Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: November 12, 2010

Gallery West in Old Town Alexandria has a call for artists for their 14th Annual National Juried Show (Exhibit Dates: February 9–March 6, 2011).

The all media show will be juried by yours truly and awards to total $1,000. Click here to download the prospectus.

E. Carmen Ramos is new SAAM Curator for Latino Art

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has appointed E. Carmen Ramos as its curator for Latino art. Ramos will be responsible for acquiring artworks for the museum’s permanent collection and producing a major exhibition and catalog based on the museum’s Latino holdings for fall 2013. She begins work on Oct. 12.

“I am thrilled that E. Carmen Ramos is bringing her expertise and insights here to help us feature Latino artists who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into vivid artworks,” said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “These stories are culturally specific, but also American and universal.”

I'm a little confused by Ms. Broun's comment. It seems to set a niche for what Latino artwork will be collected, specifically those "who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into vivid artworks."

As I've discussed many times in this blog and many other places before, I am not a big fan of segregating artists by race, or as in this case, by ethnicity.

And if I understand the current meaning of "Latino" these days, it attempts to define people of ancestry links to one of the Latin American nations south of the border and in the Caribbean, while excluding all the nations of British, Dutch or French colonial ancestry (even though the French are technically "Latins"). I'm still a little confused if a "Latino" is an American with Latin American ancestry, or if it also includes people from those Latin American nations. In other words, are Uruguayans "Latinos" or Uruguayans, or both? Certainly Spaniards, Portuguese and Italians (who make up most of Argentina) are not Latinos, since they're Europeans, right?

This is a silly label which falls apart very quickly when truly examined, and actually reveals the huge cultural ignorance that we have about what constitutes and makes up ethnicity and race as opposed to nationality. So if you're born in a Latin American nation, then you're a Latino under this uniquely American ethnic label.

Never mind if your parents were born in Japan and immigrated to some South American nation (there are more Japanese immigrants in South America than in the US), or born in Wales and immigrated to Argentina (there are more people of Welsh ancestry in Argentina than in Wales). Or my personal favorite, the millions of Native American tribes, who find themselves labeled as "Latinos" in the US instead of Maya, or Inca, or whatever Native American nation they belong to.

But that's another issue.

Back to collecting "Latino artists who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into vivid artworks."

I'm pretty sure that Ms. Broun didn't really mean it the way that this came out, but to me it shows an immensely limited view or expectation of the artwork produced by we have labeled in this nation as "Latino" artists. As a stroll through any major Latin American museum reveals to the most casual observer (just like any museum in Europe or the US) Latin American artists explore all sorts of things for the inspiration for their work, and not all deliver "vivid artworks" and not all use their "personal experiences and cultural heritage" as a driver for their artwork, at least all the time.

Not all Latino artists are Frida Kahloesque in their artwork, and certainly not all Latino artwork is "culturally specific." I'm having a hard time finding a personal experience, or cultural heritage, or even any vividity in the work of (for example) Guillermo Kuitca (soon coming to the Hirshhorn - October 21, 2010 to January 16, 2011).

I know I am being pedantic, but statements like this do reach a niche in my consciousness that tend to bug me more than they should. It is driven by a firm belief that museums should collect artwork based on the merit of the artist and the art, and not on the artist's ethnic, sex or racial background. And I really think that the statement from Ms. Broun have the unintended consequence of revealing a rather galvanized and incorrect view of what drives artists.

I'm not sure if I have made my point clear, as it is a confusing issue. Perhaps the best way to showcase this issue is to pretend that SAAM was hiring a new curator for Nordic art. This would immediately cause some confusion in defining Nordic (as there is confusion in defining Latino). Are Germans Nordic or Teutons? How about Finns? certainly not Laplanders, but they are also Finnish. And Ms. Broun's statement would read:

“I am thrilled that E. Karmen Ramosdottir is bringing her expertise and insights here to help us feature Nordic artists who transform personal experiences and cultural heritage into brooding artworks,” said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “These stories are culturally specific, but also American and universal.”

In any event, F. Lennox Campello welcomes E. Carmen Ramos to the DMV.

Set aside September 23rd!

First Campello gallery exhibition in DC area in 4 years!

Opening on Sept 20 and through Oct. 15 I will be having my first substantial exhibition in the DC area in four years. The show will be at the School of Art & Design at Montgomery College's King Street Gallery, located in the beautiful Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at 930 King Street in the Montgomery College, Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus.

