$25K painting competition

Canton, OH is the birthplace of the NFL. ArtsinStark, the County Arts Council, invites any professional artist living in America to submit concept for a $25,000 commission to create a painting celebrating the fact that in 1946 --- a full year before Jackie Robinson began playing professional baseball ---- 4 African American football players brought about the permanent reintegration of pro football: Marion Motley, Bill Willis, Woody Strode, and Kenny Washington.

This call is just for a concept for the painting.

The artist selected in May will receive $25,000 to create the painting. ArtsinStark will display the painting, and also use the image to celebrate this important historical moment in other forms, including making it into a large mural for the Canton Arts District as part of The ELEVEN project. Details of call at www.artsinstark.com/91 Go to www.CallForEntry.org to submit concept by May 6. See trailer for “Forgotten Four”

Free Parking: Salon-Style Conversation at the Alper!‏

May 5th

5:30-7:00 pm

Join the Alper for the second session of Free Parking, a series of salon-style conversations in the Alper Initiative for Washington Art. It could get rowdy as we review the life and art of musicians in the 70s and 80s DC Punk and New Wave music scenes. Special guests Bill Warrell and Michael Olshonsky.

This event is free and open to anyone interested in discussing the art and artists of the Washington Metropolitan area. Space is limited.

 RSVP is required.

More Info

Wanna go to a cool panel + closing party this Saturday?

Come talk to the critics and meet the artist for the closing of 'The Critiqued' at The Otis Street Art Project.

We are honored to have our distinguished critics F. Lennox Campello, Adah Rose Bitterbaum, Michael O’Sullivan to return. We will revisit common artistic issues discussed throughout the year and the critiqued experience.

Doors open at 6pm
Panel 6:30-7:30pm
Party 7:30-8:30pm

Exhibiting Artists:
Zofie Lang
Christian Tribastone
Ceci Cole McInturff
Amy Hughes Braden
Jose Fernandez
Alexandra Silverthorne
Fallon Chase
Amber Robles-Gordon
Joan Belmar
Katie Pumphrey
Steven Durow
Jacqui Crocetta
Stephanie Booth

If you have not seen this show yet it's a must see. They are open Saturdays 12-5, Tue-Fri by appointment.

 See the review in the Washington Post here.


Otis Street Arts Project
3706 Otis Street
Mount Rainier, MD 20712
202.550.4634
mailto:Info@OtisStreetArts.org
OtisStreetArts.org

(Re)Invention: Art + Innovation + Disability + Design

Entry Deadline: 6/1/16


First Prize $20,000! A juried exhibition of emerging young artists with disabilities, ages 16-25, showcasing artwork created at the intersection of technology, innovation, and disability. 15 finalists share a total of $60,000 in cash prizes, with a 1st prize of $20,000.

Details here.

The Looking Glass: Artist Immigrants to Washington

The Looking Glass: Artist Immigrants to Washington

June 18–August 14, 2016

Opening Reception: June 18, 6-8PM

 

Naul Oleja, Fleeing From the Storm, 1981

The Alper Initiative for Washington Art presents the work of ten artists who immigrated to Washington, DC from Latin America under duress during the past fifty years, found homes in Washington, and made or are making positive contributions to our artistic culture and quality of life.

 

The exhibition features work by artists:

• Joan Belmar
• Jose Ygnacio Bermudez
• Lenny Campello
• Irene Clouthier
• Juan Downey
• Ric Garcia
• Muriel Hasbun
• Frida Larios
• Carolina Mayorga
• Naul Ojeda

Artists who left their homes in Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, and Uruguay.

 

American University Museum

Tel: 202-885-1300

Fax: 202-885-1140

museum@american.edu

 

4400 Massachusetts Ave NW

Washington, DC 20016

 

Admission Free

Parking Free (weekends)

Tue-Sun, 11:00-4:00

Fully Accessible

See Directions

 

The art of money

The recent decision to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman, like nearly anything in the last few years, seems to have multiple political and social angles and views, depending on where your dogma lies.


The right wing should be rejoicing, as Tubman was a strong supporter of gun rights, and a vibrant activist for the Republican Party.  Jackson, on the other hand, was a Democrat.


As a result, essentially a Republican has replaced a Democrat on the twenty spot... not just any Democrat, but the founder of the Democratic Party!... cough, cough.


Personally, I'm more interested in the art angle aspect of this decision, hoping against all odds that the new Tubman $20 bill will be a bit more "artsy" than existing US money.


While the US dollar is the king of the hill when it comes to money, there's a vast chasm in art appeal in American money from many other countries.


