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Bars, cafes, and restaurants can be ideal venues for displaying the works of local artists. The Pemberton in downtown Phoenix fills the bill perfectly for this purpose. This past week I finally had time to explore it and realized that I’d missed out on a great deal! First off, let me provide some background about the Pemberton. I love anyplace that combines an art gallery atmosphere with themed bars that offer an array of cool cocktails with good eats! The Pemberton offers all of this and even includes a pool that also gives the venue a resort vibe.
Since the Pemberton collaborates with a wide range of artists, they continually work to transform ordinary spaces into unique artistic visions. The venue is a safe haven for creatives of all types and celebrates freedom of expression. Individuality is definitely something to be safeguarded in our current oppressive political and social climate, making the Pemberton an ideal place to unwind to get a break from those stresses of the outside world! It also evolves with different themes throughout the year, such as summer having an obvious beach-oriented vibe since this season in Phoenix can be …umm…challenging to say the least. The pool is likely the liveliest area of the Pemberton June through August.
Also, the First Friday Art Walks, Halloween and Christmas/New Years celebrations are guaranteed to draw big crowds making the venue especially festive. With that in mind, I’m eager to share some of the artworks that especially appealed to me during a visit on a recent Saturday afternoon. Another thing I like at Pemberton is that most of the exhibits have titles and are signed by the creators. Most are also accompanied by little plaques giving a brief description of what they’re about. This is not always the case with exhibits at other venues.
I love butterflies 🦋 and was pleased to get a picture of this one called Mari Mosa by local Phoenix artist Adrian Grrcya. I like the dapples of sunlight on it that came from behind me. This painting has a very 1960s psychedelic look and feel to it that draws me like a magnet. An alternate title for me would be “Butterfly With Lipstick 💄 Rocket 🚀 Takes Off!” (Photo Source: Author’s ✍️ Collection)
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The Pemberton website is helpful as it contains an Artist Directory which can be viewed at http://www.pembertonartists.com
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Speaking of the above painting, another reason for viewing art works is more than just visual and emotional stimulation. I usually learn something interesting that I was unaware of before and this painting had me very curious about the subject. From further reading I found out that in the Yoruba religion (they are ethnic group living in the West African countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo) Oya is a warrior spirit, and a guardian of the dead by protecting cemetery gates, helping spirits to cross over into the afterlife. She is also a deity of turbulent weather forces — manipulating thunder and hurricanes among her other powers.
She is also a shapeshifter transforming into such large, powerful creatures like the water buffalo 🐃. In Yoruba mythology she is the mistress of the 2,600 miles-long Niger River which flows through the western African nations of Nigeria, Niger, Mali, and Guinea before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. Well, I hope anyone reading this has enjoyed the brief sampling of what the Pemberton offers and I will be sharing from here again in the near future. For further information please check out the following website:
Follow on Instagram: The Pemberton (@pembertonphx) Phoenix, AZ