There will be all new drawings in my constant exploration of using the human figure to deliver social, historical, satirical, mythological and political messages. The show also includes work by the immensely talented Johanna Mueller, who was one of my top picks from the last Artomatic and whom I predict will steal the show, as well as Leah Frankel and Leslie Shellow, both of whom are new artists to me.

The show is curated by Dr. Claudia Rousseau and is:

An exhibit of works on paper depicting mythical themes, or themes connoting transformations—mythical, magical or organic.

The exhibit will include prints, drawings and installation works employing paper with wax and other media.

The opening is Thursday, September 23, 5:00 – 7:30 pm. I expect to see all of you there to make me look good...

Happy Independence Day to El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala

These nations and others in the new world declared independence from the mighty and most ancient Kingdom of Spain on this day in 1821.

Opportunity for DMV Artists

Deadline: October 30, 2010

The BlackRock Center for the Arts has a huge gorgeous gallery space and their call for artists for the 2011 art season is now up.

The 2011 Call to Artists is open to all artists residing in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC over the age of 18 for original artwork only. This call will cover exhibits in the gallery from October 2011 through August 2012. An exhibit may include on applicant or a combination of applicants, based on the judgement of jurors. The jury panel is comprised of Kathleen Moran, Jack Rasmussen and yours truly.

Details here.

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

Counterpoint, an exhibition of 35 paintings by Lynn Rybicki and 15 paintings by Matthew Langley, is currently on display at the U.S. District Courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, from August 6 through October 29.

A reception to meet the artists will take place on September 16, from 5-6:30 p.m., at the courthouse, 6500 Cherrywood Lane, Greenbelt, MD.

Rybicki, a Baltimore artist, paints lyrical abstractions based on the landscape, while Langley, now based in New York, and formerly in Washington, DC, organizes shapes and colors around the structure of the grid.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: October 17, 2010

The Greater Reston Arts Center is requesting proposals for solo and/or group exhibitions for periods of approximately 4-6 weeks during the 2012 season.

GRACE's gallery is one of the most beautiful and flexible contemporary art spaces in the metropolitan area. With moveable walls and an open, hexagonal floor plan, the space is reconfigured for each show.

New this year - proposals will be accepted from artists living or working in a wider geographic area: Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia.

Deadline October 17, 2010

All proposals for exhibitions at the Greater Reston Arts Center must be submitted online through this this website.

What's up with Scope?

The artsphere seems to be ripe with all kinds of issues dealing what has been described as a "free fall" by the once mighty Scope Art Fair.

Art Fag City earlier reported on the complains (and astounding responses to them) by exhibitors at Scope Basel, and Scope also canceled its recent Scope Hamptons fair.

Last year I also heard a lot of grumbling from some of the exhibitors at Scope Miami, and at least one gallery told me that they wouldn't come back as they've found that some of the "lesser known" satellite fairs were doing equally well (or bad) for them for less money and hassle.

Clearly the economy, plus the end of the good times when all you had to do was show up at an art fair and watch the art fly off the walls, perhaps coupled with Scope still obsessed in showing some of the truly infantile work that was cool a few years ago but these days doesn't cut the mustard for sales, may all add up to why this once mighty fair may be suffering.

It takes a lot to build a good reputation for an art fair, but only a couple of reports like this one or this one, for blood to hit the water and the sharks begin to circle.

Paradoxically, there will still be more than 20 art fairs in Miami this coming December, and some fairs (such as Art Miami, the dean of all Miami fairs) seem to be doing well and have become increasingly difficult (for galleries) to get in.

This year four Miami art fairs will share the same block area in Wynwood: Scope, Art Miami, Red Dot and Art Asia. Their huge tents will be side by side, and if their directors truly wanted to make sure that visitors to the fair get their bang for the buck, they'd honor an entry pass to any fair at all fairs. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and until the economy bounces back and people start buying art again, the huge fees and costs associated with doing an art fair justify trying everything and anything to increase foot traffic in the hope that sales will accompany some of the feet.

Airborne


Heading to the Left Coast... more later.

Cover

Just received the draft cover for my 100 Washington Artists book. The publisher declined my suggestion of one art image on the cover and instead is opting for a collage of thumbnails of artists' portraits of their choosing.

