Foundry Gallery has a new President

The Foundry Gallery has elected my good friend Fran Abrams as its new President.

A former Director of Grants for the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Ms. Abrams has had a long career of public service in government and nonprofit agencies.  A resident of Rockville, Maryland, she began working in polymer clay in 2000 and her art has been in exhibits from Virginia to Massachusetts; Since retiring from her day job in 2010 she has worked full time as an artist.

Her selection as President of the Dupont Circle-area art gallery was part of the Foundry's recent election of a new Board of Directors for 2013.  Serving as Vice President is Ed Bear Miller of Washington, DC.  Secretary is Naomi Taitz Duffy, also of Washington, and the Treasurer is Meg MacKenzie of Arlington, VA.  At-large Board members are Ana Elisa Benavent of Alexandria, Katherine Blakeslee of Washington, and Jay Peterzell of Takoma Park.

 

For more than forty years, the Foundry Gallery has supported and showcased some of Washington’s most promising and accomplished local artists. As a nonprofit, artist-run gallery, it exists to offer high quality, affordable original works of art, enrich and educate the community, and nurture, support and recognize local artists.

 

Foundry Gallery

1314 18th St, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036

Artist busted

Artist busted at SCOPE Miami for copying photographers’ works... read the story here.

Plein Air–Easton

Plein Air–Easton! Artists Prospectus Released, Dates Announced  

9th Annual Competition & Arts Festival to be Held July 15-21, 2013 

The Competition Prospectus for the 9th Annual Plein Air–Easton! Competition & Arts Festival will be released on January 25, 2013. Release of the prospectus marks the official kickoff of the 2013 event and begins the essential selection process for the next Plein Air–Easton! Competition. Amidst an art movement that has spurred hundreds of competitions across the country, Plein Air–Easton! is America’s premier plein air festival. Some of the best plein air artists from across the country and around the globe converge on Easton and Talbot County to vie for large cash and product prizes during a weeklong art extravaganza. In 2013, more than $20,000 in cash and product prizes will be awarded, plus the opportunity to sell their work to a large audience of art buyers. 

The caliber of artists competing at Plein Air–Easton! has strengthened each year, which has been a crucial component in the festival’s standard of excellence. With such stiff competition, the release of the prospectus offers timely and vital information for artists. The prospectus describes the process for artist entries, gives information about the entry jurist and awards judge, and outlines the competition guidelines. It will be released January 25 on the event website, www.pleinaireaston.com. 

Plein Air–Easton! is a rare opportunity to interact with these artists and experience an up-close view of the spontaneous and exciting art movement form of plein air painting—where artists leave their studios to paint “in the moment” outdoors. In just a few days, hundreds of pieces of some of the best representational art in the world are created and sold, making this a major East Coast art sale and a hot spot for art collectors and enthusiasts.  

The pinnacle of the competition is the Collector’s Preview Party which offers the first opportunity to view and purchase the competition paintings and to see the competition exhibit intact before paintings begin to be sold. Winners are announced during an awards ceremony at the Collectors’ Preview Party.  

Artists, art collectors, art and nature enthusiasts, students, tourists, local businesses, and spectators alike have discovered that this event truly lives up to its slogan of offering “Art for Everyone.” Over the past eight years, Plein Air–Easton! has become one of Easton’s largest events, attracting crowds and consistently posting impressive figures for art sales. 

Important Dates  

January 25, 2013 – Artists’ prospectus released  

March 8, 2013 – Artists deadline to enter juried competition 

March 29, 2013 – Competition artists announced. 

July 15-21, 2013 – Plein Air–Easton! Competition & Arts Festival 

July 19, 2013 – Plein Air–Easton! Collectors’ Preview Party at the Academy Museum 

Plein Air–Easton! is the work of the Avalon Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide diversified arts and educational programs that improve the quality of life in the Mid-Shore region. The Academy Art Museum is the museum venue for the competition exhibit. The event is supported by Friends of Plein Air–Easton!, the Talbot County Arts Council, and corporate, media, product, and communitybased sponsors.  

Mark your calendars now for the 2013 Plein Air–Easton! Competition & Arts Festival to be held July 15-21, 2013, with pre-festival events beginning the week before. 

Plein Air–Easton! highlights are available on an extensive video blog available at www.pleinaireaston.com. 

For information, call 410.822.7297 or visit www.pleinaireaston.com.

Royal portrait woes

I'm thrilled! Kate puts on a brave face as she sees first official portrait critics are calling 'rotten'

Read the story here.

