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Since 2003... the 11th highest ranked art blog on the planet! And with over SIX million visitors, F. Lennox Campello's art news, information, gallery openings, commentary, criticism, happenings, opportunities, and everything associated with the global visual arts scene with a special focus on the Greater Washington, DC area.
Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants Cycle 18 is open through May 19. These national grants of up to $5,000 support direct treatment expenses for medical, dental or mental health emergencies that occurred September 1, 2022 or later; the deadline is May 19, 2023.
Choreographers, those creating in the visual arts, and those creating in the film/video/electronic/digital arts, living anywhere in the U.S., D.C, US territories, or tribal nations are eligible. Cycle 19 will open June 20, with a deadline of July 21, for emergencies occurring December 1, 2022 and later. A recorded information session, along with guidelines and the online application, are available on their website.
Insights: Laura Roulet
Tomorrow, 4pm–6pm
Join the Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art in Reston, Virginia tomorrow for an Insights program spotlighting an academic perspective of the work currently on view at Tephra ICA. This Insights program will feature my good friend independent curator and writer Laura Roulet who will speak about the Hacia la Vida | Toward Life exhibition.
On May 13 & 14, 2023, the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival takes over Woodmont Triangle, along Norfolk, Auburn & Del Ray Avenues, welcoming over 100 of the nation's best artists, live entertainment, and Bethesda restaurants.
Take a glance at the artists attending this year's festival by clicking here.
Admission to the festival is FREE and free parking is available in the public parking garage on Auburn Avenue. This event is held rain or shine. Sign up to volunteer here.
This is why I always tell artists to do the OUT OF ORDER show at the Maryland Art Place in Baltimore!
Bethesda's Gallery B welcomes The Black Art Today Foundation for the first time, exhibiting their latest show, “Black Art: In the Presence of LIGHT.”
Inspired by the documentary, Black Art: In the Absence of Light. This exhibit answers the challenging question to all Black and African American artists, “Are you willing to make [art] in the absence of light?” The foundation’s 27 member artists collectively respond that their work is LIGHT.
The artwork will be exhibited from May 5 - May 28, 2023 with an opening reception on Sunday, May 7th from 2pm -5pm. Gallery hours for the show will be Friday – Saturday, 12-7pm, and Sundays, 11-6pm. Gallery B is located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD, in the former location of the DMV's iconic Fraser Gallery.
Featuring Artists
DionJa’Y
Kibibi Ajanku
Tanya Bracey
Bryane Broadie
Jamil Burton
Karen Y. Buster
David W.M. Cassidy
Dr. Vanessa Chappell-Lee
Keiona Clark
Thomas E. Dade
Emery Franklin
Scott Fulton
Marilyn Gates
Brayden Green
Anita Henley
Sarah Jones
Erasto Curtis Matthews
James E. Murphy Jr.
Esther Okehi
Babacar Pouye
Alma Robert
B/ue Robin
Harriet Smith
Dr. Yemonja Smalls
K. Sparks
Shirlene Thomas
Anthony Young
What is Project RestART?
Project RestART provides sponsorship opportunities to Black curators residing and creating in Baltimore City to encourage the curation of cultural experiences centering Black creatives. Project RestART is a direct action to re-stimulate the cultural economy and to address some of the challenges caused by Covid-19.
- Sponsorships will be provided for the months of: January, February, April, June, July, September, November, December
- The application for sponsorships for a sponsorship month will open the first of the previous month. (Ex. Application for April sponsorships will open March 1st)
- The application will be open for 2 weeks. After that, applicants will be decided upon by the Programs team.
Click here for more information.
The Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council looks to showcase the diverse artistic and scholarly disciplines active in Prince George's County, Maryland. While our physical programs are on hold in support and compliance with the State's efforts to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we turn to our screens for connection.
Additionally, all programs must be prerecorded and go through a vetting process with the exception of Studio Visits. Studio Visits will require a pre studio visit with PGAHC Senior Program Manager. Thereafter, we will determine the best platform to show your visual artworks with audience questions and feedback in real-time.
