Aqua Day One

And the VIP opening at the Aqua Art Fair Miami Beach was last night, and amidst much booze, tropical heat and impossibly slim/tall women in 8 inch heels and tanned muscly guys, some art sales managed to take place.

The opening ended at 11PM, and I left at 11:30 and then it took me over an hour to navigate the first dozen city blocks of Collins Avenue, such was the humanity and carmanity crowding the streets and sidewalks of this unique place.

A well-known collector who has written 39 bestsellers ended up buying my "Desi, Lucy and Fidel" video piece as well as two gorgeous photos by Cuban photographer Cirenaica Moreira. I also sold four other drawings, including two to art gallery owners from Art Miami, many of whom were present last night reporting good sales at Art Miami and Context.

Breaking news!

From the Aqua front office:

As one of our 2012 exhibitors, we wanted you to be one of the first to know that  Aqua is joining the Art Miami LLC umbrella of fairs. The company, which produces not only Art Miami, but Art Hamptons, Art Wynwood and CONTEXT, will take over operations of Aqua after the current, 8th installment, of our fair.

We are thrilled about the future of Aqua and the tremendous opportunity for all of our exhibitors and artists, who will have a much greater exposure, as well as access to a larger art collector base, by being associated with a major international art fair. We're also expecting this announcement to generate quite a bit of buzz about our current show -- below is a copy of the press release, which is going out to all of our media contacts today. In addition, watch out for an exclusive feature about this exciting new development in today's edition of the Miami Herald.

 Art Miami LLC to Acquire Vibrant Aqua Art Miami in Miami Beach
Company Now Produces Five of America's Premiere Art Fairs

MIAMI, FL - (Dec 4, 2012) - Art Miami LLC, parent company of Florida's longest running premier contemporary and modern art fair Art Miami, announced today that it will add another gem to its crown, the vibrant Aqua Art Miami in Miami Beach, now in its 8th year. Art Miami LLC will take over the operation of the fair at the conclusion of this year's 2012 edition.

"We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to take Aqua Art Miami  to the next level. We look forward to carrying on the great atmosphere and tradition that founders Jaq Chartier and Dirk Park have created for emerging and cutting edge galleries and their artists and collectors over the last eight years. In addition, having a location close to the beach during Miami Art Week will help develop a larger scope of services and programming for all of our participating exhibitors and attendees associated with Art Miami, CONTEXT, and now Aqua Art Miami," said Nick Korniloff, Art Miami, LLC, Fair Director and Partner.

"Dirk and I are thrilled to add our fair to the Art Miami umbrella -- it's great for the future of Aqua," said Jaq Chartier, Aqua's Co-Director. "Exhibitors and their artists will have much greater exposure, as well as access to a larger art collector base, by being associated with a major international art fair."

Over the years, Aqua Art Miami has been recognized for presenting vibrant and noteworthy international art programs with a particular interest in supporting young dealers and galleries with strong emerging and early-mid career artists. This curatorial commitment is complemented by the unique art fair setting of the Aqua Hotel, a classic South Beach establishment with spacious exhibition rooms that open onto a breezy, intimate courtyard. The surroundings have become a favorite gathering spot not only for relaxation during Miami Art Week, but also as a place to exchange and disseminate new contemporary art ideas. And with its close proximity to the main Art Basel fair, Aqua Art Miami has consistently been ranked among the top satellite art events by collectors, artists, curators, critics and the art loving public alike.

This year, Aqua Art Miami's eighth installment will present innovative special programming, which features performance art and installation, plus the collective exchange of ideas by 47 exhibiting galleries from North and South America, as well as Japan. The fair is located at 1530 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, across from the Loews Hotel.

For additional information on both fairs, please visit: www.aquaartmiami.com or www.art-miami.com.

Almost there...

Up and early this morning as with three and a half galleries to fill, it has been exhausting to hang all the artwork at the Aqua Art Fair. Of course, the small half-gallery was the hardest one, as the walls seemed to be made of some new impenetrable material that required a small nuclear device to make a hole in the walls.

