Artists' Websites: Henryk Fantazos

Blood for Toys by Henryk Fantazos
Henryk Fantazos is an artist with a very acute insight into what makes us all move and what makes a society tick and tock under a layer of sanity barely covering the rage of a humanity barely a breath away from barbarity. He writes:

In one of his poems Salvatore Quasimodo called the night I was born – the eighteenth of January 1944 – the darkest night of the war. The little town where I was born was in the Nazis bloody hands, then the Russians’. The homicidal scowl of Stalin declared that our town was never to be part of Poland again. Providence agreed with Stalin, and we had to move to settle in Upper Silesia, an agglomerate of coalmines, steel works and other heavy industries that produced unrestricted clouds of acrid, fetid smoke. Greasy soot covered every blade of grass. My father was a watchmaker and a jeweler. My mother took care of three children.

I escaped trice from two kindergartens and solidified an indestructible sense of being special. I painted and drew from the time I was a small child.

I am really taken by this artist's works and I think that his work is a prime candidate by DC or Philly galleries looking for a little danger in their exhibition schedule.

Hey DC: Grant time

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is renewing its commitment to supporting local artists and arts organizations through its distribution of grants for the fiscal year 2010 grant season. According to the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, the District of Columbia ranks first among states in per capita investment in the arts.

“The creative industry is one of the most prosperous business sectors in the District, in workforce numbers, ticket sales and tax revenue generation,” said DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Executive Director Gloria Nauden. “We also boast of more than 460 non-profits in the city that self-identify as arts, humanities or cultural organizations.”

Executing world-class arts and cultural programming requires a joint effort of the Commission and the non-profit organizations it serves. The Commission is dedicated to growing and retaining the city’s artist-community base by offering free grant writing assistance. Resources include an online instructional video; one-on-one appointments with program coordinators; technical assistance workshops on “Workshop Wednesdays” with webinar access; and a new public resource center with computer workstations located within the Commission’s office that are available weekdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“One of our priorities for disseminating the grants is to ensure that the process is demystified. Our staff is available to help artists and arts organizations develop the most effective grant application possible,” Nauden added.

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities provides grants, programs and educational activities that encourage diverse artistic expression and learning opportunities, so that all District of Columbia residents and visitors can experience the rich culture of the city. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is an agency funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information on grant opportunities or to receive a grant application, visit their website or call 202-724-5613.