FLORENCE-The Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area received an Alabama State Council on the Arts grant for a photography project documenting spaces where local musicians work.
“Hidden Spaces: Muscle Shoals Music” brings University of North Alabama art and public-history students together with Florence photographer Abraham Rowe. The project explores the solitary creative process musicians go through before recording or performing.
“When preparing to record, songwriters, musicians, engineers and producers often work singularly in their own private spaces. Before recording, they may gather in shared locations outside of the studio to collaborate and share ideas,” said Carrie Crawford, MSNHA director. “This process, while creatively exciting for the artists and an integral part of the final product, remains unseen and unknown to fans.”
Brian Dempsey, UNA assistant professor of history, agreed. He and Crawford are overseeing the project.
“Documenting these personal spaces and visually capturing the artists that use them will help music fans understanding the hidden creative process. These individual spaces serve critical functions by providing songwriters and musicians the focus they need,” Dempsey said.
Rowe will photograph eight musicians and record oral history interviews. UNA students will transcribe the interviews, add content to an interactive Hidden Spaces map and help prepare an exhibit set for June at Gallery 126, with the UNA School of Arts. “Hidden Spaces: Muscle Shoals Music” expands on the original Hidden Spaces project, which documented lesser known MSNHA sites. The interactive map is on the MSNHA website, http://msnha.una.edu/
ASCA grants are awarded through a multi-faceted competitive review process. This grant signifies that the MSNHA provides programs of artistic quality, serves the community’s needs, demonstrates high-level administrative standards and enhances student education. Grants are made possible through annual funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. This public support enables the MSNHA to reach new audiences, foster community development, provide quality programming and demonstrate the arts’ importance for quality of life in Alabama.
Media Release/Cathy Wood
MSNHA media coordinator
