DC Calls for Public Art

Ellington Plaza Public Art Project

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Great Streets Initiative, within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, are seeking an artist or artist team with site-specific and/or public art experience to design, create and install permanent outdoor three-dimensional artwork to support and enhance Ellington Plaza, located in front of the historic Howard Theatre at T Street NW between 7th Street and Florida Avenue NW, Washington, DC. The goal of this project is to create a unique art piece and related art elements that communicate the history and current character of the surrounding community. To apply visit the Commission's website or call (202) 724-5613. The deadline is Friday, February 16, 2007 at 5 pm.

Washington Canal Park Public Art Project

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, in collaboration with the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, the Canal Park Development Association, and the design team led by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol, Ltd., is seeking an artist or artist team with large-scale public art experience to create permanent artworks for Washington Canal Park, located at M and 2nd Streets, Southeast, Washington, DC. The goal of this project is to create a unique park that will serve as a focal point in the emerging Near Southeast neighborhood. To apply visit the Commission's website or call (202) 724-5613. The deadline is Friday, February 16, 2007 at 5 pm.

Art Enhancements to Benning Road Bridge

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, in collaboration with the District Department of Transportation and the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, is seeking artists, an artist, or artist teams to create permanent public artworks for the Benning Road Bridge in Northeast
Washington, DC. It is their intention that the bridge will serve as a community landmark and gateway for residents, commuters and visitors as they travel within this area and make their way to other locations in the District of Columbia during the day and night. To apply visit the Commission's website or call (202) 724-5613. The deadline is Friday, February 16, 2007 at 5 pm.

CityVista Streetscape Grate

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in collaboration with the Office of Planning and local developers seek an artist or artist team to design, create and install a large permanent decorative grate for the ground level exhaust vent at CityVista, a new development located at 5th and K Streets Northwest, Washington DC in the emerging Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood. The grate is located on the façade of the building and allows
fresh air to enter the parking garage. The goal of this project is to create a unique alternative to a standard exhaust grate that enhances the building's façade. To apply visit the Commission's website or call (202) 724-5613. The deadline is Friday, February 16, 2007 at 5 pm.

5th and K Plaza Public Art Project

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in collaboration with the Office of Planning and local developers seek an artist or artist team to design, create and install permanent public artwork for the CityVista Plaza, a new development at 5th and K Northwest, Washington DC in the emerging Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood. The goal of this project is to create a unique freestanding element or plaza art that expresses the character of the surrounding neighborhood, while creating a contemporary landmark, which will contribute to the growth of this area. To apply visit the Commission's website or call (202) 724-5613. The deadline is Friday, February 16, 2007 at 5 pm.

Eakins Walkthrough

The NYT's Michael Kimmelman has a really good walkthrough of the various Thomas Eakins' masterpieces in the Philly area and good histories behind them. Read it here.

New Art Blog

The Ellipse Arts Center in Virginia has a new art blog! (thanks Alexandra!)

Visit them often here.

Ewing moving, not closing

Kathleen Ewing will close her present location in Washington, DC and then re-open in a new location about two blocks away.

Great news for DC area art lovers.

Colby Caldwell at Hemphill Fine Arts

By Katie Tuss

Colby Caldwell seemed content and at home among the 21 photographic works and the five-monitor video installation that comprise his new exhibition, small game, at Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, DC.

The artist expressed that the show, which opens tonight, provided an opportunity for him to collaborate with a number of people that had been primary influences in the development of his work.

Those influences come forward in the form of five podcasts, an auxillary component of the exhibition available via IPOD shuffles in the gallery and on Hemphill’s Web site.

In addition to an original sound piece, a conversation between the artist and his Corcoran mentor, Paul Roth, and three poems by Bernard Welt create a gallery soundtrack while the viewers explore the visual works in the three-room gallery space.

Caldwell’s signature archival pigment prints mounted on wood with wax finish are the main focus of the exhibition. The raw emotion of a single hunter standing in a winter field in gestus picture (12) gives way in the second room to the expansive grace of snowy tractor patterns in after nature (5).

"gestus picture (12)" by Colby Caldwell

In these, Caldwell manages to thoroughly capture the presence and potency of the seasons without losing the unpredictability and mystery of the landscape.

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Hemphill Fine Arts hosts an opening reception for small game tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Colby Caldwell will be presenting his artist talk Framing Lazarus on February 3 starting at 10:00 a.m. small game is on exhibit through February 24, 2007.

