Kitchen X: A Celebration of Durham’s Food Scene and fundraiser for Urban Ministries of Durham

Durham is the Tastiest Town in the South, and it's innovative, too. Pop-up restaurants are an exciting new trend, and in Durham, the idea is being taken a step further.

Outsiders Art & Collectibles and a cast of motley misfits is joining forces to celebrate a true taste of Durham.  Kitchen X is a four course wine dinner, inspired by the Durham-based film ‘Foodie,’ which was recently invited to show its trailer at the Cannes Film Festival, brings together some of Durham’s top ‘foodies’ for an evening of great food, wine and frolics.  Kitchen X will take place at Outsiders Art & Collectibles, 718-C Iredell Street, Durham, NC 27705 on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $75 per person with very limited seating.  Kitchen X is a fundraiser for Urban Ministries of Durham.

The Conspirators:
Aaron Benjamin has been cooking for over fifteen years, the last eight of which have been spent around Durham's finest restaurants. He prefers the simple combination of fresh ingredients, flavors and technique. His real comfort zone is found cooking on the line of a busy restaurant full of happy guests on any day or night of the week.

Eryk Pruitt is a former restaurant professional living in Durham as a screenwriter, author, and filmmaker.  His short film "Foodie" has won awards at film festivals across the United States, including Best Horror at Mt. Hood International Film Festival, Best Short at Tucson Terrorfest, and Best Original Fiction at ConCarolinas in Charlotte, among others.  His fiction has appeared in The Avalon Literary Review, The Speculative Edge, Mad Scientist Journal and Pantheon Magazine.  "Keepsake," directed by Meredith Sause, and "Disengaged," directed by “Foodie's” Christopher G. Moore are currently in preproduction.

Scott Richie has worked in bars and restaurants for nearly twenty years, most of his time spent in the Triangle.  He was on board for such long gone projects as the Basement on Broad Street and Triangle staples like Federal and Milltown.  He may be familiar from his time behind the bar at Whiskey, where he tended bar from their opening until 2012.  Scott now works as an independent bar management and design consultant.  There's a reason why Scott has earned The Independent's Best of the Triangle's 2010, 2011 and 2012 "Best Bartender of Durham County" awards - he is truly innovative, combining a commitment to unique ingredient combinations, classic cocktail knowledge and as we all know, a style all his own.

Claudia Kemmet-Cooper, Guglhupf's founder and owner, learned early on that food was so much more than just sustenance, but rather a commodity that was carefully sought out, purchased and prepared by the women in her family. After brushing shoulders with the corporate world, Claudia quickly turned back to the comforts of the kitchen, and set on the path that ultimately led to the establishment of the popular foodie destination Guglhupf Bakery & Patisserie. After completing her formal training in baking and pastry at Rischart's in Munich, Claudia began tackling the many thorny issues of transplanting a German bakery concept to the US. Today Guglhupf is a popular destination and enjoys a reputation for outstanding artisanship and attention to quality. Claudia's passion for simple food in a welcoming and personable atmosphere is evident in the preparation, presentation, and ambiance one feels while shopping in the bakery or dining in the café.

About Outsiders Art & Collectibles:
Outsiders Art & Collectibles is Durham’s only gallery focusing on the genre of Southern Outsider Art. Outsider’s owner, Pamela Gutlon prides herself on using the gallery, not only as a venue for exposing Durham to Outsider Art, but also as a means towards creating community.  For more information visit the gallery online or call Pamela at 919-451-3231.

For more information about food events happening in Durham, visit the Durham Event Calendar.

May 8th Live Broadcast Support Grows

On May 8th, Durham's CCB Plaza will be the backdrop for the live broadcast of NBC-17's Today Show.  From 4:30 AM to 7 AM, in advance of the national broadcast of the nation's most popular morning news show, NBC-17 will host their morning show with guests and stories about Durham so that viewers can get to know the place a little better.