The VIP opening is tonight, starting at 7PM, which is when the music starts, the free booze begins to flow (and hopefully some of the artwork) and immensely tall women in 8-inch heels suddenly are everywhere.

Pics and updates later.

Miami Art Fairs: VIP Openings Start!

Tonight is the VIP opening of Art Miami, which a lot of people consider to be second in the art fair food chain after the "real" Art Basel fair.

Art Miami is such a draw for key blue chip galleries, that its well-earned number two spot (ahead of Pulse at number three and Scope at barely holding onto number four) has allowed its owners to start yet another, separate fair (Context) to which a lot of the Pulse and worthy Scope galleries have flocked to.

Both Art Miami and Context have their VIP openings tonight... CONNERSMITH and the tiny Curator's Office are the only two DMV area galleries in this blue chip group - a well earned distinction to the hard work of its owners.

So it looks like Scope is about to be shoved down to number five on the food chain, and I wouldn't be surprised if Context gathers more attention (and sales) than Pulse and becomes number three for its Art Miami owners.

VIP tickets are non-transferable, so I did not, I repeat, I did not give my VIP pass to a DMV area artist who may or may not walking around Art Miami and Context tonight pretending to be "F. Lennox Campello"... cough, cough.

I'm exhausted from hanging work for my own presence at the Aqua Art Fair (voted by a HUGE margin as the best art fair for "emerging artists"), so there's no chance that my tired feet will be hanging around the VIP openings tonight, but many DMV area artists will be schmoozing, scarfing up the free food and booze and handing out business cards at the event, such as Tim Tate (who's exhibiting at Art Miami with Ireland's primo gallery Blue Leaf), Judith Peck, Audrey Wilson, my Norfolk dealer Sheila Giolitti and many others.

Talking about hanging artwork, first horror story of the fair: British artist Simon Monk, who is part of my curated "Superheroes and Super Villains" exhibit at Aqua shipped his work from the UK delivery with Monday delivery guaranteed.

When it didn't show up on Monday, I contacted him and a very worried Monk then spent hours and hours on the phone in the UK trying to find out where his shipment was.

Many hours later, he informs me that his

"... wife has literally been on the phone all day trying to get to the bottom of what has happened to my crate.  After battling through obstruction after obstruction she discovered that the crate had never left the UK!  Apparently Fedex thought there was a problem with the paperwork but it turned out they had simple not looked at it properly and admitted that it was all in order.  What I find most frustrating is that they claimed to be 'waiting for information' but had made no attempt to contact me - I genuinely believe that if my wife had not pursued this the crate could have simply sat at Stansted Airport indefinitely - so much for 'next day delivery'. "

Yeah FEDEX... what's up with that?

I told Monk that whenever his work shows up it will be hung!

Miami art fairs: Day -2

The worst part about doing an art fair (other than the brutal costs) are the unloading and packing up process.

The unloading this year was accidentally super easy.

Yesterday morning I was dropping off the gallery intern (the super hardworking and talented Audrey Wilson, whose work we will also be showing as one of the perks of being an intern at Alida Anderson Art Projects). When I say "dropping off" I mean at the Aqua Hotel in Miami Beach, where the art fair will be taking place starting Wednesday for VIPs.

The official unload time starts at 5PM, and yet, someone there was nice enough to say, "Since you are already here, you can go ahead and unload."

And in less than 20 minutes we had unloaded.

Nightmare number one avoided: a long-assed wait to unload among the heavy traffic of Collins Avenue in Miami Beach on Sunday night or Monday morning.

This morning we started hanging, and we're about 50% done.

Afterwards, I headed back to Hollywood Beach for a walk on the boardwalk, some pizza and a pitcher of beer ... cough... cough ice tea with the family.

While I was gone, Little Junes and his mom were exploring the best thing about Florida other than Cuban food...

