauty\, vulnerability\, and human connection. Her work has be
 en exhibited at the Blowing Rock Art &amp\; History Museum\, The Bascom: A
  Center for the Visual Arts\, Weizenblatt Gallery\, and galleries througho
 ut the New York metropolitan area.\n\nFor more information\, please contac
 t the Madison County Arts Council or visit Lauren Rutten’s website.
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://madisoncountyarts.com/wp-content/uploads
 /2026/08/STP_Flyer_Final-1-1-pdf.jpg
CATEGORIES:Art
LOCATION:Madison County Arts Council\, 90 South Main Street\, Marshall\, NC
 \, 28753\, United States
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=90 South Main Street\, Mars
 hall\, NC\, 28753\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Madison Count
 y Arts Council:geo:0,0
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