Ovation TV

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the annual Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, DC set for March 31, was canceled earlier this month. With millions of Americans now at home, Ovation TV, the nation’s only arts network, is set to celebrate a ‘Virtual’ Arts Advocacy Day by making select arts programming accessible to all on the Ovation NOW app as well as on Ovation’s website (https://www.ovationtv.com/watch/art-house/). 

This content will live in a new section called “Art House” starting now.

“Ovation’s mission has always been to connect the world to all forms of art and artistic expression through our varied programming,” said Scott Woodward, EVP of Programming and Production. “Just as we recognize the importance of the arts, we also see how this type of programming can serve as a positive distraction for people during these unprecedented times. With that in mind, we want to make our arts programming accessible to everyone, without restrictions.” Original Ovation titles available include The Art Of, The Method and Young Marvels. Also available will be classic episodes of Inside the Actors Studio, featuring Bradley Cooper, George Clooney, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Jim Carrey, Paul Newman, Robin Williams, Will Smith, and the special 250^th episode. The Art Of is a half-hour docuseries that profiles artists who are creating boundary-pushing work in media that are not part of the traditional definition of "art." Focusing on the celebrated, as well as the undiscovered, this series explores the creative process behind each featured art form and uncovers how and why these artists do what they do. Episodes feature topics such as Tattoos, Graffiti, Hip Hop, Mixology, Sushi, Sneakers, and Animation. The Method takes a deep dive into the creative process. This docuseries features episodes on The Messy Artist, an art studio for children and adults in New Jersey, street artist Hanksy as he and 50 other street artists transform an abandoned mansion in Los Angeles into a magnificent – and temporary – showcase of graffiti art, and some of London’s most innovative street performers, like dance troupe Barely Methodical. Young Marvels celebrates the impressive achievements and struggles of young talent from across all areas of the arts and the parents who nurture, support and sometimes push them. Featuring exceptionally gifted dancers, singers, musicians, and more, this docuseries uncovers a generation of artists intent on making their mark before reaching adulthood. Additional programming includes a diverse lineup of artist profiles and documentaries spanning a myriad of arts: music, dance, theater, painting, fashion, the culinary arts, and more.  Andy Warhol’s Factory People (until Apr 9)Beyoncé: Queen BDolly Parton: Queen of Country (Apr 10-26)Hamilton: One Shot to Broadway (until Apr 9)J-Lo: Let’s Get Real (Apr 10-26)Jean-Michel BasquiatLa Traviata: Opera on Sydney Harbour (until Apr 9)Les Misérables: The History of the World’s Greatest Story (until Apr 9)Modern HeroNina Simone, The LegendRihanna: No RegretsShakira: Hits Don’t Lie (Apr 10-26)Stealing Van Gogh (until Apr 9)Swan Lake by Martin Schläpfer (until Apr 9)Whitney Houston: Everlasting Voice Throughout the month of April, the arts network will also be airing a special arts block every Friday starting at 12pm ET. Ovation TV’s “Art House” is an ongoing effort by the network to provide the public with arts programming. It will continue to live beyond the Virtual Arts Advocacy Day celebration, with new content being rotated in for viewers to access more great arts programming than ever before… free of charge. Arts Advocacy Day, hosted by Americans for the Arts, is an annual event that brings together a broad cross section of America’s cultural and civic organizations, along with more than 700 grassroots advocates from across the country, to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts. Ovation NOW is available on iOS, Android, Roku, and Amazon Fire. The app is free to download and can be used on phones, tablets, set-top boxes, and connected TVs. For more information, please visit http://www.ovationtv.com.

Coronizing art

Looks like the entire planet will soon be using Zoom for everything! My wife has coined the term "Zoomester" to replace the previous Covidian Age term of "semester" as schooling turns all online!