If you are interested in showcasing your work for dispersal on their social media platforms please complete the form by clicking here for more information. Please note, all work must be family-friendly. There may be no suggestive or explicit content nor language.
April 26 - May 20, 2023
Evening Serenade by Eleanor Kotlarik Wang |
Happy birthday to Harper Lee (1926-2016), whose first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, about racial injustice in a small Alabama town, sold more than 40 million copies!
Photo: HarperCollins & Penguin Random
Hyperallergic's Rhea Nayyar details the story of German photographer Boris Eldagsen:
Could you imagine losing an art competition to a robot? It’s happened before, and it happened again when Boris Eldagsen, a career photographer from Berlin, Germany, submitted an AI-generated image for the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) under the Creative category. Eldagsen claims that he disclosed to both Sony and the competition organizer, Creo Arts, that his work was made using AI, but neither would outright acknowledge it until he took matters into his own hands.
To toot my own horn, I sorta, kinda predicted this waaaay back in 2003 in this post.
Listen to NPR's Scott Detrow talks with photographer Boris Elgadsen about this issue.
Application Closing April 26th
The annual Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards is seeking artists creating work in all media!
The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards founded by Carol Trawick awards $14,000 in annual prize monies. The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards will feature the artwork of eight finalists at Gallery B from September 7 – October 1, 2023. $14,000 in prize monies are provided to the winning artists. All artists from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia are eligible, and the deadline to apply is April 26, 2023.
The Trawick Prize deadline is April 26, 2023.
I just finished jurying the 36th Annual Northern National Art Competition - 613 entries! Such a hard job to say "no" because there were sooooooo many really good entries! But this show will rock... and once I see the artwork in person, I may find a couple of surprise new artists to bring back to the DMV!
The "YES" entries will astound the national!
Buah... ah.. ah...
According to the research done by the Washington City Paper in 2017, the term “DMV” to refer to the District, Maryland and Virginia first appeared in a post that I wrote in 2003 – And yes! I do claim that I invented it!
The Greater Washington, D.C., capital region (the DMV) is not only home to some of the best art museums in the world, dozens of art galleries, non-profit art spaces, alternative art venues, and art organizations, but it also supports fertilizes of the best and most creative visual art scenes in the nation.
This scene is kindled and ignited to a large extent by female artists of all ages, races and ethnicities – an artistic female universe significantly more diverse than just about any of other major city on the planet.
Celebrating this art scene, I have and am compiling works by a number of leading and talented emerging contemporary female visual artists who represent the tens of thousands of women artists working in this culturally and ethnically diverse region.
Equally diverse are the artistic styles and media you will see in this curated exhibition, the first of its kind for the capital area.
With more than 100 works of art potentially available for curatorial selection, this exhibition offers a primer for both the experienced art eye and the beginning collector, highlighting a selection of talented artists who usually deserve more attention on a local, regional and national scale.
Next: The potential venue(s) and dates for this show.
This is a new mixed media painting which will make its debut at the Volta Art Fair in New York City next May. It is "The Rampant Lilith" and it is part of my repetitive, obsessive works - it marries two of my artistic obsessions: The Lilith and the Pictish people of ancient Scotland. She is covered in woad-colored Pictish tattoos. 40x32 inches, mixed media painting on 600 weight paper.
The Rampant Lilith 2023 mixed media painting by Florencio Lennox Campello, 40x32 inches |
The missus and I went to beautiful Glen Echo today to check out a couple of new shows, including J. Jordan Bruns solo, which according to the news release:
The Popcorn Gallery is proud to present Playing with Reality: 15 Years at Glen Echo Park a solo exhibition by Glen Echo Park Resident Artist J. Jordan Bruns. Bruns has been creating a wide range of paintings in the Stone Tower Studio since joining the Park 15 years ago. He is known for his large-scale abstractions depicting themes of order vs. chaos. This retrospective show celebrates his range as an artist, featuring a stunning collection of paintings with varying degrees of realism. From portraits and landscapes that evoke mood and personality to still life paintings that border on "trompe l'oeil" realism, utilizing expert oil painting techniques, demonstrating the breadth of his artistic output.
