Bailey, Bailey, Bailey...

The DC Examiner picks up on the Right Reverend's on the dot commentary on the Maryland water main pipe break.

"I know 85-year old black women from New Orleans who were confined to wheelchairs that managed to escape the floodwaters of Katrina without having to be evacuated by helicopter."

Read it here.

C'ville galleries to close

"At least two more Charlottesville-area art galleries will close in the coming weeks as art sales continue to lag in the faltering economy.

Two art galleries -- Sage Moon Gallery and Migration: A Gallery -- had already announced their departures from the Downtown Mall.

Now, two additional galleries -- Les Yeux du Monde Art Gallery on West Main Street and the Spruce Creek Gallery near Wintergreen -- have confirmed that they are also closing because of the economic downturn."

Read the Richmond Times-Dispatch story here. I know that at least one of the dealers, Laura and Rob Jones' Migrations, will continue as private dealers and do the various art fairs.

Public Service Jobs for Artists?

The appeal of public-service employment for artists isn’t hard to understand. In our market economy, many more people would like their creativity and livelihood to be conjoined than there are paying jobs for artists; when the public sector steps in, that can change. The forms of public service at which artists excel are almost universally appreciated; it’s just that in a market-driven (and now deeply troubled) economy, finding the money to pay for them is nearly impossible.

Read the story by Arlene Goldbard in Community Arts Network here.

The Power of the Web

Remember that I told you about the fact that my Brooklyn childhood church (Our Lady of Loretto) was scheduled to be demolished?

Peter Duffy has written a story on the issue and it will be published in The New York Times on Monday, December 29, 2008.

Still, according to Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, the immigrant-built church is scheduled to be demolished by the end of 2009.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: February 15, 2009

Art House sends you the sketchbook, then you make the art. Then Art House is taking all the sketchbooks on a 6 city tour to galleries and museums across the U.S. The goal of the exhibition is to encourage anyone to create artwork and build a collective of sketchbooks made by artists from all over the world.

Sign up at www.thesketchbookproject.com.

Art House Gallery
309 Peters St.
Atlanta, GA 30313

Feliz Navidad!

"Family Tree," oil on linen, 24x36 inches by David FeBland

Baltimore Bad News

I hear that the Baltimore Harbor Place and Galleria went on the sale block last Friday. Allegedly it has 94% losses and a multi-million dollar note coming due in February.

Apparently, Cross Keys is also on the block. The bad news is that if the Harbor tanks, then Baltimore Aquarium may also close because it is a tenant.

In a town where already it is very difficult to sell art, I think that these developments may take old Baltimore into a serious urban decline since it is basically too reliant upon tourism.

Time to batten down hatches.