Artomatic: Resources for COVID-19 and Artists

From Artomatic:

As part of our mission to strengthen the artistic community, we will share resources from other organizations to keep you informed. Below are a few links to resources to help artists specifically impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic:

COVID-19 Freelance Artist Resources
This list is an aggregated list of free resources, opportunities and financial relief options available to artists of all disciplines. Freelance artists include but are not limited to: actors, designers, producers, technicians, stage mangers, musicians, composers, choreographers, visual artists, filmmakers, craft artists, teaching artists, dancers, writers, playwrights, photographers, etc. 

Arts Resources During COVID-19 Outbreak from Creative Capital
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the US, this is a list of resources for artists working in all disciplines, as well as arts philanthropists, and arts professionals. 

Spring Cleaning Virtual Art Market
Between now and March 31st, all DC-based visual artists are invited to post images on Instagram of work they may want to sell from a studio clean out using the #SpringCleaningDC hashtag. If you are still able to support their talents, search #SpringCleaningDC on Instagram or contact Amy Lokoff (amy_loko on Instagram) or the artist to arrange to purchase work. Everything will be listed for under $100. 

Digital Tools for Artists to Run a Remote Career During Coronavirus

Artwork Archive has a GREAT list of tools for Video-Conferencing, Tools for Selling Artwork Online, Tools to run your art business, Tools to help you stay productive, Tools for tackling social media, etc.

See them all here.

The Cuban cure for Corona Virus

More Financial Aid during Wuhan Times...

As the Wuhan Virus spreads - if you need help: Seek help!

The Artists’ Fellowship provides emergency aid to professional fine artists and their families in times of sickness, natural disaster, bereavement or unexpected extreme hardship. 

The organization defines eligibility to “Professional” is defined as those visual artists who make their livelihood through sales as reported on a Schedule C with a U.S. Federal tax return. An active exhibition history is also an important part of documenting “professional.” You can find the application here.

Financial Relief Resources for Artists During Wuhan Virus COVID-19 Times

List of Emergency Grants for Artists here.

Don't be a hero - if you need help.... seek help!

1981 Frida Kahlo litho at auction!

This 1981 proof just showed up for auction at an auction house in Florida - as I recall, I did this work for portrait class at the School of Art at the University of Washington... I did it as a lithograph edition of ten, and thus with one work I also got credit for it at Printmaking class! Two birds with one stone!

Bid for it here.


#fridakahlo

Financial Aid for Artists

The Sustainable Arts Foundation awards supporting artists and writers with families with up to $6,000 - Check them out here.

Share Your Story

Artwork Archive wants to know more about your experiences and how the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted your work and art business. Their aim is to create a sense of online community by sharing stories and inspiration about how we as artists are dealing with the changing world around us during this time. 

Share here.

Fun with Alan Alda

Evidence of Time Travel!!!

What is Andy Garcia doing in the background of this very early photo of the Cuban tyrant and mass murderer Fidel Castro? When this photo was taken, Garcia was four years old!

Cough... cough....

Need help? Seek help (for artists)

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation partnered to offer a new medical emergency aid program for artists. The one-time Rauschenberg Emergency Grants will provide visual and media artists and choreographers with up to $5,000 to cover a number of unforeseen medical expenses. 

There is no deadline; applications will be accepted and reviewed by the panel on a monthly basis beginning in late May/early June 2020. 

Info here.

Help for artists in need

Need Assistance? Seek help!

The Haven Foundation provides financial assistance up to  $10,000 to artists who have a health crisis; grants are one-year, and the financial amount provided is to the discretion of the Foundation. Grants can be renewed up to four more years, with a supplemental application. Read the guidelines for application here.

Financial Help for Artists

As the Wuhan Virus spreads - if you need help: Seek help!

Colorado-based Artists' Charitable Fund assists American visual fine artists (painters and sculptors) living anywhere in the United States by paying a portion of their medical/dental/eye-care bills. For example, the Fund has purchased a wheelchair, paid for eye surgery, provided funding for an artificial leg, paid partial medical expenses of several artists who have cancer, as well as other needs for medical assistance. 

