New ideas, new art, new music at TEDx CreativeCoast


Installation by Jeff Doran

I didn’t attend last Friday’s TEDxCreativeCoast at the Telfair Museums’ Jepson Center, but I watched some of it on live streaming — including Abraham Lightning Lebos on the piano and a great talk about hand-painted signs and neighborhood authenticity by Tom Kohler.

And I’m slowly catching up on various talks during the session from the videos at livestream.com. I’ve already posted some thoughts plus the video of the excellent talk by urban planner Christian Sottile here. That is highly highly recommended. I’m sure I’ll end up doing posts with some of the other TEDx presentations embedded.

General Oglethorpe and the Panhandlers

In an inspired conclusion to the day, the TEDx (the “x” signifies an independently organized TED event) organizers called upon the Savannah Stopover to produce a concert at the Jepson. They booked up-and-coming local band General Oglethorpe and the Panhandlers, Atlanta-based Little Tybee, and Givers, a band that seems poised to hit the big time from Lafayette, Louisiana.

The Jepson is a tough place for music — the Eckburg Atrium is one of my favorite spaces in the city, but the hard surfaces of the room make it practically impossible to control the sound well. But the production team did their best, including asking artist Matt Hebermehl to quickly paint the backdrop you can see in the photos here. I’ve written before about how hosting unexpected events might be ushering in a new phase in Telfair history. I’m betting that some of the younger folks among the approximately 200 who paid $10 admission hadn’t even ever been to the museum. And the free PBR for those 21 and up being dispensed from the main entrance desk was a novel move too — it makes a pretty good bar.

Little Tybee

The atrium had a special beauty and intimacy because of the newly installed sculpture by Jeff Doran. I can’t wait to see how it plays with the light during the day. In another change to the atrium, the 2nd floor cafe will be moving its main seating to the ground floor outside the museum shop. That means all diners will have gorgeous views of Telfair Square through the massive front windows.

GIVERS

I’m planning to do a short review of Givers in a follow up post — and include more photos of them than there are here. I continue to be incredibly impressed with the musicianship of both Little Tybee and General Oglethorpe and the Panhandlers, both of which I’ve mentioned numerous times in this blog.

If you haven’t used one of these galleries before, I’d suggest clicking the icon in the lower right hand corner so you can go full screen. From there you can click, scroll, use the directional arrows, etc.

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