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WALA/GMU “Copyright Law and Public Performance" Online Fireside Chat and Legal Clinic
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
2pm
Discover what to consider when publicly performing your own work or the work of others. Explore the life cycle of a work, from creation to licensing and earning royalties.
When do I need a license, and how can I get one?
How do I get paid when others use my work?
What constitutes infringement?
… And more!
Join the Student Advocates from the George Mason Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic for a conversation with producers from Mason’s Green Machine. Event co-sponsored by Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts.
The event will be held over Zoom on Tuesday, April 18th, from 2:00 to 3:30 EDT. Participants will be sent a Zoom link in advance of the meeting.
Please send questions about performing works publicly in advance when registering on Eventbrite, or to legalservices@waladc.org.
Sharing your questions in advance will help the Clinic cater to the live audience and better prepare for an active discussion. Register here.
D W I G H T MESS is looking forward to the arrival this week of their first Swekt & Drang Artist Resident, Max Huffman!
Max will be inking there at the compound in addition to conducting fellowship with area artists & cartoonists over the course of his stay.
Max is a cartoonist & illustrator based in Carrboro, NC.
Join them on Friday, April 21st from 7-8:30pm for a One-Night Exhibition of Max's work completed during his residency + Artist Talk! Free Admission!
Stay with them from 8:30-10pm for a Special Dinner in honor of the artist!
$15 for a Carnivore or Vegan/Gluten-Free home-cooked meal -- Space is limited, Get your ticket now !!
https://dwightmess.bigcartel.com/product/swekt-drang-registration
DWIGHTMESS
Cartooning & Comic Arts
805 Silver Spring Ave.
Silver Spring, MD 20912
[entrance on Ripley Street]
I often alert readers to art scammers, those nasty trolls that prey on the good will of artists eager to make a sale.
As soon as I out them, I often get an email or two from people who were about the ship the work to the scammer – “He paid me with an international money order” or “He paid me with several credit cards” – so how does the scam work.
First and foremost, be suspicious of any email that comes out of the blue offering to buy your artwork (without any specificity to “what artwork”) and offering to pay for all shipping (usually overseas). Ask for a phone number to talk to the person – the scammer will usually avoid this and stop communicating. If you’ve been taken and received an international check and taken it to your bank, wait for the check to clear – not just with your bank, but also with the foreign bank where the check is drawn – that’s the usual part that bites back with fakes.
With credit cards, call the issuing bank and express your concerns; if the emailer offers to send you several credit cards and have you run them until one clears… well then, red alert!
Visit http://www.artscams.com for more details and info: Be aware!
There are some steps that artists can take to reduce significantly the cost of framing. I will try to list the most common mistakes, how to avoid them, and more importantly, how to get your artwork framed for a lot less than taking it to a framing shop to get it framed.
Read the whole article here.
The Chronicles of Piercing Ken was in attendance at the Spring 2023 edition of the Affordable Art Fair in New York and he stopped by the Alida Anderson Art Projects booth and talked to artist Amanda Coelho about her work. Shot by site founder Ken Pierce with the Canon Powershot! See it here.
I first offered this idea in 2003 - it was completely ignored! I've updated it a little for 2023.
The Universities
There are several important, major universities in and around the DMV area. In most cases each is working, as most universities do, their own, individual visual arts exhibition program, which is normally mix of exhibitions by their students, faculty and invited artists.
Almost without exception there is very little coordination between the different venues, which in some cases boast some of the nicest exhibition spaces in town. This is not unusual, as I imagine that in most cities this is also the same case, as the focus of the university gallery is in fact the university.
And here is where we can make a major change, and use the extraordinary resources afforded to our area by these venues, and their academic standing, to help Washington expand its worldwide visual art standing.
What we need to happen is for one of the local university art school chairs, or college deans, or even university gallery directors, to take the initiative to start coordinating a joint effort to create one annual combined, joint exhibition that synchronizes a focused exhibition that is spread throughout the Greater Washington area.