Call for Art – Mythos

Deadline: April 26, 2020

Exhibition Dates: August 1 – September 13, 2020. 
Reception Date: Friday, August 7, 2020 • 7-9pm • Gallery Talk at 8pm. 
Juror: Dr. Michele Greet, professor of modern Latin American art at George Mason University and director of the Art History program. 

Target Gallery invites artists working in all visual media to apply to Mythos, an all- media group exhibition that presents work by artists who illustrate contemporary interpretations of mythology, folklore, and legends. This exhibition takes the symbolism and allegory of mythology and recontextualizes them in terms of current perspectives. 

Apply Now: https://torpedofactoryartcenter.submittable.com/submit/161279/mythos-at-target-gallery  

See Prospectus at: http://torpedofactory.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mythos-Prospectus.pdf 
 

Call for Solo Exhibitions 2021

Deadline: April 5, 2020

VisArts invites artists working in all media to apply for 2021 Solo Exhibitions in the Gibbs Street Gallery, Common Ground Gallery, and Concourse Gallery. 

Exhibitions in each of the galleries explore the breadth of contemporary art featuring emerging to mid-career artists. Exhibits reflect a wide range of media and experimental approaches that offer the viewer unexpected interactions with art. 

The Gibbs Street Gallery is approximately 1,100 square feet with 16 ft. ceilings. It is on the street level with floor to ceiling windows along one wall. International, national and local artists are welcome to apply. 

The Common Ground Gallery is located on the second floor and is approximately 300 square feet. Artists must live in the Mid-Atlantic region to apply for a solo exhibition in this gallery. 

The Concourse Gallery is located on the second floor and is approximately 500 square feet.  It has curved windows along one wall. International, national, and local artists are welcome to apply. 

Applicants who have participated in a solo exhibition at VisArts within the past two years are not eligible to apply. 

All application materials must be submitted online through our website no later than 11:59 pm EST on 04/05/2020. 

Click here to submit: https://visarts.submittable.com/submit/153616/call-for-solo-exhibitions-2021

Nubes Lloronas

The owner of this 1979 painting has it for auction - it is part of my Cuba series from the 1970s.

The words on the island say: "Cachita, si puedes tu con Dios hablar, preguntale si sabe como me duele el alma, al sentir las nubes llorar... Llenas de tristeza, cuando sobre mi pasan al viajar..." which in Spanish means: "Cachita, if you can talk to God, ask Him if he knows how my soul aches when I feel the clouds cry... Full of sorrow, when over me they pass in their travels..." Cachita is the Cuban nickname for the Virgin of the Charity of El Cobre, the patron saint of Cuba.

See it here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/303508749926

Isla Abandonada

Artwork finds its way to a home 39 years later - this 1979 work done at the University of Washington School of Art in Seattle in 1979 is now heading to a loving collector in Hialeah, Florida!

"Isla Abandonada (Abandoned Island)"
Oil and Acrylic on Gessoed Board, 8x10 inches, c.1979

Call for artists

APPLICATION OPEN FOR JEWISH VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION CURATED BY ORI SOLTES

Application is live for artists to submit for inclusion in a visual arts exhibition considering the issue of Authenticity and Identity. What makes a work of art Jewish? What makes an artist Jewish? Any artwork relevant to the topic may be included. 

The exhibition will be held at Adas Israel Congregation, curated by Ori Z. Soltes.

Curator Ori Z. Soltes is a professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University. The former director and curator of the B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum he is co-founder of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project and author of numerous books and articles including Tradition and Transformation: Three Millennia of Jewish Art & Architecture; Fixing the World: Jewish American Painters in the Twentieth Century; and The Ashen Rainbow: the Arts and the Holocaust. The exhibition is directed by Robert Bettmann.

