Spareribs...spare time?

At this past Monday's City Council meeting, Mary Parisi was presented with this year's Mayor's Art Achievement Award for her work as a visual artist. The purpose of this award is to first honor Brisbane Residents, or those that work in Brisbane who have achieved recognition through an exhibition, performance, or publication of their words of art. Mary has long had her studio in our industrial park, where she worked on pieces that have been shown around the world. Mary has had shows in Canada and Spain, a solo exhibition in Germany, and more recently, Lishui, China. In the United States, Mary’s work has shown in New York, New Jersey, Wyoming, Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, and many locations in California.

Mary's photograph above, entitled Spareribs, was part of the "10 x 10 x 10" exhibition that filled the ground floor corridor walls of San Francisco's City Hall last September. The exhibition came about when the San Francisco Arts Commission and PhotoAlliance invited 10 local curators and artists each to choose one Bay Area photographer to be represented by 10 pictures.

Here Mary is with her recognition plaque, which was presented to her earlier by Mayor Conway. Mary's husband, Ed, standing beside her, has supported his wife through the years, even serving as the main subject for a body of work that spanned seven years. (Click here to go to Mary's website and then click on "Sleep" to be taken to a series of photographs Mary took of Ed which she found to be both humorous and poignant.)

Congratulations, Mary, on your very accomplished career in the arts. Your recognition serves as a definite reminder that the Brisbane community is surrounded by a rich and diverse depth of talent.

It's always nice to see these types of recognitions made in person, but if in case you can't make it down to City Hall for a Council meeting, remember that you can always tune in online at home! Just go to the City's website, http://www.ci.brisbane.ca.us/, and click on the first hyperlinked item, "Channel 27 Live Video Streaming". On that page, you'll also see a calendar to view when public meetings and other programs are scheduled. An easy way to stay up-to-date with what's going on in your city!


And in your spare time this weekend, preferably Sunday between the hours of 12pm and 5pm, you'll want to head over to the Joseph A. Fernekes Recreation Building in Orange Memorial Park (781 Tennis Dr., SSF), where the County will be administering FREE H1N1 flu vaccinations for all San Mateo County residents age 6 mos. and older. The County also made calls to all residents yesterday to inform the community about Sunday's free clinic. No documentation or appointment is needed, so if you haven't yet gone to get the vaccine, take advantage of this opportunity to do so! For more information, please view the flyer or call (650) 573-3927.