Call for Presenters for VSA arts International Conference

Submission Deadline: May 29, 2009

VSA arts is seeking presentation proposals from policy-makers, artists, school and program administrators, art organizations, researchers, and educators around the world for its international conference, to be held in Washington, D.C., June 10-12, 2010.

The conference will discuss “Advancing Inclusive Education and 21st-Century Learning Skills Through the Arts”. It will also provide a “Career Development: forum to assist artists with disabilities as they pursue their careers.

Keynote speakers include Kenneth Eklindh, the head of the UNESCO EFA flagship program “The Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities: Towards Inclusion,” Dame Evelyn Glennie, an internationally acclaimed soloist, and Sir Ken Robinson, a renowned expert in the field of creativity.

The conference is part of the 2010 International VSA arts Festival, an international and multicultural event celebrating the accomplishments of artists with disabilities.

Proposed presentations for the conference should reflect the following themes/thematic tracks: the arts and 21st-Century learning skills; inclusive arts curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and career development for artists with disabilities. They should share the presenter’s experience and include evidence-based knowledge of effective research methodology and innovative practices.

Education proposals may include successful arts-education programs within the regular school day, arts-integrated curriculum across the general curriculum, and extracurricular arts activities beyond the regular school day. Topics of discussion for the career development forum will include encouraging business skills and portfolio development, benefits planning, and increasing cultural access and funding. Each session will be in lecture, roundtable, panel, or workshop format. A review committee will select proposals based on their learning objectives and outcomes, expertise on the topic, level of participant involvement, and relevance to the conference’s theme and target audience.

To submit an application, go to vsarts.org for instructions. For questions regarding the conference, please contact Géraldine Simonnet at 1-800-933-8721 or 1-202-628-2800 (voice), 1-202-737-0645 (TTY), or via e-mail at conference@vsarts.org.

The Collector

Will "The Collector" return to Artomatic?

Amy Argetsinger thought I was the Collector by Andrew Wodzianski
One of the capital region's most innovative and creative voices is the very tall Andrew Wodzianski, whose intelligent works seem to be in nearly every important collection around the District's ubercollectors and whose coming show at Flashpoint will set a new standard for that very cool space.

Andrew was one of the suspects for being the "Collector", but because he is like nine foot tall and weighs about sixteen ounces, I (and most others) don't think that he fits any of the descriptions of the District's most elusive art character given in various (and very popular) WaPo columns (WaPo readers apparently love reading about "the collector").

But I do like Andrew's piece on the whole "collector" thing. And if you are a smart early picker of such things, then you'd be contacting Andrew trying to buy the above piece (or any of his latest works) before Amy Argetsinger buys it!

Drumroll!!!!! A new name is about to be added to the "Buy" list!

Buy Andrew Wodzianski now.... he is really, really affordable, but not for long.

I know people.

Artomatic 2009: Opens May 29!

Time for DC area art critics to roll their eyes: Artomatic is back and grander than ever!

The tenth version of the massive art shows that artists, collectors, gallerists and the public loves and most DC art critics hate (but would love if it took place in NYC, or Berlin or London) will deliver over five weeks of art, music, theatre, workshops and more this year in Washington, DC's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood from May 29 - July 5.

The 2009 Artomatic will be held at the new building at 55 M Street, S.E. - essentially on top the Navy Yard Metro - celebrating its tenth anniversary in a newly built 275,000 square foot "LEED Silver Class A building", whatever that means.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished building space into an exciting arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays by hundreds of artists, the event features free films, educational presentations and children's activities, as well as music, dance, poetry, theater and other performances.

Artomatic 2008 attracted a record-breaking 52,500 visitors and 1,540 participating artists. Visit their Flickr site to see over 4,000 photos captured at Artomatic 2008 or check out the below video.

Who will be the emerging art star of this AOM?

Who will be the artist who cracks us up?

Will "The Collector" make a comeback?

Who will be the prima donna?

Congrats!


Congratulations to the District of Columbia Arts Center, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary with an evening of dance, poetry, performance art, sound installation and live music in Georgetown's gorgeous Halcyon House.

Born in 1989 with the mission of providing the “missing link” between emerging artists and the broader community, DCAC has maintained its place in DC as an organization that operates with the needs of artists in mind, rather than focusing on commercial demands. DCAC also recognizes the need to support ongoing projects, including our Curatorial Initiative, which nurtures upcoming curators and enriches audience engagement with our exhibits, and SPARKPLUG, a collective of local artists and curators who exhibit at DCAC each year.

In 1987, a group of artists, arts advocates and administrators came together to address their frustration with DC’s cultural climate. In order to bring local artists closer to the community, arts advocates Aaron Levine, Alice Denney, and Herb White, with the support of councilman William Lightfoot, established a center where local artists would become more visible to the community and receive the support that was largely unavailable. DCAC’s founding board includes artists Jack Rasmussen, Lynn McCary, Sam Gilliam, Greg Hannan, Kathy Keler, Rockne Krebs, Evangeline Montgomery, June Shadoan, and Paula Schumann, critic and curator Annie Gawlak, and arts activist Eden Rafshoon.

The gala will take place on May 29, 2009, from 6:30 to 10:30pm. The happenings get underway at 6:30 with cocktails and light fare in the gardens and ballroom of the Halcyon House Mansion. There will also be a special VIP reception from 6:30 to 7:30 for the founders, our board of directors, the invitation committee and special level donors. At 8:00, the Studio opens for dancing to the sultry and swining Jenn and the Tonics along with desserts and more cocktails. Throughout the evening there will be performances, exhibited art, video projectors, sound installation, dance and more.

Artists featured at the event include performance artists Katherine Cornelius and Quique Aviles, poets Silvana Straw and Buck Downs, Alberto Gaitán with sound installation and visual artists Gretchen Schemmerhorn, Jefferson Pinder, Jose Ruiz and David Hartwell.

Details here.

Congrats!

To DC's own Michael Janis, whose solo show opened in St. Louis' Duane Reed Gallery last Friday.

And the DC Commission on the Arts has awarded Janis a 2009 Artist Fellowship. They are awarded to individual artists who make significant contributions to the arts and who promote the arts in the District of Columbia through artistic excellence. The Fellowship is funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Oldest figurative art

"The 40,000-year-old carved figure of a voluptuous woman was excavated in Germany. It 'radically changes our views of the context and meaning of the earliest Paleolithic art,' its discoverer says."

Read the LA Times story here.

There's soooo much artwork in the DMV area being created by amazing women artists - I have this idea of (in the future) organizing and curating a show to survey the amazing women artists of the DMV.

For your weekend art needs

It is time for the 18th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival this weekend on the streets of the Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia, right off 267 (exit 12).

The Festival is produced by the Greater Reston Arts Center, and it is a top-rated annual juried outdoor street fine arts and fine crafts festival held in the heart of the elegant and bustling Reston Town Center. This two-day event attracts over 50,000 patrons and provides an interactive experience to view, purchase, and experience art directly from the unique and talented artists who have created it.

The 2009 festival is today and tomorrow and will feature more than 220 artists from around the nation as well as outstanding music and entertainment, activities for families, (all free) and delicious food.

See ya there! Swing by booth 835!