View the online submission at: https://authenticityandidentity.submittable.com/submit

The exhibition will be on display May 6 – June 2, 2020

Submission is free.

Artwork of any type may be submitted for consideration, including paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, digital media, sculpture, and more.

Artists may submit more than one item for inclusion, up to 4 pieces.

Artwork does not have to be newly created to be submitted.

Artists, collectors, gallerists, and estates, may submit artwork for consideration.

Selected artwork must be delivered to the site ready for hang, and picked up promptly post-exhibition.

The exhibition will occur at Adas Israel Congregation in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington D.C., 2850 Quebec Street NW DC.

The application period opens February 10 and will close March 20, 2020.

Selected artists/artwork will be notified by April 10, 2020.

The exhibition is produced in a partnership between Adas Israel Congregation and the Jewish Artists of the National Capital Region and through funding from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Adas Israel Congregation is the nation’s largest conservative synagogue, a vibrant, dynamic, multi-generational community that offers access to Jewish life for people of all backgrounds. For almost 150 years Adas Israel Congregation has been a flagship synagogue in American Jewish life and that tradition of leadership and excellence continues. The Jewish Artists of the National Capital Region is a community of area artists working to enhance the capacity of Jewish artwork to inform, inspire, and educate, and is supported in part by Hazon’s Hakhel Intentional Community incubator program.

Bummerooni!

Dear Local Writer,

On behalf of the Bethesda Urban Partnership and the 2020 Essay Contest jury, I would like to thank you for entering 2020 Bethesda Essay Contest. Our jurors truly enjoyed the opportunity to read work from a vast selection of area writers.

We received over 200 entries and while we appreciate your writing, your work was not selected. We thank you for your interest and hope you will consider applying to next year’s Essay, Short Story and Poetry competitions when a new panel of judges will select the winners.

If you’d like to join us to hear some of the winning essays and short stories read aloud, the Awards Ceremony & Reception will be held on Friday, April 17th at The Writer’s Center at 7pm. The Writer’s Center is located at 4508 Walsh Street in Bethesda, MD. 

Thank you again for sharing your work. We wish you the best of luck in your writing.

The Last Frida?

Wondering if this will be my last Frida in my 45-year-old love affair with her image?

"The Incantation of Frida Kahlo" by F. Lennox Campello
Charcoal and conte on paper 20x24 inches, c. 2020

This work will be at the Art on Paper fair which opens in New York on Thursday!

Art on Paper fair

The New York art fair Art on Paper is this week. 

We are in booth E23 - featuring the works of the uber talented Judith Peck, Sheila Giolitti, Mark Langley and yours truly! VIP preview is Thursday, March 5, 2020 6:00pm to 10:00pm!

Public Fair Hours
Friday, March 6
11:00am to 7:00pm
Saturday, March 7
11:00am to 7:00pm
Sunday, March 8

12:00pm to 6:00pm

Nubes Lloronas

The owner of this 1978 painting from my Cuba series would like to sell it - send me a note if anyone is interested - otherwise it is heading to auction.

I did this piece in my sophomore year at the School of Art at the University of Washington in Seattle. The written words on the island say: "Cachita, si puedes tu con Dios hablar, preguntale si sabe como me duele el alma, al sentir las nubes llorar... Llenas todas de tristeza... cuando sobre mi pasan al viajar..."

"Cachita" is what Cubans call the Virgin of the Charity of El Cobre, the patron saint of Cuba.  It translates to: "Cachita, if you can talk to God, ask Him if He knows how my soul aches when I feel the clouds cry... All full of sadness... when they pass over me..."

"Nubes Lloronas" (Crying Clouds)
27.5 x 37.25 inches, oil on board, c.1978

The Coronavirulization of America

As we prepare for the end of the world as we enter The Covidian Age, let me share what a Navy Chief told a bunch of us boot sailors as we reported to our first ship.

"Never forget," he said, "the first thing that a ship runs out of in times of war is shitpaper and then rags."