Aqua on top

Just checked the results of the poll on the Best Emerging Art Fair in Miami, which New American Paintings magazine ran around the elections earlier this month, and (as I suspected) the Aqua Art Fair in Miami Beach --- where we kicked ass last year and where we're returning to this year in room 116 --- is at the top, by a really wide margin, which is more than I can say about the recent Presidential elections. 

 See you at the fair starting next Wednesday!

Jewish Spiderman will be at Aqua later this week!

This is "Look Out Spidermun!" a new acrylic on board by the highly talented and intelligent DMV area artist Jeannette Lilith Herrera. This piece and several others from her work on superheros will be part of the "Superheros and Super Villains" exhibition at Aqua Art Fair in Miami Beach next week - room 116!

Airborne

The kid is heading to Miami Beach for the Aqua Art Fair - if you are heading South as well and need some passes to the fair, send me a note and come see me in room 116.

Santa and then Reagan

First a visit to Santa...

Then out to Reagan National Airport for the trip down South - I'll be at the Aqua Art Fair in Miami Beach - room 116 - and Dr. Anderson will be doing some research with some Hialeah school children for one of her research lines.

WaPo on Ficker

This is a very cool WaPo story on my good friend and uberheckler Robin Ficker... read it here. 

This is the man who brought the art of heckling to an art! (and that's why he's being discussed in an art blog!)... I call his art movement Hecklerism!

Go Robin!

Good bye Big E!

Tomorrow a powerful and storied gray lady of the sea, USS Enterprise (the real one, not the Star Trek one of the future) will retire after multiple decades of service.

Fair winds and following seas!

 

Spiderman will be at Aqua next week

This is "BERNABE MENDEZ from the State of Guerrero works as a professional window cleaner in New York. He sends 500 dollars a month" from the amazing Dulce Pinzon's Superheros series. This piece and several others from that series will be part of the "Superheros and Super Villains" exhibition at Aqua Art Fair in Miami Beach next week - room 116!

Heading down to Miami Beach

Here's the gallery van all packed up and ready to head South to Miami Beach for the Aqua Art Fair during next week's Art Basel week in Miami.

First of all, I'm glad that someone else is driving that puppy and second, you can't even fit a pin in that van!

As usual, I'll be reporting daily from the fairs; we leave on Saturday!

Wanda Jackson reviews "Under The Influence"

The Sentinel's Wanda Jackson pops in with a nice review of the "Under The Influence" show that I recently curated for Prince George's County. See the review here.

A nice surprise is also coming to some of the selected artists: The county is going to buy several of the works for the PG County Art Collection... names later!

Opportunity for Artists

BlackRock Center for the Arts Call to Artists 2014
BlackRock Center For the Arts is accepting entries for exhibits January - December 2014. You can download the prospectus by clicking the link to the right or go to www.blackrockcenter.org Deadline:  Friday, December 21, 2012 Entry Fee: $35 check or money order made payable to BlackRock Center for the Arts Eligibility: Open to all artists 18 years and over residing in  Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC.  Special Consideration: Artists who are willing to conduct a lecture or workshop for a BlackRock standard fee will receive special consideration during the selection process.     About the Gallery BlackRock Center for the Arts gallery is 1500 square feet of gallery space.  Its high white walls and beautiful windows allows in just the right amount of natural light. We take pride in the outstanding artists we have exhibited over the years, which have been reviewed by Claudia Rousseau, Lenny Campello, and other art critics in the area. Eligibility The Call to Artists is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18 for 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. (See Terms for Exhibit for details.) Pedestals are available for three-dimensional work. Selection Process This call will cover exhibits in the Gallery from January to December 2014. 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. This season, the jury panel is comprised of Lenny Campello (artist, writer, blogger), Marsha Staiger (artist, Torpedo Factory), and Tim Tate (artist, Washington Glass School). In addition, the panel will have an alternate juror, Krista Bradley (Executive Director of BlackRock).	CLICK HERE FOR PROSPECTUS Send to: BlackRock Center for the Arts Call to Artist 12901 Town Commons Drive Germantown, MD 20874 Questions? Contact: Kim Marshall Gallery Manager kmarshall@blackrockcenter.org All correspondance by e-mail, no phone calls please.

