Pathways fifth annual Perennial Imagine Arts festival opened on Tuesday night with a Wearable Art/Constructed Costume Ball, including an open dance party with live band Honey & Venom. Rick Padilla assembled the rock ‘n’ roll band for the evening, which included Mike Kerr on guitar, Alain “Zen Master” Lucas on bass, George Berz on drums, John O’Toole on guitar, Paul Marotta on keyboards, and Rick Padilla on vocals.
The theme for this year’s Imagine Arts festival is Oceans Wilderness, which will explore experiences of wind, wave, flight, sand, and extraordinary light on Martha’s Vineyard. Tuesday’s event invited all to create a mask or accessories for the evening, or to enhance an existing costume, with ocean-themed materials provided by Pathways, led by designer Karen Trotier and artist Danielle Mulcahy.
The evening also marked the opening of the annual OceA Wilderness visual arts exhibit, which features work from various Island artists in all mediums. The exhibit is presented in collaboration with Featherstone Center for the Arts, where a second exhibit will open on Sunday, April 12th, from 4 to 6 pm, with guest curator Marianne Goldberg of Pathways Projects Institute. The OceA Wilderness show will run at Featherstone through May 6.