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Just back from the National Portrait Gallery, where somehow someone invited me to the unveiling of Oprah's portrait by Chicago artist Shawn Michael Warren.
I am told that the chain of events started when Warren, a muralist, painted an Oprah Winfrey's portrait as part of a mural in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood.
Oprah saw the mural and the rest is history... and oh yeah: This dude can paint!
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| Oprah Winfrey portrait by Shawn Michael Warren |
Assholes of the Month for December (and maybe for all of 2023) goes to Virginia's 2nd Sundays Art and Music Festival! They cancelled a scheduled menorah-lighting ceremony because...
Instead, the planned celebration turned into a debacle when Second Sundays leadership decided, on Nov. 16, not to hold the menorah lighting because they feared it would be seen as an endorsement of Israel during its war with Hamas in Gaza.
The excuses seemed flimsy:
Shirley Vermillion, the festival’s founder, said 2nd Sundays are inclusive to different religions or cultures, and the menorah lighting “seemed very inappropriate” given current events in Israel and Gaza.
The 2024 Bethesda Fine Arts Festival application is open for submissions. This annual festival features 120 of the nation's finest artists, in categories including, but not limited to, ceramics, fiber, glass, painting, photography and sculpture. The juried festival provides artists with amenities including 24-hour security of the festival site, booth sitters, breakfast & lunch for participating artists, and more. The deadline to apply is Friday, December 22, 2023, and selected artists will be notified in late January 2024.
The Bethesda Fine Arts Festival will be held on May 11 & May 12, 2024 in Woodmont Triangle and will feature our selected artists, live music and local restaurants.
Details here.
Beware of this insect trying to rip off artists:
From: Jonathan Bassett - bassettjay25@gmail.com
Good day,
How are you today? I hope this email email finds you well! This is Jonathan Bassett a learning facilitator. I’m privileged to be writing you this, I got your contact details online. I need the service of an illustrator/animator or cartoonist.
I’m intrigued by your skill and creativity I’ve seen on your website. I’m willing to work with you as I know you’d be a great fit for our forthcoming coming workshop, I’ll give you the ideas of what needs to be illustrated/drawn so you can get back to me with a quote to get it done, hopefully we can take it from there. Pls get back to me for more details
Bests Regards,
Jon
Opening reception: Friday, December 8th, 6-8pm.
Hours: Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays 1 – 6 pm, Fridays 3 - 8pm, and by appointment
Gallery Artists: Barbara Bickley, Rachel Carren, Dennis Crayon, Geoff Desobry, Bruce Paul Gaber, Mariah Gugel, Wanjin Kim, Keith Kozloff, Barbara Mierau-Klein, Matthew Nance, Jan Long, Grace Peterson, Michele Rubin, Marc Schneiderman, Pat Silbert, Kanika Sircar, Claire Wright
Waverly Street Gallery 4600 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814
The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites local artists to submit work to the 20th annual Bethesda Painting Awards. This juried art competition awards $14,000 in prizes to four selected winners. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, February 27, 2024. Up to eight finalists will be chosen to display their work at Bethesda’s Gallery B in June 2024.
A panel of esteemed jurors, including Virginia Anderson, Department Head of American Painting & Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Baltimore Museum of Art; Scott Hutchison, Associate Professor of Practice in painting and drawing at Georgetown University; and Nicole Santiago, Professor of Art at the College of William and Mary and the 2023 Bethesda Painting Awards Best in Show Winner, will curate the competition.
The first-place winner will be awarded $10,000; second place will be honored with $2,000 and third place will be awarded $1,000. A “young” artist whose birth date is after February 28, 1994 may also be awarded $1,000.
Artists can apply online or download an application online. For information on the Bethesda Painting Awards, visit www.bethesda.org or call 301-215-6660.
Participation is open to artists aged 18 and above, residing in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, D.C. The competition welcomes original 2-D paintings, spanning various mediums such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, encaustic, and mixed media. The maximum dimension should not exceed 60 inches in width or 84 inches in height. No reproductions. Artwork must have been completed within the last two years and must be available for the duration of the exhibition. Selected artists must deliver their artwork to the exhibit site in Bethesda, MD. Each artist must submit five images, an application and a non-refundable entry fee of $25.
The Bethesda Painting Awards was established by local business owner Carol Trawick in 2005. Ms. Trawick has served as a community activist for more than 25 years in downtown Bethesda and established The Jim and Carol Trawick Foundation in 2007. She is the former Chair of the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, past Chair of the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. and founder of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards.
Best in Show winners include:
2023, Nicole Santiago, Williamsburg, VA
2022, Andrew Hladky, Kensington, MD
2021, Megan Lewis, Baltimore, MD
2020, Lawrence Cromwell, Baltimore, MD
2019, Mary Anne Arntzen, Baltimore, MD
2018 Carolyn Case, Cockeysville, MD
2017 Katherine Tzu-Lan Mann, Washington, D.C.
2016 Tanja Softic, Richmond, VA
2015 Bill Schmidt, Baltimore, MD
2014 Kyle Hackett, Baltimore, MD
2013 Barry Nemett, Stevenson, MD
2012 Ali Miller, Baltimore, MD
2011 Alison Hall, Roanoke, VA
2010 Nora Sturges, Baltimore, MD
2009 Camilo Sanin, Jessup, MD
2008 B.G. Muhn, North Potomac, MD
2007 Matthew Klos, Baltimore, MD
2006 Tony Shore, Baltimore, MD
2005 Joe Kabriel, Annapolis, MD
From award-winning theatre to independent films, downtown Bethesda’s Arts & Entertainment District is filled with inspiring artists and art venues. The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District is managed by the Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc., and is the producer of The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards, Bethesda Painting Awards, Bethesda Fine Arts Festival, Bethesda Film Fest and Play In A Day.
Established by Montgomery County in 1994, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Inc. (BUP) is a downtown management organization that markets and maintains downtown Bethesda. The BUP team works in marketing, maintenance, transportation and administration to produce cultural events and community festivals and attend to landscaping and maintenance needs. BUP also manages Bethesda Transportation Solutions (BTS), the Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District, and the Bethesda Circulator as well as the non-profit art spaces, Gallery B, Studio B and Triangle Art Studios. For a closer look, please visit www.bethesda.org.