Just to save me some headaches in future policing of the book, I asked them to replace two portraits that they had chosen with portraits of other artists, also of their choosing. Every cause has an effect.

Wanna go to a Chevy Chase opening this week?

Celebrating the coming of fall, Zenith Gallery will present "Autumn Equinox" at Chevy Chase Pavilion, featuring artists that are both new to Zenith, and those popular among the gallery’s clients and patrons. The show of sculpture, painting and three-dimensional media works will open with a Meet the Artists Reception on Wednesday, September 15, 6 – 8 PM, and remain on display through November 28.

The show includes work by Rosetta DeBerardinis, Joan Konkel, Barbara Liotta, Carol Newmyer, Anita Philyaw, Ellen Sinel, Paula Stern, Joyce Wellman and Paul Martin Wolff.

Wanna go to an opening this week?

At Gateway this week

The Gateway Gallery and Gift Shop, is hosting its first event, the Fruit of the Vine exhibit from September 8 through October 3. The exhibit features work inspired by wine, grapes and vineyards, in a variety of media including painting, sculpture, photography, pottery, wood turning, pewter, fiberarts and jewelry.

The public is invited to a “Meet the Artists” reception at the gallery Friday September 17 from 6 pm to 9 pm, to chat with the artists about their work and enjoy refreshments. The Gateway Gallery is a new artists’ cooperative showcasing the work of thirty local artists. The gallery is located in Round Hill, Virginia in a bright and inviting space in the renovated Hill High Orchard Building, just west of Round Hill on Route 7 and next door to the Round Hill Arts Center, the Bogati Bodega Winery and the Hill High Country Store and Pie Shop. The Gateway Gallery is open Wednesdays through Sundays and holiday Mondays from 11am to 6 pm. More information is available at www.thegatewaygallery.com.

Wanna go to an opening this week?

The Brentwood Arts Exchange at the Gateway Arts Center has Intersecciones Culturales: Voces de America Latina y el Caribe / Cultural Crossroads: Voices from Latin America and the Caribbean, an exhibition featuring artwork by Felix Angel, Joan Belmar, Amber Robles-Gordon, and Rafael Corzo. Curated by Carmen Toruella-Quander, and assisted by Ricardo Penuela-Pava.

Dates: September 15 - October 15, 2010.
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 18. 5:00 - 8:00pm

Shame on TSU

Two murals painted by a Texas Southern University student 40 years ago were ordered destroyed by school President John Rudley, who disagreed with the university museum director's opinion that the artworks' historical significance made them worth saving.

Workers used white paint last week to cover the murals painted by Harvey Johnson, who retired from TSU in 2007 after 34 years as a professor.

Read the story from the Chron.com here. "... the school had lost two significant pieces of artwork, said Alvia J. Wardlaw, art history professor and university museum director."

Lest We Forget

"Studio View, 9/11"
Oil on Canvas c. 9/11/2001 by David FeBland

Wanna go to an opening tomorrow?

Conner Contemporary Art has three concurrent solo exhibitions featuring a sculptural installation and opening night performance by John Kirchner, a new cycle of oil paintings by John Stark and recent video by Susan MacWilliam. The opening reception + performance is Saturday, September 11th from 6-8pm.

Tomorrow: Do The Art Bus

In celebration of the opening of the 2010 fall art season, three of the DMV's gallery art destinations will be connected by the ART BUS for a ton of gallery openings on Saturday, September 11, 2010.

Free Shuttle service will be provided between Logan Circle, U Street, & the H Street/Atlas District, sponsored by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.

• 1515 14th Street NW bus stop servicing:
Adamson Gallery, 6:30 - 8:30, 1515 14th Street NW
Curators Office, 6 - 8, 1515 14th Street NW
HEMPHILL, 6:30 – 8:30, 1515 14th Street NW
Gallery Plan b, 6 - 8, 1530 14th Street, NW
Irvine Contemporary 6 - 8, 1412 14th Street NW

• 1353 U Street NW bus stop servicing:
Morton Fine Arts, 6:30 – 8:30, 1781 Florida Ave, NW (between 18th and U St.)
Project 4 Gallery, 6:30 – 8:30, 1353 U Street NW

• 1358 Florida Avenue NE, bus stop servicing:
City Gallery, 6-9, 804 H St NE, 2nd Fl
Conner Contemporary, 6-8, 1358 Florida Avenue NE
Industry Gallery, 6-8, 1358 Florida Avenue NE, 2nd Fl
G Fine Art, 6:30-8:30, 1350 Florida Avenue NE

Jobs in the Arts

Associate Producer—Literary Management

Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), a non-profit organization dedicated to making space for art, is accepting applications for the position of Source Festival Associate Producer—Literary Management. This part-time contract position collaborates with the Source Festival team to present a three- week Festival of new work. This position reports to the Director of Performing Arts.