Washington Post's Bloggers Summit

Last week The Washington Post hosted a "DC Area Blogger Summit," and although I was invited, I was unable to attend, but luckily the fair Shauna Turnbull was able to represent Mid Atlantic Art News and reports below.

Also see the WaPo's own blogger Marc Fisher (who looks a lot like Dr. Frasier Crane) discuss the event here.

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Washington Post Boon for DC Blogs

By Shauna Turnbull, Art Addicts

On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, The Washington Post hosted a catered symposium entitled Blogging Unplugged. Nearly 100 DC area bloggers who are currently writing about sports, entertainment, politics, and other local happenings attended.

The symposium included three sessions:

(1) Discussion by executive writers of The Post and The Post.com on establishing collaborative exchange processes between bloggers and the paper;

(2) Mini-lecture on Legal Issues in Blogging, led by Attorney Jonathan Hart from Dow Lohnes, a Washington, DC law firm. Hart’s clients include The Online News Association; and

(3) Open idea exchange on The Post’s plans for increased visibility for local bloggers.

Event highlights included a demonstration of the WaPo’s online prototype. With further development, it will establish a DC Blog roll - a set of directories pointing print and online readers to area blogs.

The lecture on defamation and libel issues illustrated various protections afforded by the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Warnings and legal advice were provided on the risks bloggers (and Web editors – and for that matter, all writers) must consider in expressing fact versus opinion.

For expert counsel on these topics, please see Internet Law: A Field Guide by Jonathan D. Hart, available here.

Of most interest to DC art-focused web writers is the WaPo’s desire to highlight, demonstrate, and educate the public on the variety of information available in online portals – particularly in those areas the WaPo traditionally affords less than adequate coverage (e.g., Southeast development, Nationals' fans, and art..art... ART!!).

Future possibilities include allowing the public to vote on favorite sites or blogs, showcasing guest editors, attaching local advertising to sites, and building searchable databases by keywords and/or locations. Imagine a future where the Bethesda, U-Street, and Del Ray arts communities are inter- and intra-related online through a central news organization! Watch the WaPo or this site for further developments.

These and other creative ideas were supported by symposium panel experts:

- Jonathan Krim (Communications Strategist)

- Caroline Little (CEO of The Washingtonpost.com

- Editors and Columnists Jim Brady, Marc Fisher, Phil Bennett, Bob McCartney, and Bob Griner.

- Jacqueline Dupre of the Near Southeast Revitalization Blog.

Some members of the blogger community continued the successful event at the Post Pub after hours.

artDC

artDC will feature a select group of 85 galleries from Europe, Asia and the Americas, featuring all disciplines – including, painting, photography, sculpture, works on paper and video - to provide a dynamic cross-section of today’s multi-dimensional art market. DC area galleries and private dealers on the list include Douz & Mille, Hemphill, Conner Contemporary, Robert Brown Gallery, Adamson Gallery, Curator’s Office, G Fine Art, and others.

artDC will emphasize special sections within the fair, from the cutting edge SLICE (which I am told will be curated by Leigh Conner, the hardworking owner and director of Conner Contemporary) where visitors can discover the hottest trends in the art market, to galleries presented in the context of New Media installations that are reserved for digital and video art. Additionally, several diverse projects are underway to engage artists in outdoor projects, as well as feature the city’s numerous non-profit arts organizations.

Good news for artists: In addition to this, there is a juried open call in the New Media category for regional artists who do not have gallery representation. They have posted the call on the Flashpoint website here. The deadline is January 31, 2007.

Ilana Vardy is artDC's show director, and she has announced that artDC will partner with the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington as the fair’s preview night beneficiary. Vardy stated "we are extremely honored to work with the CAGW at this inaugural event as this organization reflects our mission to bring attention to both the non-profit art organizations and the flourishing gallery scene."

Many of the District’s museums and arts institutions will collaborate with artDC as part of an enriching education program. This program will include seminars, special tours and off-site activities throughout the four day fair. A detailed schedule of times and dates will be forthcoming.

Show hours will be Friday through Sunday, April 27th – 29th from 11AM until 7PM and on Monday, April 30th, from 11AM until 5PM. Friday is a free admission day. All other days general admission will be $12, $9 for groups of 10 or more and $6 for seniors and students.

artDC will kick off an opening night press and collector benefit preview for the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington on the evening of Thursday April 26th – ticket prices, hours and event details to follow.