Superman will be at Aqua next week

This is a detail of "Superman" by the very talented NYC artist Carla Goldberg. This brilliant mixed media sculpture will be part of the "Superheros and Super Villains" exhibition at Aqua Art Fair in Miami Beach next week - room 116!

New gallery's grand opening is this week

Grand Opening of a new art gallery

“Gallery de Fabbio”

Saturday, December 1^st 2012, from 1-8 PM pm at-

10007 Kinross Ave.,

Silver Spring, MD 20901

301. 593. 5507

www.johndefabbiophoto.com

At Aqua next week

This is "Peter Parker" by British artist Simon Monk (oil and alkyd on wood panel), which is one of the artists that I curated into the "Superheros and Super Villains" exhibition in room 116 of the Aqua Art Fair in Miami Beach next week!

"Peter Parker" by Simon Monk

Alexa Meade

DMV area uberartist Alexa Meade has been busy lately... she's been traveling a lot recently for art - painting Gotye in Australia, meetings in Tokyo, presenting her work at the Wired Magazine Conference in London, doing a show in Zurich...

She's now back home and debuting a new body of work this week which she made with friend/performance artist Sheila Vand. You can see it here.

The curious case of the art fair model

For years I have been proselytizing about art galleries and art fairs and artists and art fairs. In a nutshell my gospel is simple: if you are a 21st century artist (or gallery) and you're not in Miami in December, then your business model is hopelessly bound to the meager crumbs of your local area and the random shot from your Internet website.

I know the costs are brutal, and that leaves a lot of galleries out of the equation in round one; but there are techniques and processes and approaches to diluting the "cost shock" - much like a cooperative gallery dilutes the huge odds against a gallery staying open more than a year by spreading out the costs amongst its members. In the last few years I have been hired by almost a dozen art centers, coop art galleries and even some commercial art galleries to advise them on how to approach the daunting task of "going to the fair" - to this date, ALL of them are returning to art fairs after their first, second or third fair -- All of them.

And that leads me to highlight that there is a most curious effect that I've been observing over the last few years.

In spite of the horrible economy, and in spite of the current administration's dated academic approaches to kick-starting the economy (and if it doesn't work, whatever it is, we blame Bush), and in spite of the threat of a financial doomsday with no happy ending no matter who wins (the who being the left wing or the right wing, with the rest of us caught in the middle)... in spite of all that... in my own empirical experience, and in talking to dozens of my fellow art dealers, it seems as though art fairs are doing OK.

Want empirical evidence Lenster?

Here locally, (e)merge has survived the most dire of predictions of the local art buying market and will return in 2013, stronger than ever. In Miami, this year there will be a record number of art fairs - even some of the top dogs (such as Art Miami) are so flooded with applicants that they've quietly started a second fair under a new name - all together there will be about 26 art fairs going on at once all over the Miami/Miami Beach region - 26!

The people who run Pulse also run the Affordable Art Fairs, and they're expanding to a bunch of new cities; DC was one of the cities on the draft list, and they came, explored, talked to a lot of people and decided that the DMV is not a viable market, but Seattle is.

But the biggest surprise of all (in my learned opinion) is the fact that a record number of DMV galleries and DMV area artists are heading south to the most Cuban of non-Cuban cities in the world next week to sell art and expose themselves to art!

If the mountain doesn't come to Mohamm ahhh... Monet, then Monet will come to the mountain.

We're heading to the Aqua Art Fair next week - if you want some free passes, drop me an email.

Skyfall

Saw Skyfall, the newest 007 movie tonight and then made the mistake of commenting too much about it on Facebook without a spoiler alert; my apologies.

My revised thoughts:

• Terrific action movie; the franchise seldom disappoints
• I'm lost on the whole "new" Moneypenny angle
• Javier Bardem sucked as the bad guy: what's with the blond hair?
• Ending is a bit of a take off on another movie
• Old Scottish guy looks and dresses like a Scot, but must be the only Scotsman in all of Scotland without an accent!

