Ellen Degeneres Turns 53 Years Old
28 Local Artists Come Together for Birthday Party, Group Art Show & Auction Fundraiser
GAB Studio
105 NW 23rd St.
Miami, FL
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7:00pm-8:00pm – Doors Open / Live Art Begins / Artist Meet & Greet, (Music provided by Brimstone),
8:00pm-8:15pm – Intro by Renda Writer, Cutting of Ellen’s Birthday Cake, 8:15pm-8:30pm – Performance by Alex Nelson (Acoustic),
8:30pm-9:30pm – DJ Set by Brimstone,
9:30pm-10:30pm – Performance by Renda Writer (Poetry/Improv/Speaking),
10:30pm-10:45pm – Performance by Mike Mineo (Acoustic),
10:45pm-11:45pm – DJ Set by Brimstone,
11:45pm–12:00am – Performance of “Half Hearted” by Renda Writer, and the story behind the poem and the goal to perform it on The Ellen Degeneres Show,
12:00am – Ellen Art Auction,
12:00am-2am – DJ Set by Brimstone

Talk show host and Emmy award winner Ellen Degeneres will turn 53 years old on January 26th. Long time Ellen Degeneres fan, local arts promoter, and professional poet Renda Writer has put together an event to celebrate her birthday with all of her local fans and members of the arts community that is expected to draw a large significant crowd.

The Ellen Art Show will take place on Saturday, January 22nd, 2011, from 7pm until 2am at GAB Studio in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District (105 NW 23rd St., Miami, FL, 33127, GABstudio.com). Admission is free and open to the public, and all ages are welcome. The event’s live entertainment schedule will include a feature performance by Renda Writer, complete with poetry, improv crowd work, anecdotal storytelling, and motivational speaking as well as a special performance of his signature poem, “Half Hearted.” Local singer/songwriters Alex Nelson (AlexNelsonMusic.com) and Mike Mineo (MikeMineo.com) will also be performing. Music will be provided by DJ Brimstone (Brimstone127.com). Parking is free and available on the streets surrounding the gallery.

28 participating artists (listed below) will each create a custom portrait of Ellen Degeneres, which will hang at GAB Studio starting on January 8th (for ArtWalk) and will stay on exhibit until January 22nd, as part of a 2-week silent auction. All portraits will be sold to the highest bidders at midnight on the night of the event. The money raised from the auction will be used to buy a plane ticket, and Renda Writer will fly to Los Angeles the next day to give one selected portrait to Ellen Degeneres as a birthday present. Three of the artists will be painting their Ellen portraits live at the event. Renda will also be selling special advance copies of his second poetry/music CD, “Workaholic,” for $5, to help with the costs of lodging and food while in LA. The CD features over 20 collaborations with local rappers, singers, and producers, and includes a special music version of “Half Hearted,” with renowned classical guitarist, Nicholas Ciraldo.

EXHIBITING:, Jermbo, Luzalma Gonzalez, Wendy White, Anastasia Sultzer, Cupcakes in the Lobby
Trek Sixx, Linx, Justin “Invi” Vilonna, Lori Pratico, Jeff Dekal, Rudy Mardy
Kyle Willis, Teepop, Nick “Legend” Lopes, Bill Kraiter, Robert Korhonen, Rei Ramirez
Katie Sottak, Kazilla, Vaughn Reynolds, Brittany Smith, Even Bessendorf, Patrick Garcia
Robin White, Kelo
PAINTING LIVE:, Virginia of IMAP, Rob Herrera, Eduardo Mendietta

Since 2007, Renda Writer has been in passionate pursuit of his big professional goal and personal dream to one day perform his signature poem, “Half Hearted,” on The Ellen Degeneres Show. He has done a variety of things over the years to get the attention of the show’s producers, including getting lots of print publicity, submitting YouTube videos, emails, hand written letters, and creating a printed petition, with of 1,000 signatures from people who support Renda’s dream, as well as an online petition with almost 900 signatures, which can be seen and signed at RendaWriter.com. Because of the romantic subject matter of the poem, (a metaphor that compares the swans in New York’s Central Park to the search for love and shared romance) ideally Renda would like to be able to perform it on Ellen’s Valentine’s Day episode, which will be only 3 weeks away from when he goes to Los Angeles to give Ellen her portrait. His hope is that this event, the gift, and the effort made to bring it to Ellen, will solidify his chance for a Valentine’s Day performance.

Those interested in bidding on a portrait can do so at the event, or at the studio any time between January 8th and January 22nd. Bidding starts at $20. Contact Bridges Aderhold to confirm hours: (305) 200-5349, baderhold@gmail.com.

Sponsors:
WeMerge Magazine (WeMerge.com), Soul of Miami (SoulOfMiami.org), Life is Art (LifeIsArtFest.org), P.A.T.H. (PathToHipHop.org)