Happenings

Published on July 30th, 2017 | by Dr. Jerry Doby

7th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Darius Frank ‘Things I Love/d’

Last night in Washington D.C. (7/28), the 7^th Annual BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series Winner, Darius Frank, unveiled his multi-media installation, in collaboration with NY public art non-profit Creative Time. Opening for free to a crowd of art aficionados at Dock 5 Union Market this Saturday and Sunday (12PM-6PM), Darius’ exhibit, Things I Love/d explores how the authenticity of local communities in today’s world have been diluted with mainstream affluence. Guests at the VIP opening enjoyed carefully crafted Bombay Sapphire cocktails while viewing the up-and-coming artist’s work.

Now in its eighth year, the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series is a nationwide search for the best up-and-coming names in visual arts. After beating out 15 artists from across North America with his winning acrylic painting during Miami Art Basel this past December, Darius’s winning prize has been to debut his first-ever solo gallery exhibit in his hometown. Through a multi-media art installation, Darius’ exhibition looks at the history, culture, and communities of Washington DC over the past 35 years; a time when DC, like many cities across the country, has experienced rapid change. Darius uses individual storytelling and testimonials as a vehicle to give personal texture to things lost and loved by former and current residents of the community, which opens up conversation on our country as a whole and how vast in change our cities have urbanized throughout the years.

Photo Credits: John Walder

The 7^th BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series Winner Darius Frank at the opening night of his multi-media installationThings I Love/d

Creative Time Artistic Director Nato Thompson introducing artist Darius Frank

The 7^th BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series Winner and local DC artist Darius Frank and Creative Time Artistic Director Nato Thompson

Guests of the VIP opening night of Darius Frank’s Things I Love/d viewing his multi-media exhibit

Darius Frank’s Things I Love/d

The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE 7^th Annual Artisan Series VIP opening night of Darius Frank’s Things I Love/d featured craft cocktails served throughout the evening

The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE 7^th Annual Artisan Series VIP opening night of Darius Frank’s Things I Love/d

FEATURED COCKTAIL RECIPES:

Inspired by the famous DC cocktail the “Gin Rickey”, while giving a ‘tip of the cap’ to The Godfather of gogo – Chuck Brown.

The Godfather of Go Go: Go Go Rickey

1.5oz Bombay Sapphire Gin

0.75oz fresh lime juice (unpasteurized)

0.75oz simple syrup – depending or acidity of limes

2 fresh Basil leaves

0.75oz coconut water

1oz water

Garnish: coconut flakes and lime wheel

Method: Blend with ice cubes. Serve frozen into glass. Use blender to make up to 10 servings.

Inspired by the Washington DC classic cocktail, served during prohibition, the “major bailey”.

Major Bailey’s Bramble

1.5oz Bombay Sapphire

3oz of homemade lemonade. *

1 part fresh lemon juice (unpasteurized)

1 part Simple syrup

2 parts Water

0.5oz Creme de Mure

Garnish: Lemon wheel

Method: Pour .5oz of crème de mure at bottom of glass, fill glass with crushed ice. Shake gin and lemonade and serve over crushed ice.

Bombay Sapphire’s refreshing take on the mule cocktail.

Sapphire Buck

Bombay Sapphire Gin

Fresh lemon juice (unpasteurized)

4oz Ginger Beer (Fever Tree)

Garnish: Lime Wedge

Ice: 1″ cubes

Method: Build in glass with ice and top with Ginger beer. Garnish with lime wedge

ABOUT THINGS I LOVE/D.
Through a multi-media art installation, Frank looks at the histories, culture, and communities of Washington DC over the past 35 years; a time when Washington DC, like many cities across the country, has experienced rapid change. In a public exhibition that takes both a nostalgic and honest lens towards the past and present, Frank uses individual storytelling and testimonials as a vehicle to give personal texture to things lost and loved by former and current residents of the community. A multi-channel video installation juxtaposes candid and vibrant tales of what each storyteller used to love about “old DC” alongside the things they might appreciate about the “new DC. The resulting stories traverse the changing eras of metropolitan regions, and weave a human narrative of evolution with universal resonance.

ABOUT ARTIST DARIUS FRANK
Darius Frank (b. 1987, Bethesda, Maryland) is a Washington, DC-based artist whose work explores human connection and expression. Through his practice, Frank seeks to contribute to a greater representation of black Americans in contemporary spaces. Primarily focused on figurative painting and illustration, Frank celebrates the individuality of his subjects while illuminating a shared, universal humanity. He received a BFA in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Washington in 2009, and his work has been exhibited at Art Basel, Miami; Artloft, Washington DC; Big Chief, Washington DC; and Artomatic, Arlington, VA. Frank is the winner of the 2017 BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series Grand Prize, and the resulting exhibition, Things I Love/d, will be his first large-scale public exhibition.

ABOUT THE BOMBAY SAPPHIRE ARTISAN SERIES
Launched in 2010, the Artisan Series is an annual arts competition committed to discovering the best emerging visual artists. Over the past seven years, the Artisan Series has received more than 26,700 submissions from emerging artists across North America and has precipitated hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales for artists over the program’s history.

“Developing my first-ever solo exhibition in my hometown has been a dream come true,” says artist Darius Frank. “Before winning the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series, I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to debut a work of art on a national scale, and collaborating with BOMBAY SAPPHIRE and Creative Time pushed my creativity to new boundaries. Allowing my neighbors to become storytellers through this exhibition is a message that I look forward to showing the rest of the country. I hope that this incredible opportunity can inspire other emerging artists to take a chance and get involved with this program that truly fosters talent.”

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE VP, Brand Managing Director Tom Swift adds, “Our goal for the BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series has always been to champion artistry by reinterpreting how it can be experienced, and we look forward to catapulting the competition to even greater heights through this collaboration. We are excited to see Darius’s vision come to life, and we’re proud to be a part of such a tremendous moment in the career of a talented emerging artist.”

The BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series fosters the talents of emerging artists through a nationwide search for the best up-and-coming names in visual arts. Each year, thousands of artists are invited to enter the competition by creating and submitting a piece of inspired, original artwork online and then move on to regional gallery events across North America. The works of 14 artists are selected from the gallery events – with cities including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, New Orleans, Detroit, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Philadelphia – while two additional finalists are determined online via popular vote. These sixteen artists move on to the finale in December at the SCOPE MIAMI BEACH ART Show where the Grand Finale and First Prize winners are announced by an esteemed panel of judges and People’s Choice winner is selected by the event attendees.

ABOUT CREATIVE TIME
Creative Time, the New York based public arts non-profit, is committed to working with artists on the dialogues, debates and dreams of our time. Creative Time presents the most innovative art in the public realm, providing new platforms to amplify artists voices, including the Creative Time Summit – an international convening at the intersection of art and social justice.

Since 1974, Creative Time has produced over 350 groundbreaking public art projects that ignite the imagination, explore ideas that shape society, and engage millions of people around the globe. The non-profit that since its inception has been at the forefront of socially engaged public art seeks to convert the power of artists’ ideas into works that inspire and challenge the public. Creative Time projects stimulate dialogue on timely issues, and initiate a dynamic experience between artists, sites, and audiences.

For more information on Creative Time please visit www.creativetime.org. To connect with us via twitter use @CreativeTime and find us on Instagram @CreativeTimeNYC.

SaveSave

SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER

Tags: #TheHypeMagazine, Art, Arts, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series, Creative Time, D.C., Darius Frank, DC, entertainment, Happenings, Lifestyle, Luxury, The Hype Magazine, Washington

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.