Vincent Johnson
     Staff Writer

Located at 606 South Elm St. in downtown Greensboro, Elsewhere is a place that speaks for itself. With literally thousands of random objects that have been accumulated over the last 70 years, Elsewhere is a museum of living art. The building features three floors that have been filled with the innovative creations of artists from around the world, while the second floor doubles as a living space for their resident artists.

Last Friday, Elsewhere hosted a huge event to celebrate the conclusion of their 2015 artist residency season as well as the grand opening of the South Elm Water Bar. With so much to celebrate, and so much art to be enjoyed, it was no wonder why there was such an incredible turn out of people from around the city. Although every piece of art featured at Elsewhere is unique, there is one common theme that runs throughout the entire building: human excess. And as the artists and staff strive to transform this excess into beauty, Elsewhere continues to serve as an example and a testament to the true potential of human creativity, collaboration and innovation.

In a fashion that is reminiscent of the transformative style of art featured at Elsewhere Living Arts Museum, the business itself has been evolving since its birth.

Last Friday night was a significant time for Elsewhere for a variety a reasons. For one, it was the final First Friday event of their 2015 artists in residency season, and the public was allowed to come in and view the creations that artists had been working on for this season. The art was displayed on all three floors of the building.

Coco, who is an intern at Elsewhere explained, “The artist residency program is basically a program where artists from around the city, nation and world are given the opportunity to come live in and work in the space for two to six weeks. While they live in the space they are allowed to use whatever materials we have lying around to collaborate with other artists and create unique pieces of art. Today we’re celebrating the final First Friday of the 2015 residency seasonal program called Southern Constellations. The Southern Constellations residency program is basically meant to highlight and showcase the work of artists from the southern states. There are two different ways that artists get selected for the residency program. For some programs like Southern Constellations, artists must be nominated before being considered for the program. But for some of our other residency programs, artists must simply submit an application.”

Another significant part of last Friday’s festivities at Elsewhere was the unveiling and dedication of the South Elm Water Bar.

“The South Elm Water Bar is a project designed by Colin Kloecker and his creative team Works Progress, who are based in Minneapolis,” Coco explained. “The Water Bar is a collaborative project that involves the serving of a variety of different local tap waters. It is also a piece of furniture that explores the South Elm neighborhood’s hydrosocial connection to water in the past, present and future.”

So in essence, The South Elm Water Bar is literally that, a bar that serves water. And although its premise is quite simple, the ideas behind it are unique and important. The Bar is designed to do far more than serve water. As a place that offers visitors the chance to taste tap water from a variety of Greensboro’s sources, it gives patrons the opportunity to experience and understand the difference between those sources and sparks valuable conversation and communication about that ever so precious resource, water. Some of the values promoted by The Water Bar include water’s life sustaining nature, and the past, present and future of Greensboro’s water supply. For example, while the last 100 years have provided Greensboro with a steady water supply to due to consistent rainfall, it is still difficult to gauge the future and the effect that climate change will have on Greensboro’s water supply.

In conclusion, Elsewhere is a place for transformation. With its unique history and continual effort to promote art, history, diversity and culture, it provides an area for the community to enjoy the endless treasures of the human mind. The artist residency program is an example of Elsewhere’s continued commitment to collaboration, innovation and creativity, while projects like the South Elm Water Bar showcase their devotion to the city of Greensboro and its citizens. In the future, Elsewhere will continue to exist as haven for artists, Greensboro citizens and community visitors alike. So if you’re looking for a place to see creations that you’ve never seen before, go Elsewhere.