Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: October 26, 2009

If you read this blog then you know that I've been always very impressed with the BlackRock Center for the Arts gallery's 1500 square feet of exquisite gallery space. With its high white walls and beautiful windows strategically placed, this gorgeous gallery allows in just the right amount of natural light. BlackRock Center for the Arts is located at 12901 Town Commons Drive Germantown, MD in upper Montgomery County, about 20 minutes from the Capital Beltway (495).

They currently have a call to artists and the call is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18.

Original artwork only. All work must be ready for sale and to be presented in a professional manner to the public at the time of delivery.

This call will cover exhibits in the gallery from September 2010 through August 2011. An exhibit may include one applicant or a combination of applicants, based on the judgment of jurors (i.e., 1 or 2 wall artists may be combined with a pedestal artist). A jury will select the artists and create eight exhibits to be included in the exhibit year. The jury panel is comprised of my good friend and gallerist Elyse Harrison, Jodi Walsh, and yours truly.

Jurying: First Week of December
Notification: Early January
Exhibit Year: Sept. 2010 – Aug. 2011

How to apply: All correspondence will be done by e-mail, so contact Kimberly Onley, the Gallery Coordinator at konley@blackrockcenter.org and ask her to email you a prospectus.

Don't wait to the last minute! Get the prospectus now!

Postsecret's fifth book out

My good friend and DC artist Frank Warren is the brilliant mind behind's the planet's most successful art project ever: PostSecret.

And now a new PostSecret book: PostSecret Confessions on Life, Death and God, the fifth in a series of best-sellers, has been released.

And check out Frank on the Today show below:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

More about the book below:



And on Sunday, October 25, Warren will be at the American Visionary Art Museum, in Baltimore, MD where he will share the inspirational and funny stories behind some of the quarter million secrets that he has received on postcards. He will also project images of the secrets that were banned from the four previous PostSecret books.

Sequestered

Super hard-working DC artist Dana Ellyn has been in the news a lot lately for her irreverent paintings at a recent art exhibit in Washington that marked the first-ever International Blasphemy Day (Sept. 30) at the Center for Inquiry DC near Capitol Hill.... on CNN, then on USA Today, earlier on Religion News Service (that story received more comments than any other article in the history of their news service).

To see more about the show, read all of the articles and get links to additional stories, please visit Ellyn's website here.

One comment on the focus of the artwork (having done a few blasphemous drawings in my own lifetime): it's easy (and safe) to be blasphemous versus the Judeo-Christian religions, but where are the blasphemy paintings versus the Islamic religion? versus Hinduism? where's fat, bald Buddha in all of this? versus whatever it is that the Druze believe in? Why just pick on the two "safe" religions? Let's open up the whole can of artistic whup'ass on the opiate of the masses in all its versions.

Dana has a lot of stuff happening next:

* This Friday October 16: "Sequestered" solo show opening Reception at R. Coury Gallery in Savage, MD.

* Next Thursday Oct. 22: "P'arty" grand opening show at Long View Gallery in DC.

* December 5th: "Divinely Irreverent" solo show opening reception at Evolve Urban Arts Project.

* February 5th: "Til Death Do Us Part" two person show and wedding with Matt Sesow at DC's Long View Gallery.

* Larz from Mars - TV appearance.

Congrats to Dana and Matt!