Powerhouse Factories’ roots in printmaking mean they’ve spent the better part of ten years turning their appreciation for music and culture into hand-pulled, limited edition rock posters. For years, they’ve immersed themselves in micro-climates of music culture, attending major music festivals across the country to sell their wares and keep a pulse on what’s new and relevant in the music scene.
This year, Powerhouse is making the leap from culture observer to culture curator in their own back yard. To kick off their annual involvement in Cincinnati’s MidPoint Music Festival—from hosting the annual MPMF Poster Expo to decking out a box truck for Artworks Cincinnati's Box Truck Carnival—Powerhouse is teaming up with Cincinnati’s 21c Museum Hotel to curate Flooded, a gig poster exhibit in one of the hotel’s first floor galleries.
The exhibit—co-curated by Eli Meiners and Michael Hurst of Cincinnati's 21c; Joshua Mattie of Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center; Pat Jones, Ben Nunery and Emily Lang of Powerhouse Factories—highlights the design and print process behind crafting screen printed show posters. The show features seven regional artists and studios, including prints by Southpaw Prints, Cryptogram, Feralmade, Andrew Neyer, Powerhouse Factories, Keith Neltner and Rob Warnick. The exhibit opens September 20th and will run through the end of the festival.
To promote the exhibit in the music festival spirit, Powerhouse and Cincinnati's 21c have hinted that they'll have special musical guests appearing in various locations at the 21c and they don't mean sleeping in hotel rooms. For the social media savvy, Powerhouse and 21c have promised to leave bread crumbs via their social channels guiding fans to catch secret show performances by various musical artists throughout the duration of the exhibit.
"We're excited and honored to not only be part of the exhibition but to have had a hand in curating it with the 21c team and Josh Mattie from the CAC," said Pat Jones, Powerhouse Factories co-founder. "We set out to create an exhibition that helps bridge the gap between the art community and music community. We wanted to get people out and engaged with several Cincinnati organizations and artists during MidPoint Music Festival; a time when those cultures are already mixing in Cincinnati."
In addition to the exhibition leading up to MPMF, Powerhouse will also be selling prints alongside other poster artists from around the country at the festival in the MPMF Poster Expo, located in the MidPoint Midway at the corner of 12th and Vine. There, festival-goers can peruse the artists' hand-pulled rock posters, including official MidPoint Music Festival posters for Foxygen, Head and the Heart, Warpaint, Youth Lagoon and others. All prints on display will be available for purchase with prices ranging from $20-$50.
After getting inspired by the gig posters in the Expo, attendees will then be encouraged to explore Powerhouse's ArtWorks box truck, the Powerhouse Print Lab. Part life-size diorama, part interactive print shop, once inside, individuals can slap on an apron, put ink to paper and try their hand at printing their own MPMF 2013 poster.