Miami Art Fairs Panel

MIAMI ART FAIRS – REAL DEAL OR HYPE? 

FIRST‐HAND PERSPECTIVES FROM EXPERTS AND NEWCOMERS

Date: Monday, January 14th, 2013, 6:30 – 7:30 pm

Catalyst Projects will moderate this discussion, generously hosted by Arch Development and The Hive 2.0. The panel is going to feature Lenny Campello, distinguished art dealer and artist at Aqua; Adah Rose Bitterbaum, owner of the Adah Rose Gallery and exhibitor at Pulse; Tim Tate, established glass artist at Art Miami; Sean Hennessey, glass artist and newcomer to Aqua; and Shaunte Gates, exhibiting artist at Select.

This panel discussion will offer the DC arts community a look at the increasingly important world of art fairs from diverse perspectives.

This event is free of charge and open to the public.

Location:
The Hive 2.0
1231‐B Good Hope Rd SE
Washington, DC 20020

Miami Art Fairs Discussion Panel

Arch Development has been kind enough to offer The Hive as a venue to host a panel organized by Zofie Lang discussing the Miami art fairs, artists, galleries, lessons learned, strategies for artists, Q&As, etc. The panel is free and open to the public and will be held on Monday, January 14th starting at 6:30PM.

The address is:
1231-B Good Hope Rd SE
Washington, DC 20020

WPA on the move

Washington Project for the Arts Announces Move 

to Capitol Skyline Hotel

Washington, DC, January 10, 2013 - Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) announces the move of its administrative offices to the Capitol Skyline Hotel at 10 I ("Eye") Street SW, Washington, DC on February 1, 2013. WPA will take up temporary residence in a suite on the fourth floor of the Capitol Skyline for the next year as it finalizes plans for securing a long-term location which will house both administrative and exhibition space.

WPA's Executive Director Lisa Gold explains, "We are extremely excited about moving to such a creative and flexible location which will allow us to continue our programming throughout the DC region, while offering a home base for our administrative operations and a gathering place for artists to meet and share ideas. We look forward to presenting ongoing exhibitions and projects in collaboration with other organizations and institutions as well as offering new programs and events at the Capitol Skyline Hotel."

Well known for its support of contemporary art and artists, the Capitol Skyline Hotel is owned by internationally renowned collectors Don and Mera Rubell. Mera Rubell, co-founder of the Rubell Family Collection, stated, "WPA has always been at the heart of what defines the Capitol Skyline Hotel. It was the artists of WPA that performed at the SynchroSwim (WPA's synchronized swimming performance art competition inaugurated in 2009) to launch the South Beach pool experience for the community at the Hotel, along with the CONNERSMITH gallery who started an innovative cutting edge artist video program in collaboration with the Rubell Family Collection. The Rubell family and its entire team are excited to welcome WPA to its new home at the Hotel."     

 

Fluid Movement performs an excerpt from Jason and the Aquanauts at the WPA SynchroSwim 2010. Photo by Max Cook.

In addition to the SynchoSwim events in 2009 and 2010, WPA has organized and participated in other programs at the Hotel over the past few years including a panel discussion about the state of arts coverage in the mainstream DC media in 2010 and participation in the (e)merge art fair held at the Hotel for the past two years. Rubell added, "We welcome the staff to its new headquarters and all of the 1,000 artists that make up its membership to feel at home at the Hotel.  We invite them to see the Hotel as a place to engage with each other and the many global guests who frequent the Hotel. And, we believe that new and inspiring collaborations will result from these encounters at the Hotel."

 

WPA Chairman of the Board, Frederick P. Ognibene, M.D., noted that taking up temporary residence in the Capitol Skyline during its search for long-term, permanent space will afford the organization the ability to continue and even expand its community outreach while facilitating the kind of flexible and innovative programming for which WPA is known. "The ability to offer artists a venue to convene for formal programming as well as casual conversation is equally important," stated Dr. Ognibene. The hotel's location in the rapidly transforming Capitol Riverfront area is a mere 4 blocks from the Navy Yard Metro station and 5 blocks from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities' new offices. 

Over its 37 year lifespan, WPA has had multiple homes from its founding  location at 1227 G Street NW to the Jenifer Building at 400 7th Street NW to 434 7th St NW to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1996 and then to its current location at Dupont Circle in 2008. Read more about WPA's history on the 35th anniversary exhibition (Catalyst) website at http://wpadc.org.         

 

WPA will announce plans for a welcome reception at the Hotel after the annual SELECT Art Auction Gala on March 16, 2013 at 64 New York Avenue NE.

More information: www.wpadc.org