Don't get me wrong, most countries have pretty boring bills, more often than not copying the style of the US dollar. Even the dirty, rotten Commies in Cuba use the "dollar style" here and there, such as in the case of the homophobic, racist, mass murderer Che Guevara three pesos bill:

And OK, the twenty Euro bill doesn't even look like money, but more like a coupon that you get in the mail or a ticket to a soccer game, or 20% discount at AC Moore's.

But before the Euro took over, European denominations were works of art in their diverse and colorful beauty. Check out the beautiful landscape in this Spanish 1000 peseta bill:

Or art!  See how Delacroix and the other figures look like rough drawing sketches from his Liberty Leading the People (La liberté guidant le people) 1830 painting?, not to mention bare tits, on this French 100 francs bill:

We will never see a woman's breasts on any American money - ever!


In Latin America, a few decades ago, most currency bills had the same style as the US dollar - but the introduction of technology to reduce fake bills also brought an opportunity to revamp their bills, and even to introduce women imagery - an interesting accomplishment in these macho societies. My favorite? Frida Kahlo in the Mexican 500 pesos bill. She's on the back, and her husband, the very ugly Diego Rivera, is on the front... cough, cough.

African countries also have gorgeous money, and plenty of females on their currency. Cameroon, in particular, has some beautiful women on their bills, although they seem to have an odd fixation with blue-eyed African women?

And then Costa Rica rocks the animal world with this super cool image of a Great White:



Or this beautiful butterfly:

But to get back on topic (boring US currency design), perhaps the new $20 bill could start by taking baby steps. How about if the image of Tubman breaks the usual compositional plane of the rectangular dollar note? Have Tubman really breaking out of the composition and leading American currency to new design heights?


Nearly all the suggested designs here are boring, although a few do take my suggestion and break the compositional plane.


This image below (via) begins to really re-composition US money, although it stands a snowball's chance in hell to ever be in any bill - but it has the artistic compositional elements that I visualize (breaking the plane of the rectangle).

Baby steps...

Opportunities for Artists

Opportunities 
             

Artists Can Apply to Plein Air Festivals
Plein Air painting is a phrase borrowed from the French meaning "open air” and is used to describe the act of painting outdoors where an artist reproduces the visual conditions at the time of the painting. Maryland is home to a dozen Plein Air festivals. Below are upcoming opportunities for artists to participate:

• 2016 Solomons Plein Air Festival application and prospectus are available now for the September 12-18 event. Applications accepted through April 15. Click here to apply.
• Howard County Arts Council seeks artists to take part in the juried portion of Paint It! Ellicott City 2016. The annual Paint-Out is July 7-10 in Ellicott City. A minimum of $5,000 in total awards go to participating artists. Deadline is April 29. Register here.
• Art League of Ocean City’s 2016 Plein Air event is August 11-14. Registration is open. Artists will take to the boardwalk, streets, harbors, bay and marshes. Register here.
• Harford County Second International Plein Air Art Festival is Oct. 10-15. Click here to find out about future registration dates.

Campello at auction

This gorgeous framed 1999 limited edition print of mine just showed up for sale on the secondary market, and they're taking offers. Check it out here.

Sunbather
Limited Edition Print
Framed to 16x20 inches
c. 1999 by F. Lennox Campello

Scary dude

Florencio Lennox Campello
Self Portrait, c. April 16, 2016

DCCAH Launches FY17 Arts and Humanities Grants

On Thursday, April 14, 2016, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) launched its project and arts and humanities fellowship grant programs for funding in Fiscal Year 2017. Funding opportunities are available for District artists and humanities professionals and non-profit organizations.

"Public funding for the arts and humanities is an investment in our local artists and cultural organizations that actively support and grow our creative economy," said Arthur Espinoza, Jr., Executive Director of DCCAH. "These grant funds will help support a wide range of activities and programs for the benefit of District residents."

Applications for nine different grant programs are currently being accepted, with deadlines to apply beginning May 18, 2016. Grant applications are reviewed by independent panels of arts and humanities professionals and community members who make recommendations to the DCCAH Board of Commissioners.

DCCAH will offer workshops in April and May to provide assistance for applicants. Additionally, applicants may schedule a meeting with a member of the DCCAH grants department for assistance in preparing an application.

For a complete listing of grant programs and guidelines, and to submit an application, visit www.dcarts.dc.gov.

Opportunities

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through its Creative Fellowships program annually supports residencies for writers, composers, and visual artists at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. The visiting artist is provided with a private studio, room and board, and the company of other artists from around the nation, for an intensive period of self-guided creative exploration and development. In addition to sponsorship support, a modest travel subsidy is awarded to the selected artist.

Interested artists in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and West Virginia should apply directly to the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. More information is available here.

The next deadline for applications is May 15, 2016.