Tonite is the Bethesda Art Walk from 6-9 PM and we're hosting an opening reception for the second solo show by Tim Tate.

Tim Tate, the 2003 Washington DC Emerging Artist of the Year, is an openly gay artist who has been HIV-positive for over 20 years and who now finds himself as one of the hottest and rapidly rising artists in our region. Read the Washington Post pick here.

Seventeen galleries and shops participate in the Bethesda Art Walk.

See you there!

The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) will hold a workshop on how to prepare an application for Fellowships for Artists and Scholars. This one-hour workshop will be held Thursday, May 6 at 7:00 p.m. at AHCMC, 4405 East West Highway, Suite 401, Bethesda, MD. The workshop offers a step-by-step approach on how to prepare an application for a Fellowship. There is no charge to attend.

Fellowships are available in five categories:
1) visual arts
2) media arts
3) solo dance performance or choreography by an individual
4) history and social sciences
5) historical, critical or theoretical approaches to the arts.

Fellowships of up to $3,000 each provide will funding to an individual to support his/her artistic or scholarly development. The artists and scholars selected must have a minimum of four years of achievement in an art or humanities discipline and must have presented or participated in at least one art or humanities activity in their discipline in Montgomery County during the three years preceding the application deadline. Applicants must have been a resident of Montgomery County for at least 12 months prior to submitting the application.

The application deadline is Tuesday, June 29 at 5:00 p.m. Funds are awarded for use between November 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005.

Prospective applicants are urged to call AHCMC at 301-215-7227 to reserve a space in the workshop, to obtain more information, or to inquire about other grants for which they may be eligible. The Fellowship application is available by sending an e-mail to grants@creativemoco.com.

Opportunity for photographers...

The Rawls Museum of Arts, which is directed by a very talented and hard working director (Leigh Anne Chambers), has a call for photographers for its annual juried competition.

Entries will be received at RMA from 10-5, Friday, September 3, and September 4 and 5 from 1-5. RMA reserves the right to deny entry of any work considered not suitable for display. Exhibition dates are September 10 – October 3, 2004. Call them at 757-653-0754 for a prospectus.

I'm back from Norfolk...

The best way to buy art supplies is from catalogs, and now Dick Blick, one of the best is having a sale.

Call for Sidewalk Art in Takoma Park
Deadline: Tuesday, June 08

The City of Takoma Park is soliciting proposals for sidewalk art. The selected work is to be incorporated in a larger streetscape project planned for Carroll Avenue this summer.

ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists or artist teams

PROJECT BUDGET: $10,000 (includes but is not limited to artist fees, materials, fabrication, and installation)

DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS: Proposals must be submitted to the City of Takoma Park's Procurement Officer, 7500 Maple Avenue, Takoma Park MD 20912, by 5:00 pm on June 8, 2004.

GENERAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS: The selected artwork is to be located along one side of the Carroll Avenue sidewalk and installed at ground level. It must be essentially flush with the surface of the sidewalk to avoid the creation of a tripping hazard.

The area in which the selected artwork is to be installed is best described as a slightly undulating 6-inch ribbon or strip, 800-feet in length that is broken up by driveways and intersecting streets and private walks. The selected artwork will be located along the sidewalk, nearest the residences. The sidewalk, to be constructed of poured concrete, will be 4-inches thick.

The following general design considerations have been developed to guide the selection of the artwork.

·Artwork should be of an original, site-specific design and may include text, found objects, texture, ornamental symbols, and/or color.

·Artwork may be continuous in its appearance or located at scattered sites along the defined project area. It must not impede or hamper the smooth flow of pedestrians along the sidewalk or create a tripping hazard.

·Artwork should be complementary to the historic context and architectural character of the neighborhood and planned streetscape improvements.

·Artwork must withstand prolonged exposure to local weather conditions.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More detailed information and a copy of the Request for Proposal can be found on the City's web site at www.cityoftakomapark.org

For more info:
Takoma Park
t: 301.891.7224 or SaraD@takomagov.org

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Gateway Georgia Avenue Revitalization Corporation is seeking arts teachers for all ages for a first floor 350 sq.ft. classroom space with lots of natural light. Beginning in September, the space can be used for dry art classes, such as painting, drawing, quilting, crafts etc.

The classroom space will be a part of a proposed 3,100 sq.ft. arts incubator with artist studios and a gallery. The space sits under a newly-renovated apartment building in Silver Spring, on the corner of 13th and Kennett St. with public parking across the street. According to the Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs, 1,400 units of new housing will be built within a 2 block radius of the space over the next 3 years. The adjacent Shepard Park community has an average household income of $138,523 and 23% of the households have children.

If you have any questions, or are interested in learning more about teaching opportunities at the space...

For more info:
Gateway Georgia Avenue Revitalization Corporation
t: 301.562.1400 or f: 301.562.5945 or david@gatewaycdc.com or www.gatewaycdc.com

Nicely sunburned from the Bethesda Artist Market yesterday... nice crowds and about 30 artists showed up.

I'm heading down to Virginia Beach for the rest of the week to do some lectures. Will try to post more stuff tonite.

One of the things that still amuses me, is how terrified most people are of actually entering a gallery.

As those of you who have been to our Bethesda gallery know, the gallery is encased in glass. In other words, the entire inside space is exposed to the square of Bethesda Place because all the exterior walls are made of glass.

This is bad for heating and/or cooling costs ($400 a month), but good because the entire exhibition is always visible from the outside.

Therein lies the problem!

99.9% of all people will circumnavigate the outside walls, cupping their hands and peering in... sometimes they go around several times, like sharks, and often point and discuss the artwork. And yet they never come in!

Every once in a while, when our former neighbor in the square (Discovery Channel) and now our new neighbor (Comcast) holds a fire drill, the square is filled with several hundred people at once. The drills last maybe 45 minutes.

And the masses walk around the gallery, looking in through the glass, discussing the art, and out of hundreds of people, maybe two or three brave souls dare to come in, but not before asking "is it OK to come in?"

And on Sundays, our other neighbor, the Original Pancake House has a hour waiting list, which means that 40-50 people are always hanging around the square. And yet, despite the fact that they circle around and peer in, only a precious few ever come in (although our biggest sales ever have been to some of those Sunday pancake eaters!).

Often, in the spring, we have the two front doors propped open. And this also causes some interesting situations. Every once in a while, someone will stand on the outside of the opened doors, and stretch (as if as the end of a precipice) and look inside for a few minutes. It is as if one of those Star Trek force fields is between the door line and the gallery.

Even a smile and a "you can come in" often just gets a silent smile back... not even a response.

My conclusion: there's something about an art gallery that terrifies most people. I call it galleryphobia and have defined it as:

Galleryphobia (Gall-e-ree-pho-bya) – The unjustified, deeply rooted fear of actually entering an art gallery. Usually exhibited by attempting to see the entire exhibition through the glass windows from the outside, rather than stepping into the welcoming, temperature-controlled space.