Remember when Mera Rubell kick started a sudden new interest in DC area artists with her studio visits? If not, read all about it here.
Anyway - it's all about to happen again in B'more!
Mera Rubell, co-founder of the Rubell Family Collection and co-owner of the Capitol Skyline Hotel and the Lord Baltimore Hotel,
will be conducting studio visits of Baltimore-area artists in a 36-hour
marathon session from 6:00 am Saturday, October 26 through 6:00 pm
Sunday, October 27, 2013.
Ms. Rubell will be conducting the studio visits in her role as a curator for SELECT 2014, Washington Project for the Arts' 33rd annual art auction exhibition, taking place at Artisphere in Rosslyn, VA from February 27 through March 21, 2014. (Artwork will be available for purchase the night of the SELECT
gala, March 22, 2014. Check WPA's website next month for details.)
Rubell, who is based in Miami and New York, but frequently visits
Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD for 36-hour periods to visit her hotel
properties, is known for her passion for contemporary art and her deep
commitment to artists. Since the family's acquisition of the Lord
Baltimore Hotel in the spring of 2013, Rubell has been increasingly
interested in the vibrant Baltimore art scene and engaging with artists
there.
In 2009, Rubell and WPA Executive Director, Lisa Gold,
conducted a similar studio visit marathon when Rubell participated as a
curator for WPA's 2010 auction exhibition, selecting works by 16 artists
from the DC region and generating a substantial buzz in the art
community. While 36 straight hours of looking at artwork may be
considered extreme by some people, Ms. Rubell and her husband, Don,
often conduct brief, intense studio visits during their collecting trips
to China or Europe, so this project is just business as usual for the
Rubells.
"We are thrilled that Mera is set on exploring and
discovering the artists of Baltimore, " says Lisa Gold, who will again
be accompanying Ms. Rubell on her studio visit marathon. "I was so
impressed with Mera's focus and intensity during the entire duration of
our last adventure. I'm sure she'll bring it all back to Baltimore so
these artists better have their game on!"
Artists will be invited to sign up for a studio visit
appointment via an open call. Any practicing artist with a studio in the
Baltimore area (inside I-695) can submit their name, contact
information, studio address, and website URL to WPA through the WPA website
by midnight on October 1 to be entered into a lottery for studio
visits. 36 artists will be selected and their studios plotted on a map
which will be used to determine appointment times beginning at 6:00 am
on Saturday, October 26. From these visits, Rubell will select 12-15
artists whose work will be included in the SELECT exhibition and art auction gala.
Reporters interested in joining a portion of the 36 Studios tour may contact Lisa Gold at lgold@wpadc.org to make arrangements. For more information about
36 Studios, SELECT 2014: WPA Art Auction Exhibition and Gala, or Washington Project for the Arts, please contact Blair Murphy, Program Director, at 202-234-7103 x1 or
bmurphy@wpadc.org.