Scary Times

"How to Survive as an Artist in this Frightening Economy" is the title of a panel being presented by the Washington Project for the Arts. It is next Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 6-7:30 at the WPA.

The presentation by Kim Ward, Executive Director of WPA and Tim Ward, Deputy Director of Examinations, Supervision, and Consumer Protection, Office of Thrift Supervision.

Following the presentation there will be time for questions and answers, and member networking.

Refreshments will be served. Space is limited and you must sign up for the workshop (open to current WPA members only). To register email Kristina at: kbilonick@wpadc.org

Hizzoner Responds

Last June I posted about the subject of the new DC Art Commission leadership and the selection process.

It must have been brought up to the attention of Mayor Fenty, as he responds below in an email that I received today:

Dear Mr. Campello,

Thank you for your suggestions in regards to the leadership of the DC Commission of Arts and Humanities. Please be assured that all DC government leadership is chosen by qualiifications.

Lionell Thomas, formerly the deputy director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, has been named the Interim Director.

Lionell held a host of other responsibilities prior to being named the deputy director for the DC Arts Commission such as the legislative and grants manager, grants assistant, mailing list coordinator, program officer for media, music, visual arts and craft, and literature grant programs and program coordinator for a number of special projects and initiatives such as the Customer Service, Risk Management, Washington Writers' Week/Larry Neal Writers' Awards Program, Mayor's Arts Awards, and Arts Resource Fair. He also founded the DC Advocates for the Arts, a network of local artists, arts professionals and arts representatives and patrons that support the ongoing development arts and culture in Washington, DC.

Thank you for your comments. They are greatly appreciated. Thank you for writing me.

Sincerely,
Adrian M. Fenty,
Mayor

Lionell Thomas is not only a superbly qualified Interim Director, but he has my vote for the permanent assignment as he would make a very good leader for the Commission.

Update: OK... I'm officially confused! As Paul Ruppert noted here and as I noted here, Gloria Nauden has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Arts and Humanities Commission.

I've emailed the Mayor to ask for clarification.

Awarded

Last weekend I was down in Norfolk for the Stockley Gardens Fine Arts Show, where I was selling my own work.

And I for the second year in a row I was honored with an award, as the juror awarded me the Edward G. Carson Memorial Award, which I am told is given to honor a strong supporter of artists in the Norfolk area.

I am honored by the award and happy to have received it!

Mary Early opens in DC

Baker Awards for Baltimore Artists

This is one spectacular opportunity for Baltimore artists.

The Baker Awards, funded by The Baker Foundation, in conjunction with the Baltimore City Department of Promotion and the Arts, is awarding three (yes three!) $20,000 prizes to Baltimore artists annually.

Although only Baltimore artists are eligible, anyone can sign up and vote.

Do it!

Details here.

Torture in Art

There's an interesting panel discussion coming up exploring how we represent victims of torture – in art, in the courtroom, in our foreign policy, etc. – and the issues involved in accurately conveying their experiences without dehumanizing or re-victimizing them.

The panel is from 2-4pm on October 25th at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington DC (presented along with the Close Encounters exhibit and where Director Jack Rasmussen continues to make the other DC area museums look bad), and is sponsored by Foreign Policy In Focus and DC's Provisions Library.

Daniel Heyman, an artist whose work I have mentioned several times before in this blog, is one of the panelists, and is going to give a presentation about his work. The other two panelists are Julie Mertus, a professor of Ethics, Peace, & Global Affairs at American University, and Katherine Gallagher, a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

More details here.

Personally, I have always been curious as to why artists and politicians and academics seem to pay more attention to the "easy" targets of torture, such as our horrible excesses in Iraq a few years ago, while ignoring the decades-long brutalities of nations like China, South Korea and Cuba.

Evidence submitted below, including a priest tortured for hiding a political prisoner in his Church:

Art Without Frontiers



A few months ago Joan Belmar and a group of friends got together and decided to help a small organization called The Family Place.

The mission of Family Place is to work with mothers and children, prevent domestic violence, and provide healthy meals to children and parents. Now he has curated an art exhibition, Art Without Frontiers, put together to raise funds for The Family Place.

The opening reception is Oct. 30th from 6:30 - 9:30PM at the beautiful Cultural Institute of Mexico in DC. Details here and RSVP required to lfleitas@thefamilyplace.org.

Artists include Sondra Arkin, Joseph Barbaccia, Constance Bergfors, Salvados Casco, Nina Falk, Carles Guasch, Willem De Looper, Adrienne Moumin, Linn Meyers, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Minna N. Nathanson, Kevin Postupack, Katya Romero, Raimundo Rubio and I am proud to also be part of this effort.

See ya at the opening!