The Jamestown Arts Center will trade the conventional artist talk for buzzers and games when it presents “The ‘Next’ Contestant,” an experimental, game show–style program on Sunday, May 17.
The event runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. and is described as part panel discussion, part improv. Rather than a moderator leading questions from the audience, the format hands the microphone to the artists themselves, who will pose questions to one another in an evolving exchange about influence, artistic process and their shared connections to Jamestown.
The program features exhibiting artists Alexi Sarah Widoff, Teddy Trocki-Ryba, Cordelia Thomas, Casey Wiebust and Sarah Hirsch. Artist and JAC instructor Jon Baylor will moderate, taking on the role of game show host for the evening.
Organizers said the playful structure is intended to privilege lateral exchange over formal presentation, allowing the conversation to move across practices, mediums and personal histories while spotlighting the relational and generational dynamics behind the work on view.
The talk is tied to “NEXT,” the arts center’s current exhibition, which runs through June 13. The show brings together a new generation of artists connected to Jamestown — those who grew up on the island or spent formative years within its orbit — and considers how local experience persists, transforms and resurfaces in contemporary artistic production.
The Jamestown Arts Center is located at 18 Valley St. More information is available at jamestownartcenter.org.
