Contact: Suzanne Cada
PO Box 2506
Knoxville, TN 37901
(865) 523-7543
sc@knoxalliance.com
www.knoxalliance.com

Arts & Culture Alliance Presents Recent Works by Rafael Casco

(08/18/2010/Knoxville) – The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a collection of new works titled “Let’s Play with our Emotions” by Rafael Casco, the current Betsy Worden Memorial Artist-in-Residence at the Emporium Center.  The exhibition features works created during the time of Casco’s residency (April through September 2010) that were inspired by the Toltec tradition in which people learn to have and show total respect for themselves and those around them. Toltec tradition guides people to take care of their bodies, souls, and the planet. “I use my imagination and art work to create a reality in which the world is a place of justice and happiness,” says Casco. The exhibition includes acrylic paintings, airbrush technique, mixed media, plaster masks and sculptures, and hand-painted furniture and plates. Casco will also display a series of masks created by students with whom he works.  “Let’s Play with our Emotions” will be displayed in the Balcony at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from September 3-24, 2010.  An opening reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on September 3 from 5:00-9:00 PM.

Rafael Casco was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where he received a degree as an art teacher from the National School of Fine Arts in Honduras and studied psychology at the National Autonomous University.  He has participated in different art events in Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, and throughout the United States.  He uses his art to design pottery, furniture, and to create and install custom murals; his collection also includes carving, molds, caricatures, and drawing. Casco taught art to at-risk children and adults in Latin America and the U.S., including his work with the YWMCA in San Jose, CA, where he used art as a gang prevention strategy with low-income Hispanic youth. After living in Los Angeles for a few years, the destruction in Honduras from Hurricane Mitch compelled him to return to his home country.  He worked with children living on the street and used his skills in art therapy.  He also taught art in the high schools while continually searching for ways to show his own art.  In 2005, he returned to the U.S. to pursue his dream of exhibiting and selling paintings.

Casco sends some of his paintings to the Institute of International Languages in Honduras to be sold for scholarships for children who want to learn to speak English but cannot afford the tuition.  He currently shows work at Earthspeak Studio and Creative Spirit Crafts in Gatlinburg and for the past three years has participated in the Artist-on-Location and Latino Art Exhibition at the Knoxville Museum of Art. In 2010, Casco served as a panelist for the Tennessee Arts Commission’s Arts Education – Community Learning grants. He was also recently selected to be one of ten artists from East Tennessee participating in a TAC program called Arts360° being piloted in five Knox County schools. Arts360° emphasizes arts integration in which math, science, reading and other subjects are integrated with and taught through music, dance, visual art, theatre and creative writing. Casco and the other artists will provide residencies and serve as peer coaches.

“Let’s Play with our Emotions” will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street.  Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, September 4, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Monday, September 6, for Labor Day.  For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

About the Arts & Culture Alliance
The Arts & Culture Alliance serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions.  The Alliance receives financial support from the Tennessee Arts Commission. www.arts.state.tn.us

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