Art Scam Alert!

This is a scammer trying to rip off artists... pass it on!

From:  Lindsey Richard (teste@gtcell.com.br)

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I want to place an order in your store/Gallery/Company and i will like
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Lindsey Supply Co.
Shun Li Industrial Complex,
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Singapore 387384

Call to Artists

 Deadline:  December 7, 2014

 

WHAT: The 24nd Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival

 
WHERE: In the streets of Reston Town Center, an upscale, elegant, shopping destination, located a vibrant suburb of Washington, DC.
     
WHEN:Friday, May 15 NEW Festival Launch Party - all artists invited to attend a complimentary dinner; Saturday, May 16, 10 am - 6 pm NEW Artist awards champagne reception 6:30 - 8pm; Sunday, May 17, 10 am - 5 pm.

           
From GRACE:

* Our Festival is annually produced by the Greater Reston Arts Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to enrich community life through excellence in contemporary art. The proceeds from the Festival directly support our educational and outreach programs.

* Our Festival is limited to approximately 200 juried artists in 16 media categories. We are committed to presenting original, well-conceived, and expertly executed works, made either by hand or with appropriate tools, by the exhibiting artists.

* We encourage artists who are exploring the boundaries of their media, by incorporating the use of found objects, repurposed materials, or technology, to apply.

  

* We have made significant changes to the Festival to reflect our desire to place emphasis on the art and our artists, and were developed based on direct input from the 2014 participating artists. Some of these changes include a Festival Launch Party that all participating artists are invited to free of change on Friday, a champagne awards reception on Saturday evening for all participating artists.   

* GRACE is committed to elevating the profile of our Festival, and has doubled its marketing budget for 2015 to reach new audiences and promote interest from collectors. To enhance regional appeal and promote an art-focused atmosphere for the Festival, GRACE is also partnering with internationally-recognized earth artist Patrick Dougherty. Mr. Dougherty will construct a site-specific, immersive, temporary installation in Town Square Park, which will be on view during the Festival and will be promoted as part of the Festival activities.

* Artist amenities include ample volunteer support, booth sitters, continental breakfasts for artists, drive up booth set-up/ tear down, free bottled water delivery, indoor restrooms, reduced hotel rates, reserved artist parking for oversize vehicles, security, and artist mentor opportunities in local schools.

* We are pleased to offer ten $500 equal merit Excellence Contemporary Art Awards selected via category to ensure more equitable distribution and the award winners will be recognized in a public forum. All artists are invited to GRACE for an awards presentation with complimentary champagne and light hors'd'oeuvres on Saturday evening.  

* Of the artists who answered the question regarding amount of sales on the 2014 artist surveys, 20.5% said they sold between $6k and $20k, with 9.3% saying they sold more than $10k, and 31% said they sold between $ 500 - $5,999. The 2014 Art Fair Source Book report from 21% or our artists shows an upward trend, with average gross sales at $5,882 per artist.

* We have an aggressive marketing and promotion campaign to better market, recognize, and celebrate our festival artists with well placed advertising in prominent magazines and newspapers, arts focused catalogues, online Going Out Guides, and outreach through social media, radio and television.

*Jury/Booth fees are $50/$500 for a single booth, with corner and double booths also available. Upon acceptance artists can indicate preference on street location for an additional fee.

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS:  
Deadline:  December 7, 2014

Notification:  January 21, 2015
  

Apply at Juried Art Services http://www.juriedartservices.com/index.php?content=event_info&event_id=840

      

For more information please visit  www.restonarts.org

Call or Email questions to Erica Harrison 703.471.9242 ext. 113
ericaharrison@restonarts.org

Streaker and other things... Context Day Two

Today was the opening to the general public of the Context Art Miami fair.

We arrived a few minutes after the official opening time of 11AM, as did most other dealers (we saw the hardworking Leigh Conner hustling to Art Miami).

This is the result of trying to get off the highway to North Miami Avenue... this simple operation seems to be a permanent parking lot at practically any time.

Plan for about 15-20 minutes to get from the highway to the fair; traffic is that bad!

Today was a much calmer and slower day than yesterday, with noticeably less young women, slim as rifles (and just as dangerous) confidently walking the aisles of the fair on needle heels and unshaven young studs with shiny hair, otherwise clean as a new stiletto, taking phone pictures of the artwork.

The day went fast, with the only novelty being the arrival of a couple of well-known DMV artists, Tim Tate and J.T. Kirkland, as well as a local guerrilla artist paddling his artwork ($20 a painting) while streaking through the fair.

Context Art Fair: VIP Preview

In typical Floridian puzzle-weather, it was very rainy up in Hollywood Beach, which is where we are staying as we have for the last few years. A few blocks south, the sun was bright and fully ready to endorse the VIP opening at Context Art Miami.

Once we got to Wynwood, we dropped off a piece for a special exhibit that the Art Miami folks had arranged with the local Marriott hotel. It was a delicate dance of driving in the serpentine challenges presented by Maimi drivers, but we installed the piece (a wonderful sculpture by Elissa Farrow-Savos) and headed back to Wynwood.

We finished off labeling the work, which brings to mind the interesting tidbit that just a handful of years ago, one seldom saw any labels at art shows or art fairs. It was as if all curators and gallerists in the upper artsmosphere of the art world that made a decision to endorse David Parnas' information hiding principle. Today, it is the opposite, as delivering as much information about the work seems to be the trend.

We've always used labels... just sayin'.

I rushed through the fair to try to get a flavor for the quality of this year's Context... and my report is that new director Julian Navarro has done a spectacular job: this is by far the best art fair that we've ever been honored to be part of; Context has set new standards this year... more on that later.

Simon Monk wall at Context Art Miami - Alida Anderson Art Projects

There were long lines waiting for the 5:30 opening at both Context Art Miami and Art Miami, as I was very impressed how the crowds increased as the evening progressed. The Wynwood district where several of the art fairs are staged is a pretty congested area without the art fairs and unless you are savvy enough to dance the traffic dance, it can be challenging on the night when everyone wants to go to the art show. In addition to the two best-known Art Miami fairs, there are several satellite fairs in Wynwood which now use Art Miami as the magnet fair, just as all satellite fairs use Art Basel Miami Beach as the magnet fair.

Almost immediately DMV artist Audrey Wilson broke the ice and at the same time proved my point about the importance of art fairs for artists. Wilson sold a major piece to a collector who has now bought one of her pieces at Context Art Miami 2013, Wynwood Art Fair 2014 and now Context Art Miami 2014. He also bought one of my drawings, which was nice.

It is always good to break the ice on opening night... as the night ended I sold three more of my pieces.

Overall I noticed that all the dealers around us seemed to be making sales, and this is a great indication of the hard work that it takes to get a critical number of collectors to an art event.

Tomorrow the fair opens to the public.