Friday, November 07, 2003

The December issue of Art News magazine will have a city focus on Washington, DC.


The House-Senate 2004 Interior Appropriations conference committee has agreed to increase the budget of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) -- raising the budget for the nation's leading annual funder of the arts to $122.5 million.

Current grant deadlines have passed, but artists can apply for the next cycle of grants here.


The inaugural issue of artUS, a new national art magazine is currently in distribution.

According to an email from Paul Foss, the magazine's publisher, (who also publishes artext magazine) "artUS offers the unique opportunity to obtain the most current and exhaustive information regarding the U.S. exhibition scene, including commercial galleries, museums, and nonprofit spaces and events. No other arts publication in the U.S. today regularly offers such an extensive range of reviews and listings in the context of groundbreaking critical debate from some of the country's most influential writers, artists, and art critics."

I've asked them who will be covering DC area galleries. See my listing of DC area art critics here.


The Washington Printmakers Gallery, founded in 1985 and located at 1732 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, is in the process of reviewing portfolios for membership.

Founded in 1985, the gallery includes 35 member artists working in all printmaking media, including etching, lithography, collagraph, screenprint, woodcut, linocut, monotype, monoprint and mixed media. Dues are $85 a month, with an initial non-refundable fee of $250. Artists hang a framed piece each month, have 12 works in the bins and 17 in flatfiles at all times.

Each artist has the opportunity of a solo show every 2-1/2 to 3 years. Portfolios are reviewed every other month and should include one framed print, 6 unmatted unframed works, a resume and artist statement (optional). Call Director Jen Watson at 202.332.7757 for more information.


Over 25,000 photographers, including 36 Pulitzer Prize winners, submitted digital images for this project.

On Fridays, the Post publishes the Weekend section, and today Michael O'Sullivan looks at Colby Caldwell's photography exhibition currently at Georgetown's Hemphill Fine Arts gallery.

Since I first saw his work several years ago, I have followed Caldwell's development as a photographer who is not only interested in just photography, but also in being an innovator of the genre - both a "technical" and "creative" innovator.

In my opinion this combination of skills is what makes Caldwell's work important and fun to follow. Don't get me wrong, it's not just: What is he going to do next? How is he going to surprise us? - that would be gimmick rather than skill and talent - but it is the pleasurable event of seeing what can almost be described as banal images, elevated to a level of beauty and interest beyond their initial creation.

Note to the future curators of the next Whitney Biennial: Colby Caldwell.