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Tuesday, May 09, 2023
Spring Classes at the Washington Glass School
Monday, May 08, 2023
FY 2024 Art Bank Program Workshop - tomorrow
FY 2024 Art Bank ProgramWorkshop10 to 11:30 am, Wednesday, May 10In support of local visual artists, District art galleries, and District art nonprofit organizations, CAH acquires fine art from metropolitan artists to grow the Art Bank Collection. Artwork in the collection is managed by CAH and loaned to District Government agencies for display in public areas and offices of government buildings. The Art Bank Collection, which started in 1986, has nearly 3,000 artworks. CAH conducts free workshops for participants to learn useful information about the agency’s funding opportunities and how to submit a grant application. All workshops are delivered virtually. Participants are strongly encouraged to attend this FY 24 ABP Grant Workshop. |
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Please be advised that this workshop will include live real-time captioning via Webex. |
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Sunday, May 07, 2023
Maryland Arts Directory Triennial Exhibition
Press release from MAP about this terrific Maryland artists exhibition:
In celebration of the talented and diverse array of artists across the state, the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) and Maryland Art Place (MAP) are pleased to present the third Maryland Arts Directory exhibition this month. Held Thursday, May 18 at 6pm, the triennial event will focus on visual artworks, literary works, and performers in the ever growing Maryland Arts Directory, and will be held in tandem with the Bromo Arts & Entertainment District Spring Art Walk.
Maintained by MAP for more than 25 years, the Maryland Arts Directory originated as a regional resource conceived by MSAC. Curators, collectors, and patrons could physically visit MAP to review new visual artworks using slides. As time went by, slides became outdated and an official online resource was created to make access to artworks much more accessible.
The Directory is a free online platform that showcases the high-caliber, diverse, and relevant work of Maryland’s artists and arts organizations and promotes the vitality of Maryland’s arts communities. Collectively, MSAC and MAP aim to present a comprehensive survey of Maryland artists for the Triennial exhibition.
"We are excited to collaborate with MAP and work with these jurors to showcase the breadth and depth of the work of Maryland's artists," said MSAC Executive Director Steven Skerritt-Davis. "The Directory as an online resource is invaluable, and having the chance to experience participating artists' work in person is sure to be inspiring"
This year’s roster of talented jurors includes: Jayme McLellan (visual art) - Founder and Director of Civilian Art Projects; José Ruiz (visual art) – Director and Faculty, Curatorial Practices Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art; Rahne Alexander (performance) – intermedia artist, writer and editor; and Gerry LaFemina (literary) – acclaimed poet, writer, professor and critic.
And all of you who have read this blog for the past 20 years know, I always advise that artists must have thick skins!
I applied for this exhibition, but was not accepted. This is part of the journey of being an artist!
Here's my rejection note, forever preserved!
Hello,
Thank you for your submission to the MSAC Arts Directory Triennial Exhibition.
We received an overwhelming response. Unfortunately, your work was not selected for this exhibition opportunity. Due to the number of applications, we had to be very selective. Please know this was a tough decision based on capacity and not artist merit. We hope you will continue applying for future opportunities with Maryland Art Place and MSAC. It was an honor and a privilege to review your work. Thank you for all you do as a Maryland creative!
Warmly,
MAP staff
Saturday, May 06, 2023
Annual Student Exhibition at Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus
The King Street Gallery presents the annual Student Exhibition featuring the work of Montgomery College students from the Department of the Visual and Performing Arts at Takoma Park, Silver Spring Campus. The exhibition will be on display from May 18th through September 8th, 2023.
King Street Gallery is open late on May 18th from 5 PM to 7:30 PM for the exhibition opening. This event is located at the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center. This exhibition is free and open to the public. For more information, visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MCVPA
The exhibition features artworks made by Art & Design students over the past year and includes work from courses in 2D Design, 3D Design, Ceramics, Craft, Drawing, Graphic Design, Illustration, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture.
Throughout the year, Montgomery College art students have worked hard to accomplish a variety of artwork that will make this year’s show something not to miss. Please join them to celebrate the student body's creativity.
Friday, May 05, 2023
Carroll County Arts Council looking for artists
Carroll County Arts Council looking for artists to display in both of their galleries for the 2024 season. The goal of this call is to introduce new artists and artwork to the community. They believe in artistic collaboration, so there will be no solo shows. Instead, artists who apply and are chosen will be paired with other artists to create a variety of exhibitions.
Click here for more information about the galleries and to apply.
Thursday, May 04, 2023
Legacy: A Conversation with Aesthetic Innovators
Have you ever thought about extending your legacy through something other than the work you make for yourself? Three woodworking artists, Margery Goldberg, Lynda Smith-Bügge, and Joe Largess have harnessed their knowledge of craft and arts organization to teach carpentry to a new generation.
Learn how these aesthetic innovators built a vibrant mobile woodshop from scratch. Devising a program as comprehensive as Zenith Community Arts Foundation required vision, networking, institutional knowledge, grant writing expertise, proficiency in carpentry, and enough educational savvy to transfer its aspirations to its participants. These skills are highly transferable to other areas and can enlarge our footprint in an art world where finding multiple ways to plug-in opens more doors.
Space is Limited, Registration Required - Click HERE to Register
Wednesday, May 03, 2023
Proposal: Women Artists of the DMV
Awrighty... I've got two of the three venues lined up + a tentative book deal for my idea to curate a massive three-space "Women Artists of the DMV" exhibition... just finished submitting the below proposal to the Alper Initiative gods at the Katzen.
Fingers crossed now! And oh yeah!
