Images by John Alexander

SCAD presents “Spectrum,” the annual summer sales exhibition featuring works by SCAD students, faculty, staff and alumni. “Spectrum” highlights SCAD artists who use color in inventive and unexpected ways. Works encompass a range of disciplines including architecture, photography, film, sculpture, painting, drawing and printmaking that explore the subject of color – emphasizing or challenging it as a form of artifice, enhancement, embellishment or veil. For more information, visit scadexhibitions.com.

The Savannah College of Art and Design will host the 2011 Game Developers eXchange, the Southeast’s premier game development conference, May 13 in Savannah. This year’s keynote speaker is SCAD graduate CJ Cowan (B.F.A., computer art, 1998), who is currently the director of cinematics at Bungie Studios, the creator of award-winning Halo. Cowan was a cinematic designer on Halo 2 and directed the cinematics teams of Halo 3, Halo: ODST, and Halo: Reach.

“GDX is a great opportunity for game admirers in the Southeast to interact with award-winning industry veterans to gain an inside look into the ever-growing world of game development, ” said Luis Cataldi, chair of the interactive design and game development department. “Topics this year will cover AAA game art, compelling game design, production best practices and more.”

Now in its seventh year, GDX brings together game development professionals, educators, students and game enthusiasts to share in the experiences of game development. Experts present a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the inner workings of the game industry as it continues to grow and mature. Speakers this year include:

· Joe Halper, director of production at Virtual Heroes

· Lina Song Halper, senior game programmer at Epic Games

· Greg Foertsch, project art director at Firaxis Games

· Chris Cherubini, lead artist at Respawn Entertainment

· Navid Khonsari, owner at iNk Stories

· Mark Behm, artist at Valve software

· Lee Fraser, technical specialist at Autodesk

The conference offers a mix of sessions focusing on game art, design and production disciplines. Game art sessions focus primarily on visual aesthetics of game development. This includes visual storytelling through environment art, game cinematic crafting, visual experience crafting, interactive animation and more. Game design sessions will focus on the story, flow, pacing, interaction, rule sets, and gameplay mechanics that make up the gaming experience. The game production sessions will offer insights into the nuts and bolts of game development and what it takes to bring specific games to market.

Registration for SCAD students and alumni is $45, and general registration is $60. For more information or to register for GDX, visit scad.edu/gdx.

The Savannah Scottish Games are held among stately, moss-draped live oaks on the campus of Bethesda Home for Boys, overlooking the Moon River. The Savannah Scottish Games are a wonderful way to celebrate and experience Celtic heritage.Events include piping competition, bagpipe bands, highland dancing competition, Scottish heavy athletics, Scottish immigrant re-enactors, modern Celtic music, border-collie herding and obedience demonstrations, and children’s events.

Also available are delicious Scottish & American foods, vendors offering Celtic wares, genealogists eager and willing to answer questions, and the backbone of all Scottish Games, clan tents that offer information about their clans while seeking and welcoming long-lost distant relatives.

Visit the website for more information.

All businesses interested in joining the Chamber are invited to attend the Chamber/Visit Savannah Open House where guests will learn about the Chamber and Visit Savannah, have an opportunity to meet Chamber/Visit Savannah staff and learn why it is important for the business community to have a unified voice. Light refreshments will be served.

Cost: Free and open to business representatives that are interested in joining the Chamber

Contact: R.S.V.P. (required) to Susan Smith, 912.644.6434 or SSmith@SavannahChamber.com

Well Savannah, it is here again, The Susan G. Komen walk for the cure!!! Your friends at Johnnie Ganems’ are sponsoring a team again this year. “Team Mookie” will be pounding the pavement for the cure. To get ready for this Fabulous cause, Johnnie Ganem’s will be hosting a wine tasting with a great selection of wines from Beringer and Kendall Jackson including Freemark Abby Napa selection, LeCrema Sonoma Chardonay, Emma Pearl, Sledge Hammer, and Cambria Pinot Noir, with a little twist at the end….
All donations will go to the Susan G. Komen walk for the cure. So come, Bring a Friend and be Generous!!

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, April 12.

Join us for the Teddy Bear Hospital’s 21st anniversary. This annual event is sponsored by The Children’s Hospital at Memorial University Medical Center. Children age 10 and under are invited to bring their favorite toy to a mock hospital for a check up. The children learn about the hospital and get to visit with many other community volunteers, including firefighters, police officers, rescue dogs, and more.

2011 Women In The Arts Symposium features a theatre performance at 10 a.m. and three presentations addressing various aspects of women in the visual arts at 11:45 a.m. in the Fine Arts Gallery. Admission is free to both events. The speakers include Armstrong art students Annaliza Borba presenting The Emergence of National Women’s History Month, Margie Bach discussing The National Museum of Women in the Arts, and Jenny Chapel reviewing Selected Works from the Permanent Collection.

Hundreds of bands trudge down Interstate 95 each year for the annual pilgrimage to the South by Southwest Music Festival. This year, the road to Austin is paved in Spanish moss…

The inaugural Savannah Stopover Festival, capitalizing on the logistical good fortune of Savannah, Georgia’s proximity to interstates 95 and 10, will present traveling musicians with a welcoming place to play en route to Austin. The small, vibrant coastal community is rife with a unique brand of lowcountry hospitality and southern gothic ambiance, not to mention home to a burgeoning music scene, music-hungry demographic, and established arts community. The four-day festival will merge music, visual arts, technology and film components – much in the spirit of SXSW itself – in an intimate, historical setting and at a price unrivaled by any music festival of like scale and scope.

The Festival is from March 9th – March 12th.
Visit the website for full schedule.