What do you see in your mind when you read a poem or hear a piece of music? When you see a work of art, do you create a story to go with it? Is what you experience when you engage art the experience the artist intended? If it isn’t, how is it different? What happens when someone takes their response to what they’ve seen, heard or read, and creates something new?

The exploration of these questions is at the heart of VERSE/VISUAL, a collaborative art project between poets and photographers. Inspired by a similar project created by the New York Times in 2017, VERSE/VISUAL photographers are given a poem written by VERSE/VISUAL poets and asked to create images as a personal response. VERSE/VISUAL’s intent is to create a singular experience for viewers by presenting visual journeys based from written word.

This year’s 2020-2021 show was re-imagined to adhere to safety rules due to the pandemic. Instead of a gallery show, we’ve created both an on-line experience and a self-directed art walk that can be experienced with a smartphone. Take a walk in town, point your phone’s camera at one of our QR disks located in easy view, and enjoy a short film, or a dance piece, a poem read aloud, or a photograph. Each project has multiple pieces – one is the inspiration, and the others are another artist’s response to that inspiration piece. Enjoy them separately or together!

VERSE/VISUAL: A collaboration between poets and photographers

Online gallery open now! www.versevisual.com

Self-directed art walk available in downtown Ipswich starting March 1st

VERSE/VISUAL IPSWICH

VERSE/VISUAL was created by Ipswich photographer Cynthia August and poet Sarah Vickery, director of the Ipswich Poetry Group.

Cynthia August is a commercial portrait photographer living and working in Ipswich, known for her ethereal portraits and abstracts. She writes, teaches and creates photography out of her studio in the Tyler Building. https://www.cynthiaaugust.com

Sarah Vickery is an activist, poet and performer as well as the current director of the Ipswich Poetry Group, a long-standing and well-respected writers group that holds monthly poetry events and working sessions.

Ipswich Poetry Group is a poetry, writing and performance group that has been meeting since 2000. It was founded by Dorothy Laurence as a critique and support space for local poets and has expanded to include monthly open mics that include spoken word, music, and more. IPG meets on the 2nd & Wednesdays every month at 6:30pm in the Ipswich Public Library. Our open mics are held at Zumi's Espresso & Ice Cream at 6pm on the 3rd Saturday of every month. E-mail ipswichpoetrygroup@gmail.com or call Sarah at 617-584-7025 to learn more.

For more information, visit http://www.versevisual.com/

versevisualipswich@gmail.com

978-998-2228