Proposal: Women Artists of the DMV
According to the research done by the Washington City Paper in 2017, the term “DMV”, which is used to refer to the District, Maryland and Virginia first appeared in a DC ART NEWS blog post that I wrote in 2003 – And yes! I therefore 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 and 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. By the same logic and path, the artwork created by these fertile minds examine every possible corner of the visual arts genres and creative corners.
Celebrating this art scene, which spreads across the three areas that make up the DMV, I propose to curate an exhibition of 100 works by 100 women artists comprised of both leading and established female artists plus talented emerging contemporary female visual artists who represent the tens of thousands of women artists working in this culturally and ethnically diverse region in order to assemble a group show to showcase the immense power of the visual arts being created by these artists.
Let me repeat myself: Equally diverse as the artists, are the artistic styles and media you will see in this curated exhibition, the first of its kind for the capital area.
With 100 works of art potentially available for curatorial selection, this exhibition will offer a primer for both the experienced art eye and the beginning art aficionado, highlighting a selection of talented artists who usually deserve more attention on a local, regional and national scale.
100 works of art take a lot of exhibition space, and thus this curated exhibition could either be:
(a) Fully staged at the Katzen or;
(b) Would be concurrently spread across three separate venues in the DMV: At the Katzen in the District, one non-profit in Northern Virginia and one independent gallery in Maryland.
i. For Northern Virginia I have obtained an approval for the exhibition from The Athenaeum in Alexandria.
ii. For Maryland, I have obtained an approval for the exhibition from The Artists & Makers Gallery complex in Rockville.
I have the experience to curate a large, multi-space art survey exhibition. In 2007 I curated “Seven”, a seven-gallery exhibition in the District that surveyed the thousands of artist members of the Washington Project for the Arts (WPA). Over 6500 slides (remember slides?) were reviewed and a couple of hundred artists selected for the multi-gallery show, which received multiple reviews in the press, both local and national. In 2001 I curated “Contemporary Realism: A Survey of Washington Area Realists” for the Athenaeum in Alexandria – another show that exhibited over 60 artists and received wide reviews in the regional and national press. Those are just two of hundreds of curated shows since 1996.
My curatorial process for this large proposal will also involve “community input”, as I intend to approach the DMV artistic community to be able to propose up to 15 of the 100 final artists.
I also have ample experience running this “community input” process, as in 2011 I authored the book 100 Artists of Washington, DC (published by Schiffer Press), which in part included “community input” to ensure that the diversity of the 100 artists – both in style, age, genres, etc. – was truly representational of the Greater DC area.
Lastly, I have a tentative “yes” to a book proposal focused on this exhibition to be published by Schiffer Press. If the three-space exhibition moves forward, then the book moves forward.
I understand that a significant lead time is needed by American University to schedule approved Alper shows, and stand ready, willing and able to tackle this opportunity, regardless of the time frame.
Finally, I have started the tentative process of getting artists’ commitments to the exhibition, with the goal of aligning the leading female artists of the region to help “move” this proposal and so far have obtained enthusiastic “yes” from Margaret Boozer, Lisa Montag Brotman, Shanti Chandra Sekar, Irene Clouthier, Rosemary Feit-Covey, Claudia Gibson-Hunter, Carol Brown Goldberg, Janis Goodman, Muriel Hasbun, Melissa Ichiuji, Akemi Maegawa, Joey Manlapaz, Anne Marchand, Jody Mussoff. Teresa Oaxaca, Amber Robles-Gordon, Renee Stout, Helen Zughaib and 60+ other DMV female artists.
Let’s go!
Tuesday, May 02, 2023
Monday, May 01, 2023
Aaron Myers is the new DC Art Commission's Executive Director
From The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH):
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) is thrilled to announce the appointment of Aaron Myers as our new Executive Director. Myers, a renowned jazz vocalist, pianist, educator, and activist, brings a wealth of experience in the arts and a passion for community engagement to his new role. Myers was nominated for appointment by the Commission in February 2023 following an extensive four-month search. The Council of the District of Columbia voted unanimously to confirm his appointment at today’s legislative meeting.
As a DC-based artist, Myers has a deep understanding of the city's cultural landscape and its diverse communities. He has been an active member of the DC arts community for over a decade, serving as the Artist-in-Residence at the Black Fox Lounge, Mr. Henry’s Restaurant, The Eaton and performing at venues across the city. He is the founding Board Chair of the Capitol Hill Jazz Foundation, serves on the Board of Governors of the DC Recording Academy and has been recognized for his work in arts education.
In addition to his extensive background in the arts, Myers is known for his advocacy for social justice and community engagement. He has served as a community organizer and principle organizer of the DMV Music Stakeholders, a grassroots effort to center relief and resources for members of the music community impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Executive Committee of the DC Branch of the NAACP.
As Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Myers will oversee the agency's efforts to support and promote the arts in the District of Columbia. This includes managing grant programs, public art installations, and cultural events that celebrate the city's vibrant arts scene.
"We are excited to welcome Aaron Myers as the new Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Aaron's passion for the arts and commitment to community engagement make him the ideal person to lead the Commission in its mission to support and promote the arts in the District of Columbia. We look forward to working with him to build a more vibrant and inclusive arts ecosystem in our city,” said Reggie Van Lee, Chair of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
“I am excited to be given the opportunity to serve this community, in this capacity, at this moment, and I thank Chair Van Lee and the commissioners and staff, as well as Chairman Phil Mendelson and the Council for their confidence and support. I look forward to working together, along with Mayor Muriel Bowser, to meet the moment for our creatives, and to truly reinforce to the world that DC is the District of Creatives, the Creative Capital of this Country,” said Aaron Myers, Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Myers began working as Acting Executive Director on March 27, 2023. With today’s confirmation vote by the DC Council, he immediately assumes the role as Executive Director. The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities looks forward to the energy and vision that Myers will bring to this important role.