At the Factory

Add a little sparkle to your holidays with the Torpedo Factory Art Center's annual Holiday Open House! Enjoy fun festivities as you wander from studio to studio stocking up on affordable, original artwork for everyone on your shopping list. 

Holiday Shopping in Studios & Galleries
Studio and galleries are open until 9pm for holiday shopping! Use our Holiday Gift Guide to find endless unique gift ideas in every price range from Torpedo Factory artists and galleries. From handmade ornaments and playful hats and scarves to small sculptures, elegant jewelry, and original paintings, there's something for everyone! Plus, for as little as $3, you can have your presents wrapped at a gift wrap station benefiting the George Washington Middle School Orchestra.

Guests are also invited to enter their free prize drawing for a chance to win a $100 Torpedo Factory Art Center gift certificate, which is good everywhere in the Art Center including all 82 studios, 6 galleries, The Art League, and the gift shop. 

Live Music & Refreshments
Sample sparkling wine and holiday treats from the Café by Bread & Chocolate as you get into the spirit with music by the acclaimed trio of Wytold Lebing, accompanied by Bryan Bowman and Jerry Tolkas.

Holiday Toy & Mitten Drives
Help them spread joy, hope, and compassion this holiday season with two opportunities to give back to the community. 

Annual Toy Drive
Give underprivileged children a reason to smile by donating new toys, infant/toddler items, and grocery store gift cards to Community Partners for Children, a non-profit organization that collects and distributes school supplies, clothing, toys, and other items for disadvantaged children from newborns to teens. The Torpedo Factory Art Center will be collecting toys November 12 through December 14 with a donation box located by the main entrance.

Mitten & Glove Drive
In conjunction with the Joys of the Season exhibition (November 29 - January 20), spread warmth to the community by donating to a mitten and glove drive benefiting Alexandria’s Child and Family Network Centers.

Click here for more holiday activities at the Torpedo Factory Art Center!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you all have the luck to spend today with your families and that we all think a thought for all those who can't, especially our men and women in uniform around the planet and their families...

Below is Little Junes and his mother cutting and assembling paper turkeys to give to his teachers.

American idiot

The picture below is of an idiot from Massachusetts named Lindsey Stone who's gone viral with this image of her flipping off the sign at Arlington Cemetery during a work-paid visit to the DMV. Because of the fact that this brainiac then posted this pic on Facebook, and it really offended a lot of people, someone then started a viral campaign to get Ms. Stone fired.

 And she got fired.

And I'm not sure that this is right. As much as I am offended, both as a veteran and also as a veteran who has former shipmates killed on active duty buried at Arlington, one of the reasons that people like me wore the uniform of the United States Armed Forces was to defend and protect the right of people like Ms. Stone to express their views freely.

We used to (and I'm sure that people serving today still do) have a saying that went along the way of "I may disagree 100% with what you're saying, but I am willing nonetheless to put my life on the line to defend your right to say it."

Lindsey, you're an idiot, but you're an American idiot, and you have the right to do this abhorrent act and should not get fired because of it.

Top 10 Please...

What are your 10 favorite galleries in the DC metro area?

ArtDC wants to know... check it out here.

Call for Entries: On The Verge

"On the Verge" - At the Lowe House Office Building

Prince George's Delegation Area, Annapolis, MD.

January 11 - April 9, 2013

Presented by the M-NCPPC, Department of Parks of Recreation, Prince George's County, Arts and Cultural Heritage Division

APPLICATION DEADLINE - December 7, 2012
All submissions must be received by 4:00pm

