Grants for Maryland Artists

2008 Individual Artist Awards Deadline: July 26, 2007

The Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards are grants awarded to Maryland artists through an anonymous, competitive process to encourage and sustain their pursuit of artistic excellence.

2008 Artistic Categories

* Dance: Solo Performance
* Fiction
* Media
* Music: Solo Instrumental Performance
* Music: Solo Vocal Performance
* Theater: Solo Performance
* Visual Arts: Computer Arts
* Visual Arts: Installation and other genre
* Visual Arts: Painting
* Visual Arts: Works on Paper

The MSAC Individual Artist Awards Program is administered by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. IAA applications will no longer be printed and mailed to you, you must read or download them from the Internet. All Individual Artist Award applicants now have the option to use eGRANT, an electronic grant application that allows you to submit your application via the Internet.

For information on the application and workshops, contact Adam Bernstein at the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation at adam@midatlanticarts.org or call 410-539-6656, ext. 114. TTY Maryland Relay at 711.

New Gallery Blog

DC's Randall Scott Gallery has a new blog! Visit it often here.

Tonight in DC

Wanna go to what has been called "the wildest monthly art event in the DC metro area?"

It's "X at Bebar - A 21st Century Live-Art Happening" from 6 - 10 pm ($5 cover charge).

Bebar is at 1318 9th St NW, Washington, DC. Curated by Andrea Pollan, this month's X will feature live PA performances from Calmer (Brooklyn, Poly Vibe) and Luseq (DC, grafq) as well as work by graphic artists Alex Gold, Amit Kumar and Jon Sexton, a Performance by Belladona, Projections from Peter Parker, fashion by Beth B., and live painting by Sheldon Drake.

Congrats

To Maryland photographer Denee Barr, whose mixed media photograph "Trees and Path, Centennial Lake, Columbia, Maryland" appears in the Washington Post's Best Bets Howard Extra.

The image is part of her mini-retrospective Denee Barr Photographs Columbia, Maryland 1999-2006 at the Columbia Foundation in the American City Building on Lake Kittamaquandi, Columbia, Maryland. The year long exhibit is part of Columbia's 40 Birthday Celebrations and the Columbia Festival of the Arts, and also features Ellicott City, Maryland based artist Alice Webb watercolors and etchings.

Denee's blog Denee Barr Art News and More is also on the blogroll.

Congratulations

To Baltimore painter Matthew Klos, winner of the $10,000 Bethesda Painting Award. Loads of photos here.


Above is Matthew Klos with the amazing and generous Carol Trawick, who sponsors the annual painting prize. The 2007 winners are:

Best in Show: Matthew Klos
Second Place: Cara Ober
Third Place: Maggie Michael
I have not seen the show, but the Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan did and he's written a terrific review of the exhibition which is due to be published tomorrow in the WaPo.

Read it here. O'Sullivan questions some of the award choices while lauding some of the artists and even throwing a pretty good jab at finalist David Krueger's painting.

O'Sullivan pick (I think) is Richmond artist Fiona Ross, and putting on a judge's hat, my pick would have been Baltimore artist Cara Ober. The jurors were Dr. Brandon Brame Fortune, Associate Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery, Professor W.C. Richardson, Professor of Painting and Drawing at the University of Maryland and Professor Tanja Softic’, who is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Richmond.

Regardless, any good art prize is always full of opinions and surprises, and this major painting prize is a good thing for area painters, for Bethesda, for the District and for art.

New DC Arts Blog

DC gallerina Rebecca Jones, who is the Assistant Director at Project 4, has just recently started a blog featuring both articles exploring the critical discourse of contemporary art, and posts promoting Project 4 events, shows and artists.

Visit Popcorn here.

Wanna go to a DC opening tomorrow?

The WPAC's Site Projects DC curated by Welmoed Laanstra (who just got hired to work for Arlington County's Arts division) and consisting of (con)temporary art installations, performances, and interactions on 14th street between P & V opens tomorrow at the Black Cat in DC in one of many events. 7-9pm with a tour by the curator, Welmoed Laanstra at 8pm.

Participating artists are Linda Hesh, Janis Goodman, Peter Winant, Tom Ashcraft, Kathryn Cornelius, Roberto Bocci, Michael Cataldi, Tom Greaves, Caroline Mayorga, Matthew McGuiness, Eliza Newman Saul, Franz Jantzen, Piero Passacantando, Michael Lease, Mary Coble and Elizabeth Lundberg Morisette.

See them all here.