By Susan Jedrzejewski, McColl Center for Visual Art

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Knight Writer-in-Residence, P. Scott Cunningham performed Evening Bell as part of Poet on a Hot Tin Roof at McColl Center for Visual Art in Uptown, Charlotte. With over 100 sets of eyes looking up at Cunningham from the main gallery, the poet stood high above the 3rd floor railing and delivered a flawless reading that captured the attention of our eyes and mind.

The success and feedback from Cunningham’s performance was so positive that McColl Center for Visual Art has scheduled a second poetry-themed event during a gallery reception on Friday August 19, 2011. At 7:15 PM, SIDE TWO: A LIVE MIXTAPE will feature Knight Writer-in-Residence, P. Scott Cunningham as he presents a live and annotated mixtape in the first floor gallery of the McColl Center for Visual Art. Cunningham will alternate between reading original poems and playing tracks from his iTunes Library that informed their creation. In between, he will discuss connections and disconnections—structural, tonal, thematic, etc.—he sees between the two art forms. The first fifty guests will receive a signed, limited edition mix CD of the songs and their corresponding poems, with original cover art by fellow artist-in-residence David Wilson. Following the reading, guests are invited to join Cunningham in his Bell Tower studio for an informal Q&A about the intersections of poetry and music. (7:45 p.m.)

Those planning to attend SIDE TWO: A LIVE MIXTAPE are encourage to come early and stay late as the event is scheduled during a Gallery Reception from 6 to 9 PM. The reception marks the end of a term for summer residents whose work is currently on exhibit in the 2nd and 3rd floor galleries and studios. Guests are invited to join McColl Center for Visual Art in saying farewell to a talented group of residents who include:

• Sonya Clark, Knight Artist-in-Residence
• P. Scott Cunningham, Knight Writer-in-Residence
• Erika Diamond
• Sharon Dowell
• Thu Kim Vu
• David Wilson

Parking and admission is free. Cash bar will feature $1 beers and $4 wines by the glass.

SIDE TWO: A LIVE MIXTAPE: Friday Aug 19, 7:15pm; free