The M-NCPPC, Department of Parks of Recreation, Prince George's County, Arts and Cultural Heritage Division, with support from the Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council, is pleased to announce On the Verge: Extension, Transition, Conversation, this year's exhibition of Prince George's County artists in the Lowe House Office building in Annapolis, during the Maryland General Assembly's Legislative Session for 2013. Verge is verb, signifying a shift, a switch, and evolution. Verge can also mean modification, expansion, and a substantial moment. This exhibition calls on Prince George's County artists to share their interpretation of what it means to be on the verge. As artists our perception of transition and change vary; is verge a meeting of artistic minds, a collaborative effort? Are you on the verge of a major decision in your studio? Or perhaps verge is an important moment for you conceptually or formally, on the cusp of a breakthrough in a new direction? The meaning of verge may present itself symbolically, through the exploration of boundaries, or literally through juxtapositions in ideas and materials. On the Verge provides an opening to reflect upon the interpretations of verge, or verging, asking artists to present work related to insightful, prospective and major transitions, as they define it. This exhibition celebrates Prince George's County artists as well as art's ability to represent these shifts and express the experiences that bring us all together.

DATES                                                                                   Deadline for receipt of entries: December 10th Notification of selected works: December 17th *All notifications will be sent by email. Artwork drop-off period: December 27st - 31th Exhibition Opens: Week of January 9th Opening Reception: TBA Exhibition closes: April 9th Artwork pick-up period: April 15th - 26th ELIGIBILITY & SUBMISSION CRITERIA This call for entries is open to all artists 18 years old or older who live, work, attend school or have studio's in Prince George's County, MD. Artists may submit a maximum of 5 artworks for consideration. All works must be original and may use any media. Art works must also be presentation-ready and able to hang on a wall without projecting off the wall in such a way that they could obstruct or endanger foot traffic in the exhibition area. Art works must be able to safely hang on Walker Display system hanging rods. All works must follow the Maryland House of Delegates guidelines for displaying artwork. To receive a copy of these guidelines artists may contact staff at the Brentwood Arts Exchange at (301) 277 - 2863. HONORARIUM Artists selected to have their artworks exhibited in On the Verge will receive an honorarium of $100.

WHAT TO SEND Submission materials should be mailed or delivered in person to the Brentwood Arts Exchange, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue, Brentwood, MD 20722. Please send: Your name and contact information, including address, telephone number, and email. A CD containing up to 5 images. A printed list of the works submitted with titles, media, and dimensions. If your mailing address is not in Prince George's County but you are eligible to apply under other criteria, please provide a very brief explanation of your eligibility (i.e. your in-county studio address, etc.) *Optional: An artist's statement If you would like your materials returned, please include an SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope). Materials sent without an SASE will not be returned. Please note: Only entries sent in digital formats will be accepted for entry. We will not review printed images, slides, or original artworks. We regret that we cannot accept submissions via email. Digital files must be submitted on a CD. MAILING ADDRESS FOR SUBMISSIONS:   Attn: On the Verge Brentwood Arts Exchange 3901 Rhode Island Ave. Brentwood, MD 20722 GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL FILES Effort will be made to review all submissions, regardless of format. However, please be aware that incompatible files may cause submissions to be rejected. Applicants are encouraged to format files as described below. Image files should not be larger than 1MB, and should be formatted as jpeg or tiff. Name each file according to the following format: "last name" underscore "document". Example: jones_imagelist.pdf. Please number each image/video file corresponding to the work sample list. Example: 01_jones_stilllifewithguitar.jpg

NOTIFICATION

All artists will be informed of acceptance or rejection by email. Artists who do not have email addresses may request to be notified by mail.

DELIVERY & INSTALLATION

Artists are responsible for transporting work to and from the drop-off/pickup location at the Brentwood Arts Exchange. Artwork must be delivered ready to hang and appropriately presented. Artworks that differ significantly from the images submitted for judging or are not ready for gallery installation may be rejected. If you need to ship the work, please call us to let us know what arrangements you have made.

The exhibition will be transported, installed, and dismantled by
M-NCPPC staff or third parties contracted by the M-NCPPC. All work accepted for exhibition will remain at the exhibition site for the duration of the exhibition.

