BABS' LAB, CoRK Arts District North

06/12/2026

Our judges Dustin Harewood Karen Kurycki Julia Ivanisova • Artist | Creator Kelli Suzanne have made their choice. 🏆

Tonight at 8 PM, we’ll announce the winners of On My Own Terms: Making Space.

Join us for an evening of art, storytelling, and celebration at Babs’Lab.

📍 BABS’LAB, CoRK Arts District
🎨Opening Reception: 7–8 PM
🏆 Winner Announcement: 8 PM
🎤Story Slam 8:15 PM

06/02/2026

OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS

“On My Own Terms - making space” is a pop-up art exhibit running alongside Everything, All at Once, a Story Slam celebrating June’s intersecting histories — Juneteenth, Pride, Immigrant Heritage, Men’s Mental Health and the many lived experiences they hold.
The exhibit invites artists to respond to these histories and themes through their work — painting, photography, mixed media, and all visual forms welcome. Where the June Slam brings voices to the stage, this exhibit brings them to the walls. Together they create one space that holds it all.
We are looking for work rooted in lived experience, memory, identity, and self-definition. Work that reflects what it means to exist fully, on your own terms.
If these themes speak to your practice, we want to hear from you.
Submission Registration: http://barbaracolaciello.com/register/registeronmyownterms-babslab

• Mediums accepted: Painting, Photography, Mixed Media, Textiles, Graphics, Wordplay & Text
• Size: Most pieces should be 30” x 40” or smaller

Submission Deadline: June 6

Drop off: June 8,9
�Exhibit Opening: June 12 Reception 7 PM �Location: BABS’LAB at CoRK Arts District�Submit: link to form in bio

$100 cash prize awarded to the winning work.
Judged by a panel of community judges.

Curated by Julia Ivanisova & Barbara Colaciello

05/29/2026

A Must See: For those of you who witnessed the play "Silence Unraveled", Bobbie Garner OConnor's one woman show at Babs' Lab, I encourage you to see the companion art exhibit underscoring misogyny through the lens of visual artists. Opening is tomorrow night.

Join us for the Opening Night this Saturday!!!

💛💛💛

Across place and time it has too often been spoken: “Keep quiet. Be seen not heard. Whatever you have to say is not worth the space it takes up.”

‘Silence Unraveled’ serves as an antidote, giving expression to the truth of trauma, the power of voice, and the importance of human connection.

This exhibition amplifies stories of inheritance: what we receive from the women who came before us, what we choose to keep, and what we finally set down. Paintings, prints, drawings, textiles, poems and songs stitch together experiences that are personal and political, tender and furious, vulnerable and resolute. It is a catharsis of truth-telling that is connected to history and very much of this moment.

The art works in this exhibition wrap around the words of Jacksonville playwright and performer Bobbie O’Connor, who recently premiered her one-woman performance entitled the same. It is a story that traces four generations of women in her family and the misogyny that shaped each of their lives across more than 150 years.

It is an honor to lift up this group of artists as they break through the silence, link arms across generations, and take up space that is rightly theirs. We see them in their individual fullness while also feeling the collective ties that bind us to one another.
And as always, there is room for your voice, too, as we co-create ways to resist, love, and heal, together. Visitors are invited to literally add words to the exhibition and participate in programs throughout the summer, including art workshops, story sharing events, artist talks, and more.

Participating Artists:
Maevis Blythe | Teresa Cook | Deja Gee | Kira Graham | Hope McMath | Marsha Glazier | Lauren Fincham | Marsha Hatcher | Erin Kendrick | Violet Lester | Ripley Selhorst | Priscilla Smith | Sharla Valeski | Bobbie O’Connor

Special gratitude to Barbara Colaciello, BABS’ LAB, and Bobbie O’Connor for bringing Silence Unraveled to life and inviting all of us to explore the ways we have been silenced and possibly, played a role in silencing others.

