YOUR AD HERE »

Art show brings poetry slam, concert for summer

Tonya Bina
tbina@skyhidailynews.com
Grand County, CO Colorado

Abbey Arabie of the Fraser Valley doesn’t consider herself a political person.

She’s an artist, with a degree in fashion design, and someone who often thinks about environmental issues and wants to make a difference.

With what may ultimately become an annual art show with a message, Arabie’s aim is to tap into the creative talents of other artists like her to motivate people to consider choices when it comes to consumer waste.



“Making a difference through art,” she said, is as easy and as powerful as taking on serious issues and illustrating them through various mediums of creativity.

An art show called “Beauty in Awareness” is tentatively set for the summer, which could “visually and intellectually inform the community about local environmental issues here and abroad,” Arabie states in a “Beauty in Awareness” artist entry form. “Ultimately, to stir up feelings of ‘what can I do?’ and provide viewers with proactive steps they can incorporate into their own lives to make a difference.”



Arabie followed a career in fashion design in Los Angeles before moving to the mountains in 2009. She is presently designing a ball gown made from plastic bags as an example of using a found material detrimental to the environment as inspiration for art.

Each artist will be given a statistic of an environmental curse to inspire an art piece, she said.

Art show proceeds are planned to be donated to the local Infinite West, a nonprofit that supports conservation and environmentalism, and the international SOUL Foundation, according to Arabie.

This weekend is the curtain call for all local artists, community members and environmental advocates – a kick-off for the Beauty in Awareness event.

Carolyn Bailey of the Nest home furnishing store in Winter Park and Lindsey England, art teacher at the Fraser Elementary School, are working alongside Arabie to see this concept come into fruition.

On Saturday, Feb. 9, events at Cooper Creek Square are taking place to help generate interest for the Beauty in Awareness endeavor, with The Nest serving as the information hub all day, the Mountain Grind holding a mixer and slam poetry event from 7-9 p.m., and Smokin’ Moes hosting live music “The Congress” at 9 p.m., with a portion of band proceeds supporting the summer’s Beauty in Awareness art show.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.