SALES & INSURANCE

The M-NCPPC will retain a 25% commission on all artworks sold during, or as a result of the exhibition. The M-NCPPC will insure all consigned artwork in the custody of the Brentwood Arts Exchange from the time they are received by delivery, until the pick-up date only.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact: Rushern Baker IV, at the Brentwood Arts Exchange 3901 Rhode Island Ave.  Brentwood, MD 20722, rush.baker@pgparks.com; tel. 301-277-2863; tty. 301-446-6802

Black Friday Sale at Brentwood

Black Friday Sale

Brentwood Arts Exchange Craft Store

Friday, November 23, 2012; 10am - 7pm 

"Mugs" Gary Irby.

Stop by the Brentwood Arts Exchange craft store Friday, November 23, 2012, from 10am - 7pm, for their Black Friday Sale. For the first time, customers will find the store's line of fine ceramic ware, hand-made jewelry, glass-blown vases, hand painted silk scarf's, and handbags available at a 20% discount. The Brentwood Arts Exchange craft store features a dynamic display of fashionable and functional items by local artists and is a favorite stop for customers looking to buy one of-a-kind gifts for loved ones and looking to support the local arts community. At this year's inaugural event over 90% of the sales on each item will go directly to the artists.  Click here to view their virtual craft store.

Dali

When an anonymous donor gave art to the Goodwill as an early holiday gift this month, the staff thought it was junk.

"Across the board they thought it was ugly," said Shea Munroe, who sorts the art and collectibles donated at Goodwill Industries in Federal Way, Washington.

Co-workers told her: "What is that? And why would anybody want that?"

The art is actually a Salvador Dali original, by the master surrealist who in his day relished the role of public provocateur with his mind-bending imagery.

Read the story on CNN here.

Opportunity for Photographers

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) is currently seeking submissions for its seventh annual contemporary Photography Exhibition running February 2^nd through March 1, 2013 at CHAW, 545 7^th Street, SE.   CHAW is looking for any and all types of contemporary photography including traditional, alternative, black and white, color, photojournalism, fine art, time based, performance, installation…if you think it involves photography, please submit by December 14, 2012 at www.chaw.org.

The exhibition will be curated by Bruce McKaig, chair of the Photography Department at CHAW (www.brucemckaig.com).  All submitting artists will be invited to participate in a workshop on business tips for artists and receive a marketing packet with exhibition, publication, marketing and funding sources.  CHAW will present cash awards and one or more participating artists will be invited to a public art project at Canal Park in 2013.

The entry fee is $25 and artists may submit three to five works or three to five minutes of video. Please call (202) 547-6839 or visit www.chaw.org for more information and to submit work. 

Opportunity for Artists

BlackRock Center for the Arts Call to Artists 2014
BlackRock Center For the Arts is accepting entries for exhibits January - December 2014. You can download the prospectus by clicking the link to the right or go to www.blackrockcenter.org Deadline:  Friday, December 21, 2012 Entry Fee: $35 check or money order made payable to BlackRock Center for the Arts Eligibility: Open to all artists 18 years and over residing in  Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC.  Special Consideration: Artists who are willing to conduct a lecture or workshop for a BlackRock standard fee will receive special consideration during the selection process.     About the Gallery BlackRock Center for the Arts gallery is 1500 square feet of gallery space.  Its high white walls and beautiful windows allows in just the right amount of natural light. We take pride in the outstanding artists we have exhibited over the years, which have been reviewed by Claudia Rousseau, Lenny Campello, and other art critics in the area. Eligibility The Call to Artists is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18 for 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. (See Terms for Exhibit for details.) Pedestals are available for three-dimensional work. Selection Process This call will cover exhibits in the Gallery from January to December 2014. 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. This season, the jury panel is comprised of Lenny Campello (artist, writer, blogger), Marsha Staiger (artist, Torpedo Factory), and Tim Tate (artist, Washington Glass School). In addition, the panel will have an alternate juror, Krista Bradley (Executive Director of BlackRock).	CLICK HERE FOR PROSPECTUS Send to: BlackRock Center for the Arts Call to Artist 12901 Town Commons Drive Germantown, MD 20874 Questions? Contact: Kim Marshall Gallery Manager kmarshall@blackrockcenter.org All correspondance by e-mail, no phone calls please.