Imagine a national survey of art, with a good title and perhaps even a good, donated chunk of money as a prize. Say we call it “The Capital Art Prize” (OK, OK we’ll have to work on the title) and because good ideas sometimes attract funding, maybe we can convince a major local company like Lockheed Martin, or AOL or Booze Allen and Hamilton, or (be still my beating heart), The Washington Post, or Amazon, to help fund it on an annual basis.
This synchronized event can be modeled somewhat on what the Whitney does, but better. The Whitney Biennial’s Achilles heel is its over-reliance on hired curators. Unless an artist lives and works in NYC, LA or SF or is already in the local radar of one of the curators for that particular year, chances are slim to none that the artist will come to the attention of those Biennial curators. Hence great art and potentially great artists may be ignored.
In addition to the use of invited curators, also imagine that this event puts forth a national call for artists, independent and museum curators, schools, art organizations and galleries to submit works for consideration. Send us your slides, CD ROMS and photographs (and a self addressed, stamped envelope for their return) your images online.
Anyone can submit and in a fair selection process, since art is truly in the eyes (and agenda) of the beholder, anyone can be selected to exhibit. A truly American concept for a national American art survey that will leave the Whitney and other continental Biennials in the dust.
And because the exhibition venues are spread around the capital area region, in galleries at Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, American, Catholic, Howard, University of Maryland, Montgomery Community College, Northern Virginia Community College, and the many others I am sure to be forgetting momentarily, we could put up one of the largest, most diverse, and influential American art surveys in the nation.
This will take a lot of work to set up initially, as one key university person needs to take the lead and emerge from the pack of largely unknown, anonymous group of academics currently running our area’s university art programs. On the other hand, this could be an exhibition that can and will put names and faces on the international art world map, much like the Whitney Biennial sometimes elevates its curators a notch above the rest
Some universities will resist, as the easiest thing to do is to do things as they have always been done, and not really create “new” work. But given that a strong leader among our academic community emerges and takes the lead for this idea, then even if we start with a set of four or five venues, in a joint, coordinated effort, others will follow.
This will not be an easy job to do, and as it grows, so will the bureaucracy around it. But starting it up will be the hardest part, and as momentum grows, things will become easier. Whoever, if anyone, takes this idea and runs with it, will face many huge obstacles and many negative people. He or she will need to convince other university/college gallery directors to participate. They in turn, will have to convince their superiors, who will, in turn have to approve (and perhaps help kick-start the funding) the joint project.
This leader will also have to coordinate the approach to get a local giant to fund this effort, but I suspect that once he/she/them has aligned a few colleges and universities, this may become easier (it’s never easy) as the “buzz” and need for the event develops.
This is all a lot of work, and initially, until a bureaucracy is established around the annual event, many, many volunteers will be needed. I hope that some of these can be drawn from the school’s student body, alumni who are artists, and other local artists, much like Art-O-Matic draws from the collective muscle of our area’s significant artist population.
Our area universities and colleges already have significant media resources at their disposal, to help spread the word. They run school newspapers, radio stations, etc. and also provide a constant flow of new blood to our major mainstream media.
The goal (or perhaps “the dream”) would be a national level survey of art, which may look, review and/or jury the work of maybe 50,000 artists around the nation, and select perhaps 100 each year, showcase their work around a dozen academic galleries, and award a $100,000 $200,000 cash award as the Capital Art Prize, plus various other awards (Emerging Artist, Young Artist, etc.). Art of a nature and scale that will attract visitors to the university galleries, attention to our area, piss some people off, excite others, create interest, discussion and buzz around Washington and our art scene.
There’s nothing more empowering than an idea whose time has come.
