Seth Rosenberg

On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, District Fine Arts lost its founder Seth Rosenberg to an apparent heart attack in Cleveland, OH at the age of 56.

A memorial service will take place this Sunday, September 6, 2009 at 11:30 am at the Mueum of Contemporary Arts in Cleveland, OH. The address is 8501 Carnegie Ave. #2, Cleveland, OH. 216-421-8671.

DFA is currently planning a memorial for the Fall. More details to follow when they decide on a date.

Seth had moved to Cleveland, OH four years ago and earlier this summer, based on a portfolio of his new paintings, he received a $20,000 Creative Workforce Fellowship from the Cleveland Partnership for Arts and Culture.

CuDC looking for intern

Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for artists and arts organizations that stimulate economic development and improves the quality of life in the DC area, is accepting applications for a Marketing & Communications Intern. CuDC makes space for art. They manage Flashpoint and Source, two facilities that offer artists and arts organizations the tools and services, in conjunction with affordable space they need to thrive. They also facilitate artist housing and other arts development projects. This position reports to the Communications Manager, providing a unique opportunity to support CuDC’s institutional and programmatic marketing and communications efforts.

Responsibilities:

· Coordinating social media strategies for CuDC and its various programs;

· Creating and distributing weekly e-newsletter and compiling content for bi-monthly enewsletter;

· Updating content for organization websites, as well as content for blogs or social networking sites;

· Assisting with marketing around special events and activities;

· Researching online and print media outlets;

· Monitoring and archiving media coverage;

· Assisting with special events;

· Assisting with other administrative tasks, as appropriate.

Qualifications:

· Undergraduate or graduate student preferred;

· Interest in marketing, media and communications;

· Excellent writing & editing skills;

· Savvy using traditional and new media tools;

· Attention to detail;

· Comfort working in a cooperative environment that represents a broad range of artistic, cultural and social points of view; and

· Knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and/or Illustrator a plus.

Commitment: Flexible schedule; minimum of 15 hours per week.

Compensation: Stipend

To apply: The deadline for applications is September 25, 2009.

To apply, submit a resume and writing sample with cover letter to emma@culturaldc.org. Writing sample should be 250 words or less. Mention “Communications Intern” in the subject line.

CHAW Arts Ball

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) is holding its eighth annual Arts Ball fundraising gala on Saturday, October 3, 2009 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at its historic building on Capitol Hill. The Arts Ball supports CHAW’s tuition assistance, outreach, and education programs. The theme for this year’s event is Indian Nights and CHAW’s building will be transformed into an Indian odyssey, including a Taj Mahal gallery of art-to-be-auctioned, entertainment in the Bollywood Theater, dancing in the Bombay Palace, and shopping in the Delhi Bazaar. The silent auction and raffle features dinners at the Indian Embassy, airplane tickets to Italy, works from local artists and members of the Capitol Hill Art League, unique experiences, and a wide array of prizes from retail items to gift certificates and jewelry.

Tickets are $50 per person in advance and $75 at the door and can be purchased at www.chaw.org, by calling the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop at (202) 547-6839, or email to victor@chaw.org. CHAW is located at 545 7th Street SE, the corner of 7th and G Streets SE

Wanna go to an artsy wine tasting this Friday?

Touchstone Gallery will be having a closing reception for their 90 artist juried group show "My Space on 7th" together with a wine tasting offered by the Washington Wine Academy.

It's all free. Art & Wine starts at 6pm and goes through 8pm this Friday, Sept. 4th.

Labor Drawings

And nu?... you all knew that if I was having a new son at my early middle age, than in addition to a million photos I'd be doing some drawings, right?

Click on the drawings for a larger version of them... now to do some baby paintings for the boy's room...

Alida in Labor (Birthing Drawing Series).
August 27, 2009. Ink on paper by F. Lennox Campello

Alida after her Epidural (Birthing Drawing Series).
August 27, 2009. Ink on paper by F. Lennox Campello

Anderson Campello after he was cleaned up (Birthing Drawing Series).
August 28, 2009. Ink on paper by F. Lennox Campello

Hiltonian Lawsuit

Socialite and member of the prominent Hilton family Ann Hilton is the target of a lawsuit brought against her by artist Alexander Presniakov alleging she stiffed the artist out of $10 million in original artwork.

Read the Reuters story here.

Bird Brain

Is art criticism so easy that a pigeon can do it?

... Here's what happened. Shigeru Watanabe (a psychologist at Keio University in Tokyo and possibly a man in league with the birds) set up a nefarious experiment. Watanabe showed children's paintings to pigeons; a panel of adults had deemed each work either good or bad. He trained the pigeons to distinguish between them with a system of tasty rewards. When the pigeons pecked correctly, he gave them some seed. Later, he presented 10 paintings to the birds they had never seen. Five of these paintings had been deemed good by humans, five bad. The pigeons recognized the good paintings as “good” twice as often as they recognized the “bad” paintings. In short, they came off as pretty good critics.

Read Morgan Meis at Drexel University's The Smart Set here.