Opportunity for Artists with a disability

Deadline: March 11, 2011

VSA, the international organization on arts and disability, announces Shift, an international call for art. Artists ages 18 and older who have a physical, cognitive, or mental disability are invited to apply. Artists are asked to submit up to four artworks of any media that address the theme of Shift – an investigation of a moment of change in one’s life that alters the direction of a person’s path. For more information about how to apply, visit www.vsarts.org/shift. The online application be found on CaFE, www.callforentry.org. Please contact Sonja Cendak, visual arts manager, scendak@vsarts.org with any questions. Selected artwork will be exhibited at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC in June 2011.

Opportunities for Artists

Deadline: Before February 23, 2011

The new Touchstone Gallery has announced membership opportunities as they launch 2011 solos and member exhibitions in their new modern gallery at 901 New York Ave. NW. It's an attractive street-level space in the heart of Washington, DC. They are seeking "excellent artists with a contemporary vision who work in fiber, book as art, video, glass, interactive art and other media."

New Members Benefits: a biennial solo show, one or more pieces on exhibit in each monthly member show, artist bins and gallery website artist pages.

To be considered for one of the limited membership’s available, contact Ksenia Grishkova, Gallery Director, now at info@touchstonegallery.com or 202 347-2787. She'll answer questions and explain their jury process. The next jury of actual works will take place on February 23, 2011.

Touchstone Gallery
901 New York Ave NW
Washington DC 20001
Tel: 202-347-2787
E-mail: info@touchstonegallery.com

Modernizing Picasso

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and The Martin Agency announced yesterday a joint social media effort that brings to life the upcoming exhibition of 176 works from Picasso’s personal collection, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris.

The only east coast venue for the exhibition’s seven-city international tour, VMFA partnered with The Martin Agency to develop a marketing campaign that Picasso fans can see from anywhere, using Facebook, QR codes and Layar applications to drive information about the exclusive exhibition.

The print and out-of-home elements use a portrait of Picasso made entirely of QR codes. When a phone scans the QR image, it is re-directed to a landing page featuring Picasso’s work and an invitation to buy tickets to the exhibition.

“To honor the progressive nature of Picasso’s work, we created art out of modern technology,” said Keith Cartwright, SVP/group creative director at Martin. “Just as Picasso once took found objects – bicycle handlebars, etc. — and brought them together to create works of art, we were able to take something technologically functional, QR codes, and use them as building blocks to create something arresting and beautiful.”

Social media supports the campaign by extending the marketing reach all along the east coast, where multiple out-of-home elements will raise awareness of the exhibition. On the corner of Grand and Wooster streets in New York City, a QR code portrait of Picasso will be painted on the side of a building. In a SoHo neighborhood, as well as in Richmond and Washington, D.C., 22 geo-coordinates will be activated for detection by Layar phone applications. When the Layar application detects the geo-coordinates, augmented reality images from Picasso’s collection will appear on surrounding buildings.

In Philadelphia, an entire storefront and empty store space have been designated as a virtual exhibit, using augmented reality. When scanned using a phone, the QR code on the storefront enables the device to display Picasso’s artwork on the walls inside the space, as if it were the museum itself.

Throughout Richmond, all 33 Starbucks locations will partner with VMFA to promote the exhibition. Each store will display the Picasso QR code on the storefront, and once inside the store, works of art will appear on the walls of Starbucks in a similar fashion to the Philadelphia virtual exhibit. Facebook.com/myVMFA goes live this week with a “Picasso” tab to serve as a home base for the social media technology. Here, art enthusiasts can view Picasso’s works, as well as a Google Map guide to the geo-coordinates laid out in New York, Richmond and D.C.

“The Virginia Museum’s Picasso exhibition is the most ambitious show in the 75-year history of our museum,” VMFA Director Alex Nyerges said. “The occasion of this landmark exhibition is an ideal time to deepen our presence throughout social media. The innovation of the Picasso QR campaign and augmented reality is in keeping with the innovative genius of this master artist and our quest to be on the leading edge of technology for art museums.”

Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris, will be on view from February 19 through May 15, 2011 and is co-organized by the Musée National Picasso, Paris and VMFA.