"This is really very exciting for us," said Sam Poley, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, the organization charged with marketing Durham as a place to visit.  "We get to show off how great Durham is to a whole lot of people and we really hope the community will come out an join us on the plaza," he added.  Poley hopes for a lively Durham crowd to be on hand.

In an effort to overcome objections to the hour, local businesses are stepping up to help draw folks out and to show their support for Durham.

Durham art gallery Outsiders Art & Collectibles has teamed up with Durham artist Dave Alsobrooks to give away a painting to a lucky member of the crowd. One of the pieces from the New Neighbors series that has been hanging in the Durham Convention Center will be given to a randomly chosen person there.  The works sell for between $800 and $1,300 and the subjects of the series are Durham people.  According to Pam Gutlon, owner of Outsiders, "We think this is a really great way to show how much we support efforts to promote Durham - it's a great place for artists and those who appreciate the arts."

Tickets will be distributed to the crowd, and at some point between 4:30 AM and 7 AM the painting will be given away.  Other items, including restaurant gift certificates, will be distributed at random throughout the morning, as well.  "Folks need to be present to win," Poley added.

Monuts Donuts has announced that they will be out for this event, as well - and they're giving away their first 100 donuts for free.  If free donuts are not the motivating factor, others will be on hand, too.  So far, joining Monuts will be Only Burger, Rise (a new operator), Pie Pushers, and Blue Coffee will be open, too, serving their hearty brew from 4:30 AM to 6:30 AM until their regular hours begin.

Durham's Art Scene Welcomes and Promotes "Outsiders"

As the old saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  So, too, is the appreciation of that which one considers art.  Expressed in many forms, Durham, NC is fortunate to have an art scene that is eclectic, exciting, and as open and welcoming as the community itself.

In 2009, Pam Gutlon opened her Outsiders Art & Collectibles gallery on Iredell St.  A lover of art produced by artists who are self-taught - outsider art - Gutlon set out to create a showcase for the work and the artists alike.  It was an act of passion and an expression of her commitment to the community overall.   "I strongly believe that bringing Durham’s business, non-profit, and art communities together better serves the community as a whole," she said. Her gallery regularly serves as both a place for art to be displayed and sold, as well as a venue to create community. 

Soon the gallery will host it's first wedding, it hosts monthly open houses with 300 to 500 people attending, and is even the site of a writing group that claims that the artwork on the walls helps shake them loose from writer's block and provides inspiration.

The outsider art community enjoys growing good fortune that there are places at which their art is celebrated.  Durham's Outsiders Art & Collectibles is one of a cadre of places that has taken hold nationally wherein people  like Durham artist Odinga Tyehimba can find not only a place to display his work, but also a champion to trumpet his talent in a way that artists themselves often struggle to.

In Tyehimba's case, Gutlon reports, this has yielded great interest by the publication Raw Vision - a leading periodical on the subject of outsider art.  Tyehimba's work is also likely to be included in a show at the The Gregg Museum of Art & Design at North Carolina State University.  These two outcomes can combine to be life changing for an artist.

By Bruce New

Next week, Gutlon is again showcasing the work of artist Bruce New.  Her gallery is one of the places where he can have his work shown and be on hand to connect directly with those who buy it.  For an outsider artist, it is not a common experience to have an ally the likes of Gutlon.
 
Says New, "My work is an attempt to document my existence – to leave a visual record of my thoughts, ideas, and fantasies. I reside in the wilds of Kentucky, with a bird and our son, on a mountaintop, right next to the sun, where I create my artwork...." New, a Kentucky artist, has lived his entire life there and has always made art. As a child he created notebooks of comic heroes and battle scenes of war but never thought he could be an artist and instead dreamed of being Reggie Jackson.

The relationship between the two has been a fruitful one, Gutlon says.  She's particularly excited about his return.

New's return engagement is Saturday, March 10 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm.  Live music will be performed by Katharine Whalen (formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers) and Her Fascinators.   Only Burger and The Parlour will be there, too.   

The event is free and open to the public - everyone is welcome, just like in Durham.

See also:
Information about other Durham Art Galleries