How to give artists life after they die

An artist’s estate is successful when it is able to keep the work alive: when subsequent generations of artists draw inspiration from it and when curators, researchers and collectors continuously find new ways to approach it. This goal is achieved when the estate initiates dialogue and exhibitions, contextualises the work, and makes it accessible to contemporary artists. Reaching it, however, requires a quantity of high-quality works as well as financial resources. Furthermore, a vast array of knowledge and skills, ranging from an art-historical understanding of the work to managerial and business know-how, are crucial to the success of this endeavour. Thus, heirs often devote a significant portion of their lives to this work.

Read this fascinating advisory article here.

Trawick Prizewinners announced!

The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, a juried art competition produced by the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, announced the top three prize winners last night during the exhibition’s opening. Lauren Adams from Baltimore, MD was awarded “Best in Show” with $10,000; Sarah Irvin from Springfield, VA was named second place and given $2,000; and Ben Marcin from Baltimore, MD was bestowed third place and received $1,000.

Lauren Adams, who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina and her Master of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University, mines the histories of power, labor and material culture to make surprising connections that resonate with current sociopolitical issues. Her work has been featured at ConnerSmith in Washington, D.C., The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD, Contemporary Applied Arts in London, UK, Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, MO and the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, PA, among others. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and held residencies at the Cite in Paris, France and the Jentel Foundation in Wyoming. She received the Joan Mitchell Foundation MFA Award in 2007, was a finalist for the Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize in 2014, and was recently named a 2016 Pollock Krasner Foundation grant recipient.

2016 Trawick Prize Finalists

Lauren Adams, Baltimore, MD

Cindy Cheng, Baltimore, MD

Leah Cooper, Baltimore, MD

Sarah Irvin, Springfield, VA

Dean Kessmann, Washington, D.C.

Ben Marcin, Baltimore, MD

Tony Shore, Baltimore, MD

William Wylie, Charlottesville, VA

The work of the finalists will be on exhibit at Gallery B, 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, until September 24. The public opening reception will be held Friday, September 9 from 6-8pm. Gallery hours for the duration of the exhibit are Wednesday through Saturday, 12 – 6pm.

Entries were juried by Stéphane Aquin, Chief Curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; Hasan Elahi, Associate Professor, Department of Art at University of Maryland and Rebecca Schoenthal, Curator of Exhibitions and Co-Interim Director at The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia.

The Trawick Prize was established in 2003 by Carol Trawick, a longtime community activist in downtown Bethesda. She is the past Chair of both the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District and Bethesda Urban Partnership, and also the Founder of the Bethesda Painting Awards. In 2007, Ms. Trawick founded the Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation to assist health and human services and arts non-profits in Montgomery County.

The Trawick Prize is one of the first regional competitions and largest prizes to annually honor visual artists. To date, The Trawick Prize has awarded $205,000 in prize monies and has exhibited the work of more than 130 regional artists. Previous Best in Show recipients include Richard Cleaver, 2003; David Page, 2004; Jiha Moon, 2005; James Rieck, 2006; Jo Smail, 2007; Maggie Michael, 2008; Rene Trevino, 2009; Sara Pomerance, 2010; Mia Feuer, 2011; Lillian Bayley Hoover, 2012; Gary Kachadourian, 2013; Neil Feather, 2014 and Jonathan Monaghan, 2015.

#artscam

As many of you know, I love busting the mutants who are perennially trying to separate artists from their artwork through a scam.

#artscam on Twitter is also a great place to visit every once in a while to see who's been busted through TweetLand.

Carlos Danger strikes again!

The Last Copy of The Constitution

From my obsessive drawings series (where I repeat the same theme ad nauseum). This work will be at The Affordable Art Fair in NYC, booth 1.36 next month.

"The Last Copy of The Constitution" (detail) 19x12 inches.Charcoal on Paper. Circa 2016

"The Last Copy of The Constitution" 19x12 inches.Charcoal on Paper. Circa 2016

Art Scam Alert!

Beware of this bastard... I've contacted Marriott and they've confirmed that this mutant is not who he says:

From: Ahmed (ahmed@mcgeoch.com) 

Good day,

We are interested to place a trial order.

Attached please fine our company caralogue, i specified the required items by making them with blue ink

Confirm The items you have in stock and quote us the following

1. Your Best Price for the Item selected

2. Minimum Order quantity

3. Payment term

4. Delivery Time.

Hope to establish a very good business relationship with you.

 

Best Regards

 

AHMED AL-YURI

____________________________

Al Faisal Holding Co

Purchasing Manager

Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel

Al Wahda Street

22nd Floor

West Bay Area

22466, Qatar

Tel: +974 4422-3888

Fax: +974 4422-3800

A letter from the WPA's Nathalie von Veh

A letter from the WPA's Nathalie von Veh:           

Dear members,

I am excited to officially introduce myself as your new point of contact. I've had the privilege of meeting many of you over the two and a half years I've been working at WPA, but for those of you who don't know me already, I thought I'd take a moment to say hello and tell you a little about myself.

I am a Seattle transplant who craves adventure and salty air. I first moved to the East Coast to study Environmental Policy at American University but found myself spending more and more of my time across campus in the Katzen Arts Center. It became clear to me then that I needed to be working with artists. Six years later, I'm still here because I found you -  the incredible artistic community that calls this region home. I started interning at WPA in January 2014, going to music and art shows in living rooms and basements, and eventually collaborating and organizing projects of my own in my neighborhood in Bloomingdale. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than giving back to the friends and artists that inspire me.

I am thrilled to now have the opportunity to work more closely with you at WPA. Since our move, we've been restructuring our responsibilities and redefining WPA (Whole Pitted Avocados anyone?). We have so many resources to share with you: a street-front project and exhibition space, an online artist registry, and a vast network that stretches far beyond DC. WPA is increasingly becoming more artist-driven, more focused on idea generating/sharing, and more deeply engaged with the community. Together, we can take this to next level. I hope WPA will become (and continue to be) your creative haven, a space where you can expect the unexpected, take risks, get messy, and make valuable friendships.  

 

Over the next couple of months, we will be exploring how artists can use politics to advocate for change. There will be countless opportunities to participate, make a difference, and weigh in on the conversation. As an artist, this project will be all about you. So keep an eye out for more information to be announced soon. 

 

Our door is always open to you, stop by or shoot me an email anytime. I'd love to hear what you're working on, struggling with, and what you're dreaming up.

Looking forward to the road ahead!

All the best,

Nathalie