All animals are equal

But in the Castro Brothers' Workers Paradise, some animals are more equal than others...

In Cuba (Via) this week, three dozen Ladies in White were beaten and arrested for trying to attend Mass; two dozen pro-democracy leaders were beaten and arrested for inquiring about a colleague's imprisonment; and a dozen pastors were arrested for trying to distribute independent hurricane relief to victims in eastern Cuba.

So how does the State Department reward this surge in repression by the Castro's dictatorship?

By granting a U.S. visa to Raul Castro's grand-daughter to attend an art exhibit with her boyfriend in New York City.

That's right, according to the Cafe Fuerte blog, Vilma Rodríguez Castro, grand-daughter of Cuban dictator Raul Castro, is in New York City this week attending the contemporary Latin American art fair, PINTA 2012. She was accompanying her boyfriend, Cuban artist Arlés del Río.

Witnesses spotted her last night wearing Chanel shoes, a Louis Vuitton purse and a Rolex watch, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Is this ignorance, irresponsibility or just policy malpractice by the State Department?

From Amnesty International:

URGENT ACTION

Cuban Man Targeted for Government Criticism

Government critic Antonio Rodiles has been charged with “resisting authority”. It is believed the charges may be used to punish and prevent his peaceful criticism of Cuban government policies.

A coordinator of a civil society initiative calling on the government to ratify international human rights treaties, Antonio Rodiles, has been charged with “resisting authority” (resistencia). He has been placed in pre-trial detention (prisión provisional), but no date has been set for his trial.

Shortly after the arrest of the independent lawyer and journalist Yaremis Flores on 7 November, Antonio Rodiles, his wife and several other government critics went to the Department of State Security headquarters, know as Section 21 (Sección 21) in the neighbourhood of Marianao in Havana, to enquire after her whereabouts. Before they could reach the building they were approached by 20 people, all plain-clothed, as two officials from the Ministry of the Interior looked on. Antonio Rodiles was reportedly knocked to the ground and pinned down by four men. Several of the other activists were also manhandled and were forced into a police vehicle and sent to various police stations around Havana. All were released by 11 November, except Antonio Rodiles.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office (fiscalía) informed Antonio Rodiles’ wife on 14 November that he was being charged with “resisting authority” but a formal charge document has yet to be issued.

Antonio Rodiles is one of the coordinators of Citizen Demand for Another Cuba (Demanda Ciudadana Por Otra Cuba), an initiative calling for Cuba to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which the country signed in 2008. Amnesty International believes the charges against him may be being used to punish and prevent his peaceful activities as a government critic and is gathering further information on his case and treatment.

When museums bite

Susan Helen Adler paced the corridors of the Baltimore Museum of Art, searching for objects that once belonged to her great-great-aunt, the late Saidie Adler May.

In one room, she encountered about a dozen pieces, next to plaques that read “Gift of Saidie A. May.” But Adler, hungry to see more May donations on display, quickly grew upset with how much she thought should be there.

She was already frustrated that one of her great-great-aunt’s paintings, a small Renoir, had turned up in a box of junk at a West Virginia flea market. The painting, she eventually learned, had been stolen from the museum in 1951 and then largely forgotten. How could that have happened?

Read the article by Ian Shapira in the WaPo here.

Support Chickenhead!

Jessica Rose is one of the young artists that I am helping to mentor through Strathmore's highly successful mentoring project. She has created a children's book and now needs a little bit of our combined help to assist her into the next phase. See her note below:

My first children's book "Chickenhead" is nearing the home stretch! In preparation for its completion, I've launched a short, ambitious campaign to fund a limited initial print run, to get the book into the hands of prospective publishers and enthusiastic readers.

I NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Go to the campaign page to learn more about the book (and what you can get for supporting it)!: 

http://www.indiegogo.com/chickenhead?a=1663505

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Thank you so much for your support!!

Jessica

www.DefyinGravity.com

Go to this tonight!