Responsibilities

* Recruit and coordinate readers for Source Festival 10-Minute Plays & Full-Length Plays;
* Coordinate 10-minute play selection process including responding to all inquiries, collecting & tracking submissions;
* Manage relationships with playwrights, facilitate communication between playwrights & directors;
* Manage playwright hospitality for Full-Length Play Workshop Weekend and visiting playwrights during the Festival;

· Collaborate with Festival Producer & Production Manager to produce10-Minute Plays

* Support Creative Communities Fund selection committee by reading applications and weighing in prior to committee meeting;

* Recruit Front of House staff;
* Coordinate Front of House during Source Festival (June 11-July 3, 2011);
* Assist in execution of major Pre-Festival Events, Full-Length Play workshop weekend, First-Reads, Artistic Blind Date Check-ins, 10-Min Play Designer Runs, etc.; and
* Support general festival administration as needed.

Requirements

* Bachelor’s degree;
* Minimum of one year producing experience in commercial or non-profit performing arts organizations;
* Experience with contracts, casting, dramaturgy & working with artists;
* Superb writing, customer service and organizational skills, plus excellent computer skills;
* Flexible work schedule including some weekday, evenings and weekends; and
* Comfort in a cooperative environment that supports a broad range of artistic, cultural and social points of view.

Compensation: Fixed Fee Contract

Closing Date: September 28, 2010

How to apply:

To apply, submit a resume with cover letter to:

Cultural Development Corporation
Attn: Associate Producer Search
916 G Street NW | Washington, DC 20001
hr@culturaldc.org
F 202.315.1303


Associate Producer—Casting

Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), a non-profit organization dedicated to making space for art, is accepting applications for the position of Source Festival Associate Producer—Casting. This part-time contract position collaborates with the Source Festival production team to present a three-week Festival of new work. This position reports to the Director of Performing Arts.

Responsibilities

* Manage casting for 18 10-Minute plays & three full-length plays including Full-Length Play Workshop Weekend;

· Attend LOWT Auditions & Non-Equity Auditions;

· Support Creative Communities Fund selection committee by reading applications and weighing in prior to committee meeting;

· Collaborate with Festival Producer & Production Manager to produce Artistic Blind Dates

* Assist in execution of Major Pre-Festival Events, Full-Length Play Workshop Weekend, First-Reads, ABD Check-ins, 10-Min Play Designer Runs, etc;

* Assist with recruiting Front of House staff; and

· Support general festival administration as needed.

Requirements

* Bachelor’s degree;
* Minimum of one year producing experience in commercial or non-profit performing arts organizations;
* Experience with contracts, casting, dramaturgy & working with artists;
* Superb writing, customer service and organizational skills, plus excellent computer skills;
* Flexible work schedule, including some weekdays, evening and weekend hours; and
* Comfort in a cooperative environment that supports a broad range of artistic, cultural and social points of view.

Compensation: Fixed Fee Contract

Closing Date: September 28, 2010

How to apply:

To apply, submit a resume with cover letter to:

Cultural Development Corporation
Attn: Associate Producer Search
916 G Street NW | Washington, DC 20001
hr@culturaldc.org
F 202.315.1303

Jury Duty

Yesterday I had the privilege and honor to jury the monthly show at the Art League in Alexandria. There were more than 700 entries!

This is always a tough job, as the Art League has so many talented members. It is always also a discovery for me, and what I did discover in this task was the amazing work of the Best of Show winner, Wendy Donahoe.

To say that the work is breath-taking in not only its technical facility, but also its ability to grasp a psychological moment from the subject, would be an understatement. More on all of this later when I have images and websites from the award winners.

The opening is tonight from 6:30 to 8:30pm with awards around 7:30pm. You can see the award winners and others here.