05/12/2026

👀 Meet the Judges for the BABS’LAB GRAND SLAM May 15th! 🎤
We’re thrilled to welcome this powerhouse trio to the judging table:
David Girard Madeline Paumen Cynthia Riegler

They’ve got the best seats in the house—and the toughest job of the night.
Each story will be scored on:
📝 Content
💥 Emotional Connection
🎭 Staging
🎯 Connection to the Theme
It’s not just about what’s said—it’s how it’s told, how it moves us, and how it lands in the room.

💥 BUT DON’T WORRY—YOU GET A VOTE TOO!
Our audience will choose a Popular Vote Winner, who’ll take home a $50 gift certificate to Castaways Vintage & Modern.

And the storyteller crowned Grand Slam Champion will receive a $100 cash prize and eternal bragging rights.

Get ready for a night of fierce storytelling and impossible decisions.
See you at the Slam.

About the Judges

DAVID GIRARD is an actor, writer, and director focused on intimate, character-driven stories. His background as an actor shapes his approach to storytelling, with an emphasis on performance, realism, and emotional specificity. His work explores identity, trauma, and moral complexity.

MADELINE PAUMEN is a screenwriter, story editor, and producer who has worked for Tribeca Film and Phoenix Pictures. Her current work-in-progress is a feature-length horror film titled I Will Eat Your Heart.

CYNTHIA RIEGLER is a Jacksonville real estate professional with a weakness for great stories, sharp wit, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting. Most recently, she appeared at The 5 & Dime as Phyllis in Body Awareness and Leanne in PUFFS!, and at Theatre Jacksonville as Lizzie in Packing Up Polly.

05/11/2026

Last chance to get a ticket for Friday nite Grand Slam. Get ready for a night of fierce storytelling and impossible decisions for both the judges and the audience. 
See you at the Grand Slam.


Cast
Ashley Woodson Bailey I Erin Cowart I Doug Green I Johnny Masiulewicz
Melanye Rodriguez I Mary Strickland I Jaiquan Tyre I Michael Walther

05/08/2026

Two performances only of Silence Unraveled. Tonight’s performance Sold Out. This is an important piece of theatre — an up-close look at how misogyny lives in the very threads of our culture, often accepted, often unseen.

https://events.humanitix.com/silence-unraveled
Tickets still available for 2 pm show.
Thank you for these wonderful rehearsal images.

05/04/2026

Special Engagement. Two performances Only.

World premiere. Four generations of women who were told to be quiet — and one who isn't anymore. Performed by Bobbie O'Connor. Directed by Barbara Colaciello.

05/01/2026

We’re pleased to officially welcome Julia Ivanisova Curatorial Collaborator at BABS’LAB.
This role marks an expansion of our mission—growing BABS’LAB as an exhibit space where visual artists engage with our storytelling themes, sharing lived experience through image, texture, and form alongside the spoken stories in the room.
Julia has already been an integral part of the lab—documenting our work through videography and creating social media content that captures the energy of what happens here. Formalizing her role is a natural next step.
Her connection to this work runs deep. Over the past three years in our improv practice, she has developed a clear understanding of the process—how stories emerge, how space is held, and how authentic expression takes shape. That foundation is evident in everything she brings to this role.
Following the success of Hidden Altars, the exhibition she co-curated with Barbara Colaciello for our December StorySlam, we built on that momentum and went all out for her first juried exhibition as Curatorial Collaborator. The POP UP show The Whimsical Within marked a strong and successful beginning—elevated with invited judges and artist prizes, and offering a thoughtful, engaging experience for both artists and audiences.
At BABS’LAB, we believe in building spaces where stories can rise to the surface in their most authentic form. Julia embodies that spirit. Her voice, her perspective, and her commitment to this practice strengthen not only our work, but everyone who gathers here.
As we continue to evolve, this collaboration strengthens our ability to support artists across disciplines and more fully capture the life of the lab as it unfolds.
xartWelcome, Julia—we’re excited for what’s ahead.

04/24/2026

Partnered once again with the Wom-
en’s Center of Jacksonville for Surviving to Thriving—a powerful evening of art, stories, and community.