Brad Ford: Broken Sculpture Digital Dada Off-the-wall Cafegiant At Feed.art

By Author: Benton Bainbridge
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FEED.art presents: 2025 Re-Opening | Friday February 14 | 5-11 PM. 1311/1307/1301 State Street, Erie PA | suggested donation $5-10.

FEED is back! In the heart of Erie’s Downtown ARTs District, our campus reopens on Friday, February 14 with shows by local and farflung artists and the debut of a new venue: cafeGIANT. All this and more happens Valentine’s Day:

cafeGIANT Grand Opening: solo exhibition by Brad Ford with specialty teas by Margo Wolfe; Aman Sardana + Yeshuwa Myers spin vinyl

FEED Media Art Center: David Linton guitar art; LoVid and other media artists from the FEED collection

FEED TOO Annex: Ants Art House + Friends: immersive vibes + doodles chamber

Curated by Benton C Bainbridge

FEED.art launches a community-focused cafe filling the niche of an alcohol-free, after-work hangout space. cafeGIANT offers a small storefront stage, a stool, a spotlight, and 15-minute signup slots to singers, storytellers, and other artists to perform to a local house—and global livestream audience. The glass facade tiny cafe allows acoustic sets to be seen and heard from State Street; a webcam ...
... lets the world enjoy the shows. Behind the little window where guests order drinks, cafeGIANT opens up to reveal a grand space with 30’ high ceilings and art shows blending digital and traditional art, and equipment and staging for multi-media artists to produce performances.

Minerva’s Teas is tickled to unveil her newest blend at FEED Media Arts Center made just for this Valentine’s Day. Flir-Tea: a cup of sass right in your hands. This bold new blend is subtly sweet with just enough spice to keep things interesting. Have a cup of this hotness while you wander through the exhibits and show. Bags of your favorites will also be available for purchase.

Along cafeGIANT’s east wall, Pulp! Video Lab has installed The Hideout, an overgrown rec room entertainment center with dozens of TVs framing the stage. Here, VJs come from across the States to mix visuals for The FEED Sessions.

Created by Pulp! Video Lab and directed and live mixed by Betty Sweaters, The FEED Sessions is a live performance series that celebrates visual creators. The show’s unique format flips the script on traditional music performance shows by putting the VJ front and center, having the music serve as the backdrop to the visuals rather than the visuals as the backdrop to the music. (a.k.a. “Boiler Room” for VJs”)

Pulp! Video Lab is a multimedia art company and VJ collective that specializes in retro, analog video technology and its integration into contemporary video art culture. Known for their innovativeapproach to stage design, video production, and installation art, Pulp! blends vintage technology with modern tools to create immersive, one-of-a-kind visual experiences. Through collaborative efforts, including projects like The FEED Sessions and The Hideout stage, Pulp! Video Lab continues to push the boundaries of visual art, celebrating the artistry and innovation of VJs and visual creators.

Brad Ford: Broken Sculpture @ 5-8 PM

cafeGIANT.art | 1311 State | suggested donation $5-$10

FEED.art launches its 2025 season with a ground—and screen—breaking, site-specific installation by mixed media artist Brad Ford. The Broken Sculptures dance on a line between plastic and ethereal art, repurposing a large collection of donated flatscreen TVs as bas-relief digital paintings in a salon hanging. Ford’s hand shows in the pop-painterly animations and the altered TVs themselves. The artist extends animated paintings beyond the glowing screens with drawings splaying all over the TVs. Ford’s spidery linework is extended by rainbow web fractures in the displays—some formed by accident, others by intent.

Brad Ford’s ambitious new work is accompanied by a selection of earlier works, both digital and physical, installed throughout cafeGIANT: the newest project from FEED.art. cafeGIANT welcomes guests in Erie’s Downtown ARTs District to a cozy storefront coffee shop with a small stage. Performers are invited to sign up for 15 minute slots, playing to intimate house within the storefront, as well as passersby who can watch and listen from State Street through open windows and outdoor speakers. cafeGIANT will livestream all performances to extend performers’ reach to audiences around the world.

Brad Ford: Broken Sculpture opens Valentine’s Day, 2025. Join us on February 14th from 5 to 7 PM for the opening of this thought-provoking exhibition and the launch of cafeGIANT.

Brad Ford Linktree: https://linktr.ee/superbigfun
Aman Sardana with Yeshuwa Myers: Wax Nights 002 @ 8-10 PM

cafeGIANT.art | 1311 State | suggested donation $5-$10

Join Aman Sardana for an evening of vinyl listening and conversation. For our second edition of Wax Nights, we dive deep into the discography of Basic Channel. The event concludes with open decks.

Airwaves fill with dubby sounds of Basic Channel and the broader Hardwax universe. Selections feature Paul St. Hillaire, Detroit house excursions, and other meandering routes to the Berlin sound. The decks open up for the second hour of the event. Artist Yeshuwa Myers graces us with the smooth sounds of Free Nationals. Also known as the band for singer and rapper, Anderson .Paak, Free Nationals’ funky-jazz R&B fusion says 'Valentine's’ like no other.

Have a record to play for Wax Nights? Bring Your Own Vinyl! Sign up for OPEN DECKS:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1St2HLMvOjP0rWPs9_HkyHGWA0IG2wqG2KBma87NhNuk/edit

Aman Sardana is a local record collector and amateur DJ. He loves the club setting but has almost exclusively played on the radio in his youth.

Ants Art House: The Womb of Creation and Communion @ 7-11 PM

FEED TOO Annex | 1301 State | suggested donation $5-$10

This installation/pop-up will feature a multitude of new original art works, ambient music, projections, a vibrating sound bed, mood lighting, creating a womb-like place for visitors to reflect, relax, and commune with one another.

On February 14th, enjoy a special Valentines Day Joy doodle from Ants Art House with musical ambiance provided by The Sound Serum and other musician friends in the space. Visitors are encouraged to attend with or without their significant other, and to bring their own drawing supplies and hand drums to enjoy a relaxing evening in creative company.

The pop-up is a relaxing and rejuvenating space to invite local art lovers to commune, create,and share with one another amidst emotive, peaceful, encouraging music and ink drawings from February 14th through March 20th. During the pop-up, Ants Art House will host open mics, drum circles, and collaborative performances to be announced in the coming weeks.

LoVid, ESPTV and other artists: Works from the FEED Collection @ 5-8 PM

FEED Media Art Center | 1307 State | suggested donation $5-$10

FEED.art Founder, Benton C Bainbridge, has built a select collection of visionary media artworks over the past few decades. This collects interactive, immersive, and unusual electronic and extended media art from international artists like Bill Etra, Nancy Meli Walker, Maria Gudjohnsen, and many more.

Join us for the opening reception to celebrate the latest additions to the FEED collection from Joshua Ellingson and Matos. Erie African Arts will offer handcrafted masks, textiles and jewelry from North and Central Africa. Refreshments will be available from cafeGIANT.

FEED Media Art Center tickets
Benton C Bainbridge, Founder
814.240.1080 Benton@FEED.art