Art Fair in DC?

It's too early to announce formally, but one of the major art fair outfits, who puts up art fairs at all the US cities where people actually buy art regularly (NYC, Chicago, LA and Miami) has been sniffing around the DC region to see if they have the groundwork, interest and reputable dealers aligned to do a major DC art fair at the new Convention Center.

If they are serious, I hope that:

(a) they are prepared to lose a ton of money for the first few years while the fair takes a solid footing in the region, which I think (if done right) it will. And this will be good for DC in the long run, because if the fair takes hold and makes money for the galleries, eventually it will grow and make money for the organizers and for DC galleries.

(b) they have a business model that allows soem flexibility and scaling and even haggling in pricing, so that local galleries can be attracted to participate, and also so that national and international galleries are given breaks to accommodate travel and expenses for a new market trial, and that non-profits are given some sort of price break as well - maybe scaled to the size and budget of the non-profit.

(c) they have some way to attract collectors from the region - rather than just DC.

More later as this solidifies.

Text Opens Tonight at GRACE

TEXT opens tonight from 6-8PM in the beautiful new spaces of the Greater Reston Arts Center.

The exhibition brings back all but one of the original Text artists from Seven.

It's super easy to get there off the Dulles Toll Road - See ya there!

Opportunity for Photographers (Under 25 that is)

Deadline: April 28, 2006

Duke University has an excellent competition for photographers under 25 years of age.

Every five years, the Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University publishes a collection of work showcasing the talent of twenty-five of America’s most promising photographers, twenty-five years old and younger. The second book in the series, 25 Under 25: Up-and-Coming American Photographers, was selected a Best Book of 2003 by Photo District News.

Submission guidelines and all other info is available online here.

Richards on Color

The WaPo's former Chief Art Critic checks in with an interesting article on colors, reproductions and what happens to colors over time.

Read the article here.

Bad at Sports

Bad at Sports is a podcast about surviving as an artist. It's a professionally produced art show that has quickly gained popularity among artists, hipsters and the top curators of the arts.

Bad at Sports shows a ground-level view of the visual arts from the perspective of practicing mid-career artists. It's anti-intellectual, but streetwise, and it combines to create a show that is very lively and funny.

The conversations and interviews often begin with the meaning behind the art, or the logistics of the project, but the discussion will eventually veer in the direction of the person's career path, their opinions of art scene, and their own personal goals, aspirations and frustrations.

They've had correspondents from London, New York, L.A. and San Francisco, and would now love to hear some art voices from DC.

They ask that interested people check out an episode first, because there's a very specific tone to the show, and if you don't get a sense of what the show is like, someone could easily make an audio file that's not a match for them.

Check them out here.

Wanna go to an opening tonite?

"From Sea to Shining Sea" at DCAC - Opening Reception is tonight,Friday, March 31 from 7-9 pm.

Curated by Ori Z. Soltes and assisted by Cara Ober. Featured artwork includes that of DC artists Craig Cahoon and Steve Cushner.

CP Blog

Hey! The Washington City Paper has a new online blog!

It's titled City Desk and can be read here.

Hopefully some of their art writers will emulate what some of their theatre critics have already done with area plays and start pushing some visual art shows... go Jeffry, go Lou!