Adventures in Wonderland Show This Thursday

FRAME OF MIND FEATURES "ADVERTURES IN WONDERLAND" A CONVERGENCE OF PERFORMING ARTS COUPLED WITH PAINTINGS BY ALICIA LEEKE

You may not see any daring feats or tightrope walking, but a new exhibit entitled “Adventures in Wonderland” is sure to be a crowd pleaser with its bird’s eye view of new paintings by local artist Alicia Leeke, coupled with some thrilling performance art.

Frame of Mind Sets the stage on Main Street October 8 from 6-8:30 p.m. with its Halloween edition show. Owner, Mark Plessinger is a catalyst for the arts, and the momentum for the shows have come full circle since his first show which opened with Leeke’s work over a year ago.

The two first came together in early Spring of 2008 to discuss ways to draw traffic to Frame of Mind and integrate art into business. She shared with him the names of other artists around town for future shows which later exploded into other networking ventures between Frame of Mind and The Columbia Museum of Art, The White Mule and most recently Gotham Bagel.

"For centuries artists have been coming together. Most notably in America at the Algonqun Hotel in New York City where some the great literary giants such as Gertrude Stein, Maya Angelou, William Faulkner, as well as a plethora of cabaret singers and theatrical entertainers met on a regular basis, said Leeke.” But that hasn’t been the case for the most part in Columbia until now. “It’s important to the area to have businesses like Frame of Mind build a networking bridge among companies, performing arts organizations and artists in the community, and I am seeing a lot more people recognizing the value and impact the arts have on a community -- especially in terms of quality of life and economic growth,” adds Leeke, noting that a more diverse art scene is shifting to Main Street and developing around the Museum and Nickelodeon Theater’s new home.

The theme for the show, entitled “Adventures in Wonderland” showcase newly released landscapes awash with color and movement plus a few extra surprises Leeke plans to unveil during the event. This new body of work focuses on the impact color and abstraction has on landscape painting. The artists' love of the coast extends back into early childhood where family vacations were spent exploring the woods, dunes and tides of South Carolina’s coast.

Other festivities for the evening include a contemporary dance sampling by the Wideman Davis Dance Company, a sneak preview by NiA Company, a theatrical company housed within Trustus Theatre who will be previewing their new play, and guest appearances by Belly Dancer Natalie Brown from Delirium Tribal and local Magician and professional entertainer, John Tudor.

Frame of Mind is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and is located at 1510 Main Street in Columbia, South Carolina. Other works may also be seen at the Gallery at Nonnah’s in the Vista, Tombo Grille and House Brand Furniture.

You may contact Alicia about her paintings by calling (803) 429-5456, 888-429-5456, via email at leekeka@hotmail.com or by visiting her website at http://www.alicialeeke.com/.