Diana Nyad, my Goddess of the day!

Diana Nyad, at age 61, prepares for second attempt to swim from Cuba to Key West

If the brutal and bloody and racist Cuban dictatorship would allow it, Nyad would be swimming in the wake of a few thousand Cubans attempting the same feat!

But seriously folks: WOW!

Read the WaPo article here.

Opportunity for Artists

Deadline: June 1, 2011

Call for Art - Superheroes: Icons of Good, Evil & Everything In Between

Superheroes is "a multi-media, group exhibition about heroes, villains and other less-definable examples of human possibility. Informed by pop culture notions of “Super” – both hero and villain – it examines the ways in which the Superhero and Supervillain archetypes are integrated into our culture, informing ideas of morality, civil responsibility and human achievement."

Curated by 516 ARTS and guest curator Neilie Johnson. Artists selected by invitation and this call. Deadline June 1. Show run: open 9/24 or 10/1 thru Dec. 17, 2011.

Email rhiannon@516arts.org to request complete submission details (recommended). Submissions: Send up to 8 jpg’s of available work (at least 4”x6”, 300dpi); include title, year, media, dimensions for each piece; a short artist biography in paragraph format; a short artist’s statement. Prefer EMAIL to: rhiannon@516arts.org or mail CD/DVD to:

516 ARTS
Attn: Rhiannon Mercer
516 Central Ave., SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102

American Contemporary

The latest issue of American Contemporary Art magazine is out and it has a nice column on DMV area shows (p. 14-15) and has DMV area artist Hadieh Shafie on the cover.

Read it online here.

The Power of the Web: The BBC listens

Eight years ago I started shouting that the whole idea of a museum focused on Latino art was a bad idea (so 20th century!).

Over the years since this well-intentioned but silly, segregationist idea first came out, I've posted my thoughts on the subject in many places.

No one in the US seems to care that one lonely voice in the Washington, DC area is not drinking the Kool-Aid on this subject - but the the BBC does!

If you can read Spanish, then read my thoughts on the subject in BBC Mundo here.

"Deberíamos enfocar los esfuerzos en colocar las contribuciones latinas en los museos generales, que tienen que ser unificadores. Crear categorías y rotularlos para ponerlos en compartimentos separados, sobre todo en arte, es una estrategia muy del siglo XX que debe ser superada"

And the winners are:

The ten award winners from the 200 artists at the 20th Annual Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival are:

Jorge Caligiuri, Philadelphia, PA
Ronald Dekok, Belleville, WI
Elissa Farrow-Savos, Sterling, VA
Tom Hlas, Philadelphia, PA
Ning Lee, Livingston, NJ
Steven Olszewski, Pinckney, MI
John Petrey, Chattanooga, TN
Joyce Stratton, New Bern, NC
Gary Stretar, Spencer, OH
Andrew Zimmermann, Arlington, VA

WGS Students at Gallery 555DC

“The Washington Glass School is known for its excellent student program and the quality of creative work its students produce. I wanted to celebrate their 10th anniversary by giving students an opportunity to exhibit their work in Gallery 555dc. Running and managing a school takes hard work, long hours and dedication – then more hard work. To celebrate a 10th Anniversary in the art world is a rare thing and a tribute to the founders and teachers of the Washington Glass School. ”

Jodi Walsh
Owner
Gallery 555dc

The gallery is at 555 12th Street NW Lobby, Washington DC 20004, 202-393-1409 or 240-447-6071 Gallery555dc.com. The reception is Saturday, June 4th, noon to 5pm; Artists present 3 – 5pm.

Argentina

The Embassy of Argentina now has their first exhibition of the year, All Come in Color, celebrating the month of their May Independence Revolution.

The exhibit features abstract and figurative paintings created by local DMV Argentine artists. The show is on now through June 30th - check out all the other good stuff going on here.

Embassy of Argentina
1600 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Washington DC 20008