OUT OF ORDER OUT OF ORDER INSTALL DAY: KIDOOO INSTALL & ART WORKSHOP: OOO ARTIST INFORMATION WORKSHOP: OOO & KIDOOO EVENT & SILENT AUCTION: AFTER PARTY: Maryland Art Place (MAP) is excited to announce Out of Order (OOO), MAP’s Annual Spring Benefit Exhibition & Silent Auction, on Friday, April 21, 2023, at 6 o'clock in the evening. This year marks the 26th year of OOO. The auction will be both a virtual and physical exhibition and will be held in the MAP building located at 218 West Saratoga Street, just within the Bromo Arts District. OOO is a highly celebrated exhibition-event, and a ‘one-night-only’ opportunity for patrons and collectors to acquire contemporary art at unbelievably low silent auction prices. MAP is happy to continue KIDOOO, a youth version of Out of Order. KIDOOO was created as an opportunity for young artists to exhibit their work in a major arts venue, extending MAP's services to students in elementary, middle, and high school level art classes for children ages five to seventeen. MAP will host an art-making workshop on the day of installation so participating artists can come to hang out and stay to create! All craft materials will be provided! This year’s theme for OOO is Carnivà le, a nod to the 2003 HBO series that fictitiously followed the lives of carnival workers during the Dust Bowl. The origins of the “Carnival” proper are varied, though it is often thought of as a celebration of rebirth in nature. This spring we will do just that! Attendees of the event can expect entertainment by DJ Aran Keating of Ridiculous Entertainment, tarot card readings, face painting, ‘drag queens in theme’, and an after-party in the basement from 10 pm to 1 am. Come dressed to impress and join the celebration in support of local & regional artists. Tickets are $40 on presale and $45 at the door. Tickets include light tastings and an open bar. All tickets also include free entry to KIDOOO, MAP's accompanying youth-driven OOO exhibition to be held on the 3rd floor of the MAP building the very same evening. Parents/guardians of KIDOOO may attend at a discounted price of $25 presale and $30 at the door. Arrow Parking will be providing free parking for OOO guests at the Arrow Lot across the street from Maryland Art Place on Saratoga Street. To purchase tickets visit: https://OutOfOrder2023.givesmart.com Submission Requirements and Install: Any artist is welcome to hang one original work of art on a first-come, first-served basis. The installation will take place Saturday, April 8, 2023, from 7 am-midnight. We will have donuts and coffee for the early birds and pizza and Karaoke in the basement from 9 pm to 11 pm for the late installers. No need to sign up in advance, just come by MAP's first-floor gallery space @ 218 West Saratoga Street in the Bromo Arts District! You or a friend must be able to install your own work on April 8th to participate in the exhibition. * OOO is a self-install exhibition. MAP has some installation materials (drills, screws, nails), but we recommend bringing additional installation materials due to supply and demand. All works must be for sale and will be silently auctioned on the evening of April 21. Prime wall space is based on a first-come-first-serve basis, so come early to get a good spot! Proceeds will mutually benefit MAP and the artist, all sales will be split 50/50. * All work must come framed and ready to hang. (size requirement is 40" x 40" or less). Come Early to get a good spot! Artists must install their own work on Artist Install day, Saturday, April 8 between the hours of 7 am and midnight. A third party may install on your behalf, but they'll need to be able to complete the virtual loan agreement on the day of install. NO Application fee to exhibit! Only ONE submission per artist Please document your work prior to arrival. This image will be used for virtual bidding purposes and submitted with your loan agreement. All forms will be virtual. You will receive the link to complete the loan agreement when you arrive. There will be volunteers and staff on-site to assist you. The work you include in Out of Order must be for sale. The proceeds from the silent auction are split 50/50 between the artist and MAP. All works will be virtually silent auctioned Friday, April 21, 2023, from 6 -10 pm Participating artists receive free admission to OOO! Questions? Cst Information Workshop on Friday, April 7 at 1 pm. Maryland Art Place is located at 218 West Saratoga Street between Park and Howard streets. On-street and garage parking is available. Visit MAP's exhibition page for more information or read the full prospectus online. This year all bidding will be entirely virtual. Loan agreements can be filled out on-site when you deliver your work. Please bring your phone to complete the loan form virtually. We will have staff and volunteers on-site to assist you with this process. Email Caitlin, MAP's Exhibition Manager with any OOO inquiries, at Caitlin@mdartplace.org.
Saturday, April 8 | 7 am to Midnight
Sunday, April 9 | 12 pm to 4 pm
OR
Saturday, April 15 | 1 pm to 5 pm
Friday, April 7 @ 1pm
Friday, April 21 | 6 pm - 10 pm | TICKETS
Friday, April 21 | 10